Post your exotic/domestic duck aviary/pool pics

[AimToMisbehave]

Here's the set up we have so far for our runners:

The whole thing is about 40' long by 15' wide and maybe 6' tall (we recently got taller fence posts so that we could raise the overhead netting enough to be able to walk around upright inside the pen. It's an ongoing project by all means; there are a lot of things we would like to make nicer-looking and sturdier, and that pile of blocks and black plastic in the back corner is a bigger pond that we still need to get set up, but so far it's kept our little flock safe and happy.

And of course, they're constantly working on excavating their own little river with the overflow from the pond. It doesn't look like much when the puddles are filled, but it's a series of fairly deep holes that stretches across the width of the pen.


The grass comes and goes, of course, with all the stomping and drilling. I've taken to using a collapsible steel ex pen to block off portions of the pen for a couple weeks at a time, to give the groundcover a chance to grow back. It's a pain, but it keeps the whole pen looking and smelling much nicer!

 

[Miss Lydia]

@AimToMisbehave I see you don't have a door on your duck house don't you have preds?

 

[AimToMisbehave]

@AimToMisbehave
    I see you don't have a door on your duck house don't you have preds?

Not ground based ones, no. There's a gate on the run, and a zip-flap on the green house to keep any wandering predators out, and between my dogs and the cinder blocks lining the fence, nothing ever tries to dig in. Predatory birds are more of a concern in our area, but since the ducks hide under that big bush if they see anything circling overhead, nothing has even tried to get past the avian netting. Eventually I'd like to build them a nicer house (a project for this spring, if I can get husband in on it) but so far it's been working well

 

[Miss Lydia]

Not ground based ones, no. There's a gate on the run, and a zip-flap on the green house to keep any wandering predators out, and between my dogs and the cinder blocks lining the fence, nothing ever tries to dig in. Predatory birds are more of a concern in our area, but since the ducks hide under that big bush if they see anything circling overhead, nothing has even tried to get past the avian netting. Eventually I'd like to build them a nicer house (a project for this spring, if I can get husband in on it) but so far it's been working well

That's good you haven't had any ground based, just don't let your guard down.. I have 5 dogs but none can be inside the half acre where the birds are because of the geese. So they only get to patrol one side of the fence and we do have alot of ground preds plus predatory birds so I have to lock mine up.

 

[AimToMisbehave]

That's good you haven't had any ground based, just don't let your guard down.. I have 5 dogs but none can be inside the half acre where the birds are because of the geese. So they only get to patrol one side of the fence and we do have alot of ground preds plus predatory birds so I have to lock mine up.  

The dogs can patrol three sides of the pen, and the fourth side has extra cinder blocks piled up along the bottom of the fence (although I'm noticing a rodent problem from that side that I'm going to have to try to sort out). When we get to nicer weather, I want to really build up the walls, but with every construction project, we have to plan for the floods that pass through every 4-5 years. Our neighbors have chickens and have lived in their house for yeeeaaarrrs, so we checked with them what would pose the biggest risk.

 

[attimus]

Saw someone else brought in a truck. This was wth a home mixer.
Attimus

 

[Miss Lydia]

Saw someone else brought in a truck. This was wth a home mixer.

Attimus

@attimus Nice, do you mean you did this yourself?

 

[attimus]

@attimus
    Nice, do you mean you did this yourself?

Oh, ha-ha miss Lydia, I think the first member I had the pleasure of interacting with on byc. Yes, this was the pond that I dug out for them, now layered with concrete rather than plastic. Drain at the bottom. Half the posts set. Actually had a pretty bad accident with a table saw and am still waiting to heal up to finish the rest of fencing. Been covering most of it on my thread in my sig.
Thanks for all the help getting me on my feet with byc. Really does mean a lot.
Attimus

 

[Miss Lydia]

Oh, ha-ha miss Lydia, I think the first member I had the pleasure of interacting with on byc. Yes, this was the pond that I dug out for them, now layered with concrete rather than plastic. Drain at the bottom. Half the posts set. Actually had a pretty bad accident with a table saw and am still waiting to heal up to finish the rest of fencing. Been covering most of it on my thread in my sig.
Thanks for all the help getting me on my feet with byc. Really does mean a lot.
Attimus

So sorry about the accident ,glad to hear your healing. The pond looks great, looking forward to seeing it finished.

Hey you've been here almost a year!!! time for cake.

 

[attimus]

So sorry about the accident ,glad to hear your healing.  The pond looks great, looking forward to seeing it finished.

Hey you've been here almost a year!!! time for cake. 

Ya that's crazy its getting super close. It interesting to look back and see all that's been done. The pond is a long way from being "finished" in my mind but the ducks are just happy when there's water to play in. I'm always gonna find something to tweak on it or fix I'm sure.
Now about this cake......
Attimus