Do you have a rubber supplies store, or a flooring store, or a horse supplies store nearby? Any of these may have rubber matting. The stuff I use is just non-slip rubber floor covering.
You can get thornless roses. Probably would be best. Roses don't like heaps of water or humidity though so don't put them in the very wettest areas.
You can put garden cuttings in the pen. They'll enjoy nosing around in them. Whatever you put in will have to be cleaned out eventually so consider how much you want to put in and where. What about creating a compost heap with your garden clippings somewhere outside then pen? The ducks will love searching for bugs in this when you let them out in the yard.
Sand is not a problem for duck nostrils. They do like dumping a bit of it in their pool though so you will find that some of it ends up there. Are you planning on having a drain hole in your pond? I'd recommend a drain hole/drain pipe in the bottom at one end that has a tap or valve on it. I drain my pond water to a sump with a heavy duty pump in it and it gets pumped through a filter into a drip irrigation system and then onto the garden. I have to clean the filter every second day to remove sand, feathers and fibres from the vegetable matter that they eat. Draining it via gravity straight onto plants would be easier and you wouldnt need a filter. As for the drain pipe, I use 19mm flexible plastic pipe and this drains ok provided there is a downward slope. Sometimes I have to put the hose down it for a second to clear minor blockages. Pipe of 35mm or even 50mm would be better.
You can get thornless roses. Probably would be best. Roses don't like heaps of water or humidity though so don't put them in the very wettest areas.
You can put garden cuttings in the pen. They'll enjoy nosing around in them. Whatever you put in will have to be cleaned out eventually so consider how much you want to put in and where. What about creating a compost heap with your garden clippings somewhere outside then pen? The ducks will love searching for bugs in this when you let them out in the yard.
Sand is not a problem for duck nostrils. They do like dumping a bit of it in their pool though so you will find that some of it ends up there. Are you planning on having a drain hole in your pond? I'd recommend a drain hole/drain pipe in the bottom at one end that has a tap or valve on it. I drain my pond water to a sump with a heavy duty pump in it and it gets pumped through a filter into a drip irrigation system and then onto the garden. I have to clean the filter every second day to remove sand, feathers and fibres from the vegetable matter that they eat. Draining it via gravity straight onto plants would be easier and you wouldnt need a filter. As for the drain pipe, I use 19mm flexible plastic pipe and this drains ok provided there is a downward slope. Sometimes I have to put the hose down it for a second to clear minor blockages. Pipe of 35mm or even 50mm would be better.
