Arizona Chickens

[igorsMistress]

Yes!! People forget.. you will have bacteria.. it can be aerobic (living and green and healthy) or anaerobic (stink, stank, stunk)!

My focus would be more on a natural habitat.. and maybe muscovy ducks who might take cursory swims here and there (and knowing pets I have, they will end up knocking at the damn door to come inside the house).

I had a rooster who knocked at the back door when he decided it was time for treats. Silly boy!
I’m working on a pool or pond right now for my ducks. I was going to use a stock tank but may change to a pond liner since I can’t find the one I wanted.

 

[AngBantamLuv]

I had a rooster who knocked at the back door when he decided it was time for treats. Silly boy!
I’m working on a pool or pond right now for my ducks. I was going to use a stock tank but may change to a pond liner since I can’t find the one I wanted.

Oooh!! Do a quick search on natural backyard ponds.. there are lots of liner plans.. i did read one that recommended getting...i think goodyear?? Brand liner.. (one of the tire companies), it has a 20 year warranty.. i just keep the reef tank in mind as far as ratios go... i only had like 3 smallish reef fish, and the amount of "protein" aka urine i cleaned out daily was disgusting.. of course there wasnt enough plantlife to absorb that, so it had to go onto the toilet. But being outside where you can actually make it a functional pond.. gosh there are so many options!! You can separately establish plants too, so they are too big for the ducks to pull out early on. But other than rarely washing out your media, you could make it pretty hands off.

Ill take pics of my yard once my flowers come in, but initially i considered a natural pond w recirculating stream.. i am obsessed w dragon flies (i dont know why) so i wanted to make it perfect for them. But the area i have my flowers in is where id put my pond.. just a quiet peaceful place.. mini nature conservancy.

 

[igorsMistress]

Oooh!! Do a quick search on natural backyard ponds.. there are lots of liner plans.. i did read one that recommended getting...i think goodyear?? Brand liner.. (one of the tire companies), it has a 20 year warranty.. i just keep the reef tank in mind as far as ratios go... i only had like 3 smallish reef fish, and the amount of "protein" aka urine i cleaned out daily was disgusting.. of course there wasnt enough plantlife to absorb that, so it had to go onto the toilet. But being outside where you can actually make it a functional pond.. gosh there are so many options!! You can separately establish plants too, so they are too big for the ducks to pull out early on. But other than rarely washing out your media, you could make it pretty hands off.

Ill take pics of my yard once my flowers come in, but initially i considered a natural pond w recirculating stream.. i am obsessed w dragon flies (i dont know why) so i wanted to make it perfect for them. But the area i have my flowers in is where id put my pond.. just a quiet peaceful place.. mini nature conservancy.

I would love to see pics! I have quite few natives and many shrubs adapted to the desert that attract bees and hummingbirds, plus a food garden and a partially shaded structure for tropicals and perennial herbs.

 

[springvalley123]

Oooh!! Do a quick search on natural backyard ponds.. there are lots of liner plans.. i did read one that recommended getting...i think goodyear?? Brand liner.. (one of the tire companies), it has a 20 year warranty.. i just keep the reef tank in mind as far as ratios go... i only had like 3 smallish reef fish, and the amount of "protein" aka urine i cleaned out daily was disgusting.. of course there wasnt enough plantlife to absorb that, so it had to go onto the toilet. But being outside where you can actually make it a functional pond.. gosh there are so many options!! You can separately establish plants too, so they are too big for the ducks to pull out early on. But other than rarely washing out your media, you could make it pretty hands off.

Ill take pics of my yard once my flowers come in, but initially i considered a natural pond w recirculating stream.. i am obsessed w dragon flies (i dont know why) so i wanted to make it perfect for them. But the area i have my flowers in is where id put my pond.. just a quiet peaceful place.. mini nature conservancy.

Make sure you google it with ducks, that's a big game changer vs just fish. good luck!

 

[wolfwalker]

How about building something like this to pre-filter out the solids.

 

[AngBantamLuv]

Make sure you google it with ducks, that's a big game changer vs just fish. good luck!

I have... 2 wont do much, especially a wood duck vs water duck, and in a natural setup. But it isn't something that is happening overnight.

 

[AngBantamLuv]

How about building something like this to pre-filter out the solids.

It would still have a cleanout basket, just like a pool.. but solids that can breakdown will settle to the bottom and join other rock, sediments, and plant roots, as well as microorganisms that are just part of a natural environment. The circulating water would be to keep the oxygenation up. But again leaves and solids that circulate but don't break down would be in thr basket. You need to maximize the water per anticipated butt and fish create way more muck than people think, but the ecosystem can absorb it. The bottom of a lake/pond/ocean is a giant compost pile!

 

[igorsMistress]

I’ve seen setups that have a hose going from the pond to a planter with filter media in it and a pump that recirculates the water. But I’ve read about folks having to use sump pumps because even the heavy duty pumps get clogged. I dunno how many ducks vs gallons of water they had though, one how long they waited to clean.

 

[AngBantamLuv]

I took my dogs to get groomed... and they had these new chicks.. are these Marans? They were big and skittish!

Anddd my girls got to come out to play.. it was like the movie Birds w the D'uccles.. they wanted to get at my coffee cup! Too bad so sad. Elsa is so cute tho, she is my chicken little, squeeking and running to follow me. She is still afraid of the big girls.

 

[cavemanrich]

Most likely my last post of the year Wishing to all readers

• May the new year bring you peace, joy, and happiness.