cleaning???

[Hennyhandler]

I was wondering how everyone goes about cleaning their duck "ponds" and their situations. How many times do you clean it out? Doesn't this use a lot of water?
How many ducks do you have and how big is your pond are some questions that I would like to here about.

I have a 50 gallon stock tank and am wanting ideas. Cheap and affective would be good. IDEAS, IDEAS, IDEAS!!!!!

sorry for all the questions but I am curious and searching for thoughts. Thanks.

 

[Amiga]

As a gardener, the ducks fit into the whole plan. Yes, they use quite a bit of water. I have rainbarrels set up to catch roof runoff. That will go into their swimming pool, and the dirty water will be siphoned off onto the gardens, where it will provide water and fertilizer.

I have a well we can use during dry spells, since the plants need the water anyway, I am just going to let the ducks use it first.

Runner ducks need enough water to be able to frequently dunk their whole heads, otherwise you risk infections and respiratory problems.

It is good for them to be able to take a full body splash, too.

I have been told that some of the larger breeds need water for mating, but that will not be an issue with my flock.

 

[Hennyhandler]

I know this may sound a little...well what is the word.... dumb. But how do you get the water from the water barrel to the swimming pool? Do you siphon it out?

 

[ChickenToes]

I run a hose out to the duck run and I fill 2 ten gallon tubs every morning. Ducks get their water unbelievably dirty in a matter of hours, so I try to give them at least one fresh tub every day. I also have rain barrels, and could siphon the water out to them, but they're pretty far away from the coop. And I'm lazy.

 

[Brickman House]

We have one of those plastic garden ponds, which we drain once a week. We sink a sewage pump into the lowest corner, and pump the dirty water right into our orchard. The trees love it, and the water doesn't go to waste.

 

[Amiga]

Hennyhandler,

I have drain valves near the bottom of the barrels. I attach a garden hose, turn it on, and the water flows down - it's gravity fed.

I can siphon the pool water out, until I get a hand-powered bilge pump.

 

[toletiquesbysam]

I use a swimming pool just the hard plastic kind you buy from walmart. I fill it about 2-3 a week usually every other day and it sits in the low spot of our run against the wall. When I dump it, the water runs out into the farmers field. My garden is on the other side but the way my yard slopes if I tried to dump it into the garden it would all run back into the run! I do not use the pool during the winter, they have no water to them except drinking water only.

 

[duckyfromoz]

I have a kids plastic pool in each pen for my ducks... I clean and fill them every two or three days. By then the ducks have splashed enough out that i can just lift one end and tip it out. Gives the grass a bit of water too as I move it to a new spot each time.

 

[GrannySue]

Quote:
Hours? How about minutes?
Granted, one of my tubs isn't all that large but my ducks can get it filthy even before I finish filling it.