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Farming Friends Forum » Ducks

1. Christinao
   Member

   Hi All,

   Having given up on Aquaplancton to clear the duck pond, I'm really considering filling it in and using a plastic paddling pool for them instead. It is too big to clean out more than once a fortnight but it is really mucky and smelly within a couple of days.

   It is a dilema because they absolutely love being able to swim and dive and have room to chase each other around in it but it is so much work to try and keep it clean. I've looked at pumps and filters which would be about £250. If this would definitely work, it's something that would be worth doing but it's a lot of money to spend if the filter is just going to get blocked all the time. From what I've read, ducks are so messy that you need a real heavy duty filter. Anyone got any recommendations for filters/pumps that work well?

   Or, should I just go for the blue plastic paddling pools that everyone seems to recommend???

   Help!

   Christina

   Posted 3 years ago #

2. eden
   Member

   what type of ducks? I had Indian runners and used a paddling pool and water trough and they seemed happy enough. There r two schools of thought some say you should never have ducks without a pond, others say as long as they have some access to water. And I was thinking of building a natural pond...maybe I should rethink?

   Posted 3 years ago #

3. campbell ridge
   Administrator

   Hi Christina, well you know that i have a corner bath sunk into the ground and also a blue paddler. My campbells are more than happy to use either. The blue paddler needs emptying every 2-3 days, the bath once a week, We use a net to scoop out feathers etc, then pull out the plug. Any residue can easily be cleared with a sink plunger!
   Good luck
   Sarah

   Sarah L

   Posted 3 years ago #

4. quax
   Member

   This is a tricky one. We have a largish pond which the ducks love to chase around in and search for stuff on the bottom. It has become a durgy mess, I've tried one lot of Aquaplancton, with no change so far (its been about 3 months), I have 2 more packs to try and haven't pumped it out since then. We also dug another pond about 10 foot by 4 foot, but not too deep, they enjoy this one (I was hoping it would give the bigger pond a rest), sadly my son became too enthusiastic when trying to break the ice and has put a few holes in it!! So, we're in the process of mending it. We also have a large drinker (2'x3' and about 6 inches deep), they like to splash around in this too, luckily its quite easy to empty out and clean. They did miss the water when it was all iced over and are glad to be back in the water. The pump in our large pond gets clogged up 2 or 3 times a day, so that's a pain to clean out.
   I think ducks will survive quite happily in smaller pools, especially as I think they do love clean water. Not quite sure what we will do with our big pond, maybe perservere with the aquaplancton and just see what happens. I do love to see them with their bums up in the air when they are in the bigger pond!!!
   Rachel

   Rachel

   Posted 3 years ago #

5. yanky
   Member

   Hi Christina, I was thinking last year of keeping runner ducks but was totally put off by the breeder as she said you have to have a pond with water running thro' it . She said obviously emptying a paddling pool or basin makes too much more of a mess but you're obviously managing ---well done---maybe I should reconsider. Sorry no advice on keeping it clean but I'll be watching to see what the replies are.
   Yan.

   Posted 3 years ago #

6. Christinao
   Member

   Hi All,

   Thanks for the feedback. Eden, my ducks are Khaki Campbells. Still in two minds about what to do really. As you say Rachel, they really do love having the space to dabble and swim about properly in the big pond. At the moment, I have them in an enclosure fenced with sheep hurdles on the grass and they have a plastic tray, about a foot deep to play in. Only one of them, two at a squeeze, can get in at a time and it's just not the same as them being able to swim about on the pond. However, the water is at least clean for a few minutes!

   I thought the idea of a bath was a great one but hubby is not so keen, having dug out the big pond single handedly! I guess we could drain and half fill the pond site with gravel to use as a soakaway and then put the bath on top of that and just fill in around the edges, then all his digging wouldn't have been in vain.

   Still not quite sure what to do, any further advice/ideas much appreciated.

