Duck Pond Questions

[Willem81]

Hello All. I have a few questions regarding duck ponds. First I would like to give you all a little bit of an idea of the challenges I am facing. I live near Denver. I have been wanting to install a pond/water feature at my house for aesthetics, but now will want it to be functional for the two ducks we added to our family. Ice is definitely a concern for my climate, as it can drop as low as -20 in the winter. Heat is also a problem, as it can reach in to the triple digits during the summer. Now for the questions:

1. What size is right for two ducks (one Mallard and one unknown bread, thinking either pekin or something white) without having to empty and fill on a weekly basis.

2. I am trying to make this somewhat of a complete ecosystem. Once again size and depth will play a roll in this, but what might be some of the hazards to my ducks with this approach?

3. Fully in ground or can I make it fully above ground with adequate access (stairs), or would a combination of the two work best for my needs?

4. If I were to make this a complete ecosystem what types of flora and fauna should I include?

Any and all help would be greatly appreciate!

 

[Willem81]

Nothin'?

 

[Lute]

Calm down. It's late and you only posted a few hours ago.

I have a small kiddy pool for my 5 Pekin Ducks. It's nestled in the shade of an awning my boyfriend built with my sister.

The awning top is flat so we have several container plants on top and a motor to pump water from the pool and into the planters (which have vine-ing plants to spread over the rest of the awning and provide more shade). This does an okay job of cleaning the water. It mostly filtered out the mud. Pekins love playing in the mud. We finished this part of the project today so I don't know how it will work after a week. Before that we cleaned out the pool once or twice a week (depending on how muddy it got and how much water they took out of it).

My pool is in ground and I'm starting to wish it wasn't. It was a great idea at first but I have to pull the pool out every time I clean it so it has become a bother.

As for vegetation; I have no idea.

 

[Mum]

My ducks have taken over my ornamental pond

I have irises, lilies and water grasses in there. People told me the ducks would ruin my pond, but, to be honest, the water has never looked cleaner. I have assorted goldfish in there and the frogs still return to lay their spawn (although the ducks think that is their caviar). The ducks keep the wretched duckweed at bay which is why I think the water is looking cleaner than before.

It is about 21/2 feet deep, sunk into the ground (if you suffer icy weather, and above ground set up would freeze faster than a submerged effort). Having said that, the last 2 winters the top of my pond has frozen (but plants and fish survived) and I didn't have ducks then.

What I did have were wild mallards using my pond as their retreat during Spring time - which meant using my pond! I moved here two years ago and the pond was given a thorough clean when I moved in. I won't be cleaning it again until next Spring.

Those are my (limited) experiences.

 

[Willem81]

Calm down. It's late and you only posted a few hours ago.

I have a small kiddy pool for my 5 Pekin Ducks. It's nestled in the shade of an awning my boyfriend built with my sister.

The awning top is flat so we have several container plants on top and a motor to pump water from the pool and into the planters (which have vine-ing plants to spread over the rest of the awning and provide more shade). This does an okay job of cleaning the water. It mostly filtered out the mud. Pekins love playing in the mud. We finished this part of the project today so I don't know how it will work after a week. Before that we cleaned out the pool once or twice a week (depending on how muddy it got and how much water they took out of it).

My pool is in ground and I'm starting to wish it wasn't. It was a great idea at first but I have to pull the pool out every time I clean it so it has become a bother.

As for vegetation; I have no idea.

I am a "I have it done before it's needed" kind of guy. That is where the urgency comes from. Something I am aware of, but it's good to have it pointed out every once in a while.

Mum - I figured as much with the above ground, as far as ice goes, I would probably install a tank heater if need be. I have seen quite a few folks with varying levels of "icy weather" not really have any open water available to their ducks during the winter. I am guessing that is fine. However, with the mess they make currently with their water at a 10th of the full sized version, I am a little bit worried about that mess freezing, and what they would do if I built another cookie can water heater. if I didn't give them that outdoor water option.

I would really like to hear more from some folks that live in my type of climate that have ducks and have successfully done the types of things I am looking to do.

 

[Mum]

Threads can move very quickly on here, so I'm hoping by bumping it up, you will find people familiar with your climate to share their experiences

 

[mandelyn]

Definitely below ground for insulation and easier access. You want the plants well established before introducing ducks to it. New, small plants won't last long. They need a good strong root base and not be fresh from a pot or sprout.

Doing a rock garden around it, for at least 6 ft, will reduce the mess. Use Pea Gravel as a base, with slightly larger, smooth, rounded river rock over that. Hose it off as needed, no mud!

Stock tank deicer would would work.

If you go the preformed route, you need at least 90 gallons. If using a liner, you need a deeper area in the middle where you can drop in a pump for cleaning, as needed. The bigger it is, the less often you'll need to clean it.

You'll need movement of the water. A pump to circulate. With enough planting, in pots with pea gravel, of varieties that pull nutrients from the water, those will act as a filter of sorts. Along the lines of aquaponics.

If you use landscape fabric under the gravel bed around it, and slope everything gently towards the pond, you'll be bale to catch rain water when that happens. Denver can run short on water, so catching what you can will help with water use. Landscape fabric will allow some through, but not that quickly. Adding fresh water in the middle of the afternoon will help with that too.

The deeper it is, with a pump to circulate it, the cooler the water temp will be in the summer. The shallower, the warmer. You need at least a 3 ft depth to keep fish alive in that cold. The fish need to be bigger than the bill of the duck, or else they'll get eaten. Say a minimum of 4 inches. You need to account for fish waste, gold fish are messy and poop a lot, 2 gallons of water per inch of fish. Add the ducks... 2 of them... 90 gallons as a minimum, you could have a small cluster of goldfish or koi if you keep the water moving. Time will tell if you have enough plants for filtering, the fish will thrive or not. Floating fish means you need additional filtration.

Think of a fishtank... the filter intake is on one side, and out bound water on the other, moving all the water through, no stagnant areas. Replicate that idea with the pond... avoid dead spots. Placement of the out take should move water towards the pump to keep it all moving. Irregular shaped ponds can have dead spots, be sure to put plants there or restructure the filtration path.

Goldfish will be the best fish to handle the duck poo in the water. But you'll need to watch your ammonia levels weekly. There are additives for the fish to reduce that, but I don't know how the ducks would react to that in the water.

Hope some of that helps. I've been paying attention in pond class at work. LOL