Do you still like ducks

[TLWR]

So yesterday I decided to drain and clean the pond. Pressure washed the timbers of the green. The pond itself was gross, but not too disgusting. It has been since April. With 5 ducks.
The filter box. Different story. Oh my... It clogged the pump with the poop in there. Nasty. I gave up and got gloves and a bucket. Seriously, it was shoveling poop! Ewww.
DH is standing off to the side.... so, do you still like your ducks. Asking each time I got deeper into the filter box (70 gallons) with less liquid and more poop.
Then I pulled out the rocks and filter stuff (AC filter stuff).
Oh my. How NASTY.


I am totally installing a drain on the filter box this summer!!! So we can drain that crap out instead of having to pump it out and bucket it out.


Though in reality. Once in 9 months... not so bad! But next time, cleaning the filter box first so the pond water can wash all that nastiness away!


Yes, I still like my ducks. And I still want a boy duck!

 

[gryeyes]

I have a few <I><*cough*></I> extra Cayugas... One of the ducks hatched 15 ducklings a few months ago (14 survived) which more exactly doubled my flock o' ducks.

This month or next I will have a pond built for the water fowl (also have two Toulouse geese) and bought a Max600 pump in preparation. Thanks for the tip!

 

[duckyfromoz]

AS a teenagers I was regularly found down on my knees hand scrapping the last of the waste in the bottom of the bathtub buried into the ground- duck poop- no matter how old - smelly - moldy pudrid... never bothers me anymore... But if a neighbours cat poops in my yard you will see me pull out a shovel... I guess it really helps when you really love your birds.

 

[jdywntr]

And I think that is why most of us that don't have a natural pond just use kiddie pools. Dumped every day or two and no clogged filters.

 

[tbitt]

Yes, I do still like my ducks.

We don't have a pond, we use a few plastic pools.

It will take more then poop to sway me......

 

[vtfarmer]

Love our Ducks, as for the pond we have the good and the bad on our new property - The good is we have 2 natural ponds - The bad is they are froze at the moment due to winter. Twice daily I fill a tub for them to atleast enjoy a bit.

 

[wildpeas]

Absolutely love my ducks, their pool is 300 gallons and it gets pumped out and refilled every Saturday, rain, snow, or shine. When Spring gets here I will climb in and scrub the walls and will do it again in the fall. Their house is cleaned daily and so far the only thing that has really grossed me out was when one of them ate a really big slug and then used their auto-waterer to rinse out their mouth. It has to be scooped out by hand and it was like sticking my hand in a mixture of egg whites and snot. Disgusting.

 

[Going Quackers]

And I think that is why most of us that don't have a natural pond just use kiddie pools. Dumped every day or two and no clogged filters.

Isn't that the truth, the filter for my koi pond is plenty annoying enough, forget about doing that with ducks LOL

 

[SJUDD]

I clean their pond out weekly and their smaller tubs out daily. I use a bucket to drain it and pour the water in my flower beds. My Canna Lillies went from 1 ft tall to 6 ft tall in a month!! Great fertilizer!! So yes, I still love my ducks... not only are they adorable and sweet but their poop also makes my garden look terrific!!

 

[HauiBali]

I use to water the trees with the pondwater, and that slimey gooey duckdung I shovel out from the bottom of the pond is heaven itself to our fruit-trees. The plum-brandy's taste I distilled last December (yes it is legal in Hungary to make a few litres) is finally mellowed together, and oh it has so much fruity aroma and a looong honey aftertaste... Thanks to the hot summer and our dirty little ducks who love their swim messy.