The swans, especially if they are very young cannot step over the walls of a kiddie pool. They usually land up flailing their wings and propelling themselves in and out of the pool. However, the swans can slip and injure their feet and legs in the process which means that for safety measures, you would need to do one of the following:

1. Pick the swans up and place them in the pool and once they are finished bathing, pick them up and take them out of the pool.

2. Dig a hole and place the kiddiel pool flush into the hole so that the swans can enter and exit on their own. The problems with this scenario is that you must have a way to pump the water from the kiddie pool and the second is to have an area big enough to accommodate a small kiddie pool.

The pen that you have is adequate for the swans as long as they have room to stretch and move about. Ensure that it has a cover so that the cat cannot climb over and into the pond. Swans, cats and dogs can be injured by each other, so you want to insure that all are kept separate.

Although this may not sound to be the best scenario in the world, it is a safe one for the swans. A small pond, even if you have a small area open for the swans during a freeze, can still be readily accessible to a predator especially if the swans know that the area freezes and opt to stay in shallow water or on the banks of the pond at night. If the water is not deep enough to prevent freezing or access to the swans, the swans will be caught on the ice and again, serve as an easy meal for predators.

As labor intensive as it is, a pen indoors in very inclement weather is really a humane measure especially for birds that are pinioned and cannot migrate or fly from predators. Good Luck. Please let us know how this situation progresses. The Regal Swan