This guide walks through the K&H Pet Products heated waterers we list — stock tank de-icers, bucket heaters, heated bases, heated bowls and a heated poultry waterer — and how to match one to the animals you keep.
Why open water matters more in winter
The British Columbia Ministry of Agriculture's livestock watering factsheet says a good supply of water "is required for an animal to maximize feed intake and production", and gives rule-of-thumb daily requirements of roughly 10 US gallons (about 38 L) for a dry 1,300 lb beef cow, 12 US gallons (about 45 L) for a cow with a calf or a horse, 2.5 US gallons (about 9.5 L) for a ewe or doe, and about 6.5 US gallons (about 25 L) per 100 laying hens. The same factsheet lists a water temperature of about 10 °C as desirable and 4 to 18 °C as acceptable. A heated waterer does not make water warm: K&H describes the units below as thermostatically controlled, turning on and off as needed to keep the water from freezing.
How much water does a horse drink in winter?
Alberta's planning figure does not change by season. Alberta Agriculture's Farm Water Supply Requirements (Agdex 716(C01)) lists 10 imperial gallons, about 45 L, per horse per day, and explains: "The average daily water requirements are based on typical average outside or in-barn temperatures that occur throughout the year." That lines up with the British Columbia figure above. The factsheet's hot-weather multipliers are for cattle on days above 25 °C, not for winter. What winter changes is access — a frozen bucket or tank gives a horse nothing — which is what the heaters below are for. To size the tank itself, see What Size Stock Tank Do You Need? Tank Sizes vs Daily Water Use.
How do you keep a cattle water tank from freezing?
For a tank that waters a group of cattle or horses, the K&H Ultimate Stock Tank De-Icer is the de-icer we carry for that job. It is a caged de-icer that floats with the ring attached or converts to a submersible by unscrewing the ring, so it works in a rubber tub, a plastic tank or a galvanized tank without damaging plastic or liners. It is thermostatically controlled to keep the water just above freezing, cycling on and off as needed rather than running continuously, and it comes with a cord clip to keep the power cord out of the animals' reach. K&H builds the model in 250 W to 1,500 W ratings; check the size on the product page before ordering and match it to your tank volume and how exposed the tank is to wind.
One rule from the manufacturer: K&H's warning reads "Deicer must be in water at all times. Do not operate when heating element is not fully submerged in water." Unplug it before you drain the tank.
Floating or submersible, and which wattage
K&H's Ultimate Stock Tank De-Icer does both jobs: "K&H Ultimate Stock Tank Deicers can be transformed from floating to submersible in seconds, simply unscrew the float ring from the top." K&H lists it in five sizes, 250, 500, 750, 1000 and 1500 watts; the 250, 500 and 750 watt units are 6 inches (15 cm) across, the 1000 and 1500 watt units 9 inches (23 cm), and all of them have a 5½-foot (1.7 m) cord.
On temperature, the unit does not heat the water: "These deicers will maintain a tank temperature of just above freezing and cannot be adjusted to higher temperatures." They are "thermostatically controlled", which K&H explains as turning "on and off as needed to keep the water in your stock tank from freezing."
On size, K&H publishes a zone chart and says to "find your zone and use the chart to match up your tank size to find the deicer that is perfect for you." Check the chart against your tank's volume before you buy; a bigger tank or a colder zone calls for a larger unit.
Source: K&H Pet Products, Ultimate Stock Tank Deicer product page and specification table (khpet.com), viewed October 2026.
Can you put a de-icer in a plastic stock tank?
For K&H's Ultimate model, the manufacturer's answer is yes: K&H states that its Ultimate Stock Tank Deicers "will not damage liners or plastic tanks." That statement covers K&H's caged Ultimate de-icer only. A de-icer from another maker carries its own instructions, so read them before you put it in a poly tank. The same rule applies whatever the tank is made of: the de-icer must be in water whenever it is plugged in.
If you are still choosing the tank, our guide What Size Stock Tank Do You Need? Tank Sizes vs Daily Water Use sets each Tuff Stuff tank we list against Alberta Agriculture's daily water figures.
How do you keep a horse's water bucket from freezing?
Horses in individual pens, a couple of goats, a calf on a bottle — anything on a pail rather than a tank — has two options.
The K&H Ultimate Bucket De-Icer is a 250-watt caged submersible de-icer built for water pails. It comes with a full cage and a cord clip, and it is thermostatically controlled.
The K&H Perfect Bucket Heater is an 80-watt heater that sits inside a pail; K&H rates it for plastic or metal pails up to 16 gallons (about 61 L).
The difference between them: the bucket de-icer is the 250-watt unit; the bucket heater is the 80-watt unit.
Heated bases: keep the heater out of the water
The K&H Universal Waterer De-icer takes a different approach. It is an 80-watt heated base, roughly 39 cm square and 7.5 cm tall, that a poultry waterer, a bucket or a bowl sits on top of. Nothing electrical goes in the water. K&H rates it for aluminum and plastic poultry waterers, dog bowls, buckets and other water receptacles, and it carries a thermal cut-off safety feature and a 5.5-foot cord.
How do you keep chicken water from freezing?
Alberta's small-flock guide, Raising Chickens in Alberta, says: "Use nipple drinkers with a heated hose or heated water dishes." It also gives the water temperature birds want: "The desirable temperature for the water ranges from 10°C to 27°C; if the water is too cold or too warm, birds won't drink it."
For a heated dish, the K&H Poultry Waterer puts the waterer and the heat in one piece: K&H lists it as a 2.5-gallon (about 9.5 L) gravity waterer that uses 60 watts, with a removable filter ring in the drinking tray, a spill-proof cap and a carry handle. It has no on/off switch; K&H says it is always on when plugged in. To clean it, K&H's directions are hot water, 1-2 tablespoons of baking soda, 1-2 tablespoons of vinegar and a handful of small, smooth rocks, shaken in the tank, then rinsed and left to air dry. Or set the poultry waterer you already have on the Universal Waterer De-icer above.
For drinker types, waterer height and daily cleaning, see our guide Chicken Waterers and Feeders: Types, Height and Cleaning (Alberta Small-Flock Guide).
Heated bowls for barn dogs and cats: the Thermal-Bowl line
The K&H Thermal-Bowl line is thermostatically controlled to turn on and off as needed, uses as little as 12 watts depending on size, and has a 5.5-foot abrasion-resistant wrapped cord to discourage chewing. The electronics are sealed inside the bowl and the plastic models are BPA-free. We list four:
Thermal-Bowl 32 oz, Slate Gray, 12 W — about 950 mL, sized for a barn cat or a small dog.
Thermal-Bowl 96 oz, Blue, 25 W — about 2.8 L, roughly 20 cm across, for a dog kept outside through winter.
Thermal-Bowl 120 oz, Stainless Steel, 25 W — the stainless-steel version.
Thermal-Bowl 1.5 gal, Granite, 25 W — 5.7 L, about 25 cm across, for large dogs or several animals sharing one dish.
For barn cats, the Thermo-Kitty Cafe, Stainless, 30 W heats two lift-out stainless dishes, 355 mL and 710 mL, from one base.
Ponds and dugouts
The K&H Thermo-Pond 3.0 is a 100-watt floating pond de-icer that K&H says keeps a 12-inch (30 cm) hole in the ice of backyard ponds. For a larger or more exposed pond, see the Thermo-Pond Deluxe 1500 W. Two Perfect Climate models are listed too: the Thermo-Pond Perfect Climate Deluxe, a 250-watt unit that floats or converts to submersible, and the Thermo-Pond Perfect Climate Submersible, a 300-watt submersible unit that K&H rates for preformed ponds up to about 1,140 L (300 gallons) and 46 cm (18 in) deep. These are pond de-icers, not livestock waterers.
Setting up safely
Power. Plug heated waterers into a GFCI-protected outdoor-rated outlet. K&H's units are MET safety listed, and K&H explains that MET requires the statement "Do not use with extension cord" on every item it lists.
Cords. Use the cord clip that comes with the de-icers and bucket heater, and run the cord up and away from the animals.
Watch the water level. Submersible de-icers must stay under water. A tank that gets drunk down or a pail that gets tipped exposes the element.
Check it works before the cold hits. Put the unit in a bucket of water on a mild October day and confirm it comes on when the water is cold and off when it is not. Replace any unit with a cracked housing or a damaged cord.
Clean the tank. Scrub it out on a mild day.
Where to find them
All of the products above are in the K&H Pet Products brand section, and you can browse by animal in horse supplies, cattle supplies, poultry supplies, sheep and goat supplies and pet supplies. If you are also getting the barn ready for winter, see our guide to fall mouse control in barns, shops and outbuildings. Choosing the tank itself? What Size Stock Tank Do You Need? Tank Sizes vs Daily Water Use sets Alberta's daily water figures against every Tuff Stuff tank we carry. For the driveway, steps and shop apron, Is Ice Melt Safe for Concrete? Scotts EZMELT Directions for Alberta Driveways and Sidewalks covers what Scotts says about its ice melter on concrete and plants.
Sources: Alberta Agriculture, "Farm Water Supply Requirements", Agdex 716(C01) (revised April 2009), viewed October 2026; K&H Pet Products product pages for the Ultimate Stock Tank Deicer, Ultimate Bucket Heater, Perfect Bucket Heater, Universal Waterer Deicer, Poultry Waterer, Thermal-Bowl and Thermo-Pond 3.0 (khpet.com), viewed October 2026; British Columbia Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock Watering Factsheet 590.301-1, "Livestock Watering Requirements: Quantity and Quality" (January 2006), viewed October 2026; Government of Alberta, Raising Chickens in Alberta: a guide for small flock owners (2015), Module 2, open.alberta.ca, viewed October 2026.