Duckweed from septic lagoon?

[Horsehead520]

I have a septic lagoon that is thickly covered with duckweed. By all accounts, duckweed is a great source of protein, and readily available to me.

I have also had people tell me that the top three feet of water in a septic lagoon is clean enough to drink (won't be doing that). I have a septic tank that overflows into my septic lagoon (unlikely to happen frequently as I only have two people living in a three bedroom house and believe the septic tank is large enough to accommodate five to six people).

What do we think? Is duckweed from a lagoon safe? Is it not safe from a lagoon directly linked to the house, but might be safe since I have a septic tank prior to anything flowing to the lagoon?

 

[EddieSalita]

Read what I wrote in this post regarding septic:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...r-septic-lateral-lines.1620303/#post-27678120

It's not religion. It's just good practice in my opinion to minimise pathogen risk.

Without explaining a bit more about the nature of your 'lagoon' and tank type, it's a difficult question to answer. Treatment stages and biological steps exist for a reason..... generally speaking.

It starts with an understanding of the nitrogen cycle. But also the types of pathogens that occur and their life cycles. Some bacteria, protozoa and paramecium are quite persistent, and also need to accumulate before causing obvious problems

It sounds like your lagoon is a secondary treatment receptacle. So anything growing directly on or in it could be considered at stage 2. But at some point in a living, aerated system stage two goes to stage 3. But it may be stage 3 already, depending on your septic tank type. It might be providing secondary treatment, I don't know. Does it aerate? Do other animals