Ducks, chickens and ponds....

[EJPedrazzi]

....... clearly don't mix. We built our pond about 4 months ago and have always known it was a risk as our chickens insist on drinking out of it, even though their water bucket is nearby. Tonight I went out to shut their coop and sadly my sweet little silky had drowned

Urgh, I feel awful but it could have happened at any time I guess. So I have to ask those of you that have water sources for your ducks that your chickens have access to - how do you prevent them falling in?

We were discussing putting a critter ramp in the pond, but I don't know if a chicken would be a) smart enough or b) agile enough to use it. Then we were discussing putting a sort of bird bath at the entrance to the pond so if they do fall in, it wouldn't be too deep where they would drown and they could hopefully climb back out and the ducks could use it as a sort of diving board!!

I was just wondering if anyone else has had similar problems, and if so, how do you avoid that happening again?

 

[thegoldengirls]

I'm so sorry about your silkie. I am wondering how it got into deep enough water to drown in... unless maybe another bird provoked it.

I've seen some ponds that have "ramps" as access with slats across to give something to gain traction on. Then anything could potentially get out. I've also seen some artificial duck ponds with a small gauge wire that kinda slants from the edge, down into the water. Again, so something could get traction to get up out of water. However, I would recommend something small enough that they won't get a foot stuck, yet big enough so they can't get a toe or nail stuck.
I've also talked to folks who have had ducks drown in water troughs or buckets because over zealous drakes "pin them down" where they can't easily get out. That may be something to watch for. I've seen roosters go after ducks, but never a drake after a chicken... but I'm sure it's possible.

Those are just thoughts, as my birds don't have unlimited access to a pond, or large water source.

Best of luck.

 

[EJPedrazzi]

Thank you - the wire is a great idea and sounds like it would work.

As for how she fell in - I just don't know. Maybe another chicken accidentally knocked her. She wasn't the smartest of chickens at the best of times. I actually have some small mesh wire in the garage that I will try tomorrow and hopefully it'll give them better odds of getting back out