   Christina

   Posted 3 years ago #

7. quax
   Member

   Your poor hubby, that must have been hard work. But your idea with the gravel soak away sounds like a good idea, maybe you could incorporate some decking pieces. I have put some pieces of wood near the entrance to one of our ponds, its guite a good way of having a flat entrance to the pond which is nice and easy to keep clean.
   Rachel

   Rachel

   Posted 3 years ago #

8. Pencallow
   Member

   Hi Christina,
   I made a duck pond last year with a liner in a hole and have been regretting it ever since. The ducks seem to be able to turn it from clear to thick sludge within a couple of weeks.
   I then syphon it out using a hosepipe. The Hose keeps blocking with leaves and has to be flush out periodically. Eventually I am left with a very thick layer of sludge at the bottom. Then with a bucket I wade in in my boots to scoop out the rest. Periodically sludge slops back into the pool producing a projectile reaction which usually manages to find my hair. On one occasion I even slipped in with the inevitably revolting result.
   Fill it in and get something small enough to tip out to clean and hopefully still big enough for them to enjoy.
   Good luck with it.

   Mark

   Posted 3 years ago #

9. admin
   Sara @ farmingfriends

   Hi All,

   Christina has sent some phtos of her lovely duck pond and what the area and pond has become like over time.

   Here's the clean duck pond
   

   and the pond now looks like this!
   
   

   Meg the dog loves to watch the ducks and drake.
   
   
   
   

   Here are the ducks in their new enclosure.
   

   Hi Sara,

   Just thought I'd send some pics through of the duck pond and enclosure, might be a warning to others of the mess the little darlings can make!

   Also a pic of them in their new temporary enclosure with the sheep hurdles, so they can eat some grass whilst the pond bit recovers.

   Finally, Francis has decided that Meg the border collie is nothing to be scared of. She is still obsessed with them and runs around the enclosure all day. You can see Francis in full chase and then him and Squiffy facing her off. It is so funny to watch them, Meg and Francis will just run around and around, her on the outside, him on the inside.

   Best wishes
   Christina

   Thanks Christina for sharing these photos, it's interesting to see how the pond has faired over time!
   Kind regards
   Sara @ farmingfriends

   http://www.farmingfriends.com
   http://farmingfriends.com/shop/

   Posted 3 years ago #

10. Christinao
    Member

    Dear All,

    Recognising very clearly, Mark's description of emptying the pond, we have decided to take his advice and fill it in, and copy Sarah's brilliant idea of replacing it with an old bath. The whole area is just looking like a swamp at the moment. I put a posting on Freecycle (brilliant site, www.freecycle.org.uk)and I've been offered two baths, one from someone in our village, which is great. So the big pond will be used to form the soakaway and they'll have more of an area to forage in but still have, hopefully, clean water to have a dabble in. This weekend's project is........watch this space!

    Christina

    Posted 3 years ago #

11. quax
    Member

    Sounds like a plan. Have fun!!
    Rachel

    Rachel

    Posted 3 years ago #

12. campbell ridge
    Administrator

    Hi Christina, good plan! If possible, try and fit a RA bend after the bath outlet, to speed emptying and then before emptying, net out as much debris as possible: feathers/twigs etc. We have a large flat lump of stone over the plug, as when the water is clear, they have pulled it out in the past! Steve took off the plug overflow attachment and welded a patch of plastic carton on the underside of the bath, so you can fill it as high as you want.

    top tips - from experience :):

    hide plug and chain under stone in bath.
    tools needed for emptying, childs fishing net and sink plunger.

    Good luck.
    Sarah

    Sarah L

    Posted 3 years ago #

13. Christinao
    Member

    Hi Sarah,

    Thanks for the tips, will take them all on board!

    Christina

    Posted 3 years ago #

14. Christinao
    Member

    Hi Sarah,

    Showing my ignorance now, what is an RA bend??

    Christina

    Posted 3 years ago #

15. campbell ridge
    Administrator

    right angled instead of a u bend which is standard bath fitting

    Sarah L

    Posted 3 years ago #

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