Duck/Goose Pen THROUGH water

[AuroraSprings]

Okay, we desperately need to revamp our duck/goose pen. We want to section off part of our pond for them, so that we don't have to keep filling and dumping water tubs indefinitely. Plus they need to learn to love the pond (they are currently DEATHLY afraid of it. We tried "tossing" them onto it when we first got them and all of them took flight before they hit the water and flew right back to the bank!) I've seen very many ideas on coop design on here, but nothing to help us know how to fence in part of a pond. It's not particularly deep, maybe 3-4 feet where the fence will go. The fish in the pond need to be able to swim through it, but the geese and ducks need to be kept from climbing out. So I'm guessing it should be atleast two feet out of the water. Technically, it doesn't need to go all the way to the bottom, so a 6ft fence isn't necessary. Anyhow, ANY ideas are welcome. I know ya'll are creative, so bring on the creativity!!

The Pond - sorry about the snow, it's the only photo I have of the pond.

We just want to fence in the nearest point and to the left (out of the photo). It's a square though, so one can imagine.

 

[newgoosegirl]

I don't know much about pen construction, but I think you might want to put the fence down to the bottom. Sometimes my goose goes in the pool with us, and when she dives she dives 4-5 feet down near the bottom.

Anyways, that sounds cool! I bet they'll love that setup.

 

[FenDruadin]

Cool idea! I've seen this done, and an apple orchard in Flat Rock, NC. I agree about making the fence go all the way under--once they get used to the water, they will dive quite deep and come up yards away from where they started.

I would think 2 feet above water would be plenty. Where will the spend nights? Predator protection may be difficult if they are not closed up in a building or smaller, more secure pen at night.

I think this is an awesome project, but I don't have specifics for you. How large would the fish swimming in and out be? Ducks don't need a lot of height or strength to deter them from going out--they don't challenge barriers unless they are terrified. But underwater, I'm not sure how well they'll see the fence, so you want to make sure openings are small enough to prevent them from getting stuck--you wouldn't want to drown them, of course!

Can't wait to see what you come up with. Wouldn't want to be working on that pond right now, though!

 

[Caprice_Acres]

I would use plastic snow fencing - the stuff that is heavy duty plastic with oval holes. I think that it is 5" tall so you could do 3" under, 2" above and call it good. I would also use plastic posts if they could be found (Maybe PVC pipe would work well), and zip ties to secure - that way the posts, fencing, and zip ties won't degrade over time. Due to the loose quality of the soil under the water, you'd want to pound the posts pretty far in.

 

[Country Parson]

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[Amyable]

I want to do this exact same thing and have been puzzling over the details!

We have a small oval pond in the backyard I want to utilize for ducks, but I don't want them having access to the whole thing (to contain poop, and actually be able to find the eggs.) Can't wait to see what ideas come up.

 

[Bleenie]

I have been trying to figure out how to do this with part of our creek but we have the problem of salmon running through it and I can't figure out anything large enough to let the salmon through and small enough to keep the ducks in(and muskrats and crap out!).

 

[D'Angelo N Va.]

Maybe you could just fence in the whole pond, that's what I am currently doing on my property....I'll get pictures up hopefully of a completed fence...

 

[cat1994]

I made part of my duck pen go out into a small pond behind my house. The fence goes all the way to the bottom (the pond is only a few feet deep) the fence is about six feet tall. I didn't really worry about the fact that some fish and stuff cannot get through it. It has a net roof over the whole thing. The pen just jets out into the pond a couple feet and makes a rectangle shape. I often have to add new fencing (like chicken wire) to fill in wholes that the ducks make in the mud by the fence with their bills. The fence also rusts a lot. It is also hard to get the ducks to go in the house some nights b/c they go out onto the pond to get away from me. I sometimes have to go out into the water to get them in to the house. I love the fact that I don't have to replace the kiddy pool water at all anymore and that they can have so much fun in the mud and eat all the bugs and stuffs in the pond. But I would have to say that the advantages barely out way all the disadvantages I have encountered with this pen I have made.

 

[mominoz]

Fieldfence...or hogfence, it's called depending on where you live. It comes in 330 ft long by 4*" tall has 4X holes at bottom getting taller as it rises to 8X8. It runs about 140 a roll. You could use taller T poles like 6-7 foot .