Hi...not sure if I should have posted this here or in the chickens forums...anyway. I *just* finished building a duck add-on to our outdoor chicken run. It’s just a tiny enclosed pond off the side of the original chicken run so the ducks can do their duck thing and not make such a mess of the general shared space (18x22’ outside, plus this new 6x8’ pond area, and a 6x10’ indoor coop). The pond is 2’ deep, square/cube shaped, with a small 4-6” ledge around the top about 6” below he water surface. I set a little plywood ramp/ledge across one side of the pond so the ducks have something to step up and out from in case the built-in ledge is too slippery with the pond liner. A week-long project finished a few hours ago, and now I’m sitting here worried the dang chickens are going to fall in and drown. Please tell me this will work out. Or, I guess, tell me if it won’t so I can figure something out before everyone (15 chicks & 3 ducklings) is big enough to move out there.
You def don't want young chicks around a pond. I keep my hens and their chicks out of the area where my pools are set up for the water fowl until they are around 4-5 weeks. I have never had a chick drown in one of our pools but did have one jump into a bucket of water an drown that was sad. That said even ducklings can drown in a pool of water or anything deep enough to climb into if they can't safely get out.
Roger on the young-‘uns. How awful, to find a chick in a bucket of water Ok for grown chickens though? I did put a plank across the ledge there about 6” from the water surface, but whether a flailing bird trying to get out could find it...?
Once grown mine haven't had any problems with the pools and I have some tiny OEGB's they have plenty of other means to get water. Yeah that was so sad I think she jump up on the edge like her mama did for a drink and miss judged I felt so bad. After that only large chickens waterers are out when we have chicks.