Fillmore Farmer
In the Brooder
- Oct 7, 2015
- 10
- 0
- 22
Alright, this may sound crazy but any help would be appreciated. Not long ago we bought some water fowl for our farm, we got a Toulouse goose, jumbo Peking duck and 3 Rhuen ducks, all babies. They were raised together and when they got big enough we put out a 4-foot plastic pool that they loved every day. When they got big enough we moved them all to our farm where I gave them an entire pen with a 6-foot pond...which they also immediately took to. I'm not sure if this matters but the ring leader is the Toulouse goose, where she goes so too go the ducks.
3 weeks ago a small goat fell into the pond and drowned. Since that day the ducks have not returned to the pond. We've drained the pond and did some modifications with a pump so it was out of commission for a week. There is no scent or odor on the pond, it's clean plastic. I filled the pond and they still won't get into it.
For the love of G-d, please don't tell me the ducks are suffering from post traumatic stress disorder and have issues with the pond having witnessed a goat drown in it; could this even be possible? I've put the ducks into the pond and they get right out immediately. I brought the little 4-foot plastic pool from their youth and filled it with water, that too they won't go in. I guess it's the goose that leads the pack but I've seen ducks in that little pool without the goose.
What could this be? I realize this is a great place for some animal psychologist to fix my ducks....but seriously, could their seeing a goat drown possibly affect them as much as a month later? It's crazy! I'm almost inclined to bring in another water fowl that will use the pond and perhaps reignite their interest in using it. Just to mention, the pond can pump it's filthy water into the tree orchard so I'm actually using the duck water as fertilizer but right now it's just a water tank, bizarre!
thanks for any help
- Steve
3 weeks ago a small goat fell into the pond and drowned. Since that day the ducks have not returned to the pond. We've drained the pond and did some modifications with a pump so it was out of commission for a week. There is no scent or odor on the pond, it's clean plastic. I filled the pond and they still won't get into it.
For the love of G-d, please don't tell me the ducks are suffering from post traumatic stress disorder and have issues with the pond having witnessed a goat drown in it; could this even be possible? I've put the ducks into the pond and they get right out immediately. I brought the little 4-foot plastic pool from their youth and filled it with water, that too they won't go in. I guess it's the goose that leads the pack but I've seen ducks in that little pool without the goose.
What could this be? I realize this is a great place for some animal psychologist to fix my ducks....but seriously, could their seeing a goat drown possibly affect them as much as a month later? It's crazy! I'm almost inclined to bring in another water fowl that will use the pond and perhaps reignite their interest in using it. Just to mention, the pond can pump it's filthy water into the tree orchard so I'm actually using the duck water as fertilizer but right now it's just a water tank, bizarre!
thanks for any help
- Steve