Duck/Fish Pond

[Lil Chickie Mama]

I am wanting to construct a duck and fish pond and make a good one. I am hoping to get both ducks and geese next spring and while they don't NEED swimming space I'd like them to have it. I don't know gallons or size but I would want one that could sustain probably about 20 or so birds swimming but will be more rectangular than even. We have a backhoe and all that so no problem with that. I have read Wifezilla's wonderful post on duckponics/ponix so I know about the filter system I'd have to use plus I worked in a fish shop and learned A LOT there. I would be filling it up with a bunch of feeder goldfish that I can get ridiculously cheap and they will eat some of the bird poo.
What do I use to line the pond when it is large size?
We live on site of our grain facility so there is considerable dust/rice hulls/chaff that gets blown around. Is there a way to combat this?
Will the birds eat the fish?
Will this attract other animals that I don't want? I don't mind frogs and such, but I don't want any turtles!!! We have a canal semi-near where I'd be building it.
Can I put crayfish (crawfish or crawdads around here) in there or does that pose the same problem as turtles? Will the ducks or geese eat them or am I better off just harvesting them from other sources for the birds and keep them out of their water?
And lastly (for now) If I put in a pump for a water feature (separate from the filter) will it disturb or be disturbed by the birds?

 

[Lil Chickie Mama]

Okay I lied. I just remembered another question. How deep should it be to allow them to dive and swim freely but also allow the fish to swim away? Can the ducks chase them to quite a depth? If so I'll add rocks in such a way that they have hiding places but I still need to know how deep to clear their feet and for them to play.

 

[RAREROO]

Personally I would advise against keeping ducks and fish together. I used to have a small ornamental goldfish pond with a thin plastic liner and plants and really nicely landscaped and my ducks got in it and ruined it. They ate up all the plants, ripped the plastic at the top and murked up the water. I think I only had a small catfish in it at the time and they killed it, and I would imagine they would try to eat the goldfish since they are brightly colored and easy to find. depending on the size of your fish and the amount of hiding places they have, they may be OK but I peronally wouldn't risk it.

 

[Jarhead]

I put feeder goldfish in all the time, since they are cheap. They are gone in less than 10 minutes. I have heard of people making fish hide outs, don't have any myself. All you do is take a terracotta pot, cut holes in it for the fish and turn it upside down in the pond. Then the fish have a "cave" to hide in from the ducks. You will still probably loose a fair amount of fish, but at least they will have a chance. Unless you have a giant pond (1/4 acre or more) that is really deep you will constantly be replacing fish. Good luck!

 

[Happyflower]

I have had a waterfall pond for 5 years now with nice big Koi and gold fish and when I got my 2 ducks this year, they ate ALL the pond plants. They don't seem to bother my Koi other than the Koi are all afraid of coming to the surface now.

I use a rubber liner that you can get from a construction company. It is the same thing that the garden centers sell, they will tell you it's not, but it is.

I live in Indiana where it gets really cold, so the debt needs to be at least 3 ft deep to overwinter the fish.

 

[Lil Chickie Mama]

Thanks for the replies!

I'm only wanting to keep the fish as food for the ducks, not keep any fancy ones but I'll plan on hiding areas so that some will live and reproduce making more food for the ducks. If they eat them all then so be it. I'm not planning on putting any plants in it other than maybe duckweed. It's going to be a pond built around the needs of the birds. And it doesn't get cold here, the average minimum temperature in our coldest time is 35.3* F so I don't have to worry about it freezing solid. It may freeze the top a thin little bit on a cold night, but there's no way it will last.

 

[RAREROO]

Quote:
OK I see

Maybe you will want to try to get a pool or somthing to keep a good duckweed crop in. (maybe some water lettuce and other floating plants too) and just dip some out every now and then to give to them, if you put it all in the pond at the same time, they will probably eat all of it preety quick. You could also try keeping some feeder minnows in the pool to and raise them in them in the little pool to. Or you could use the feeder goldfish if you can get them cheap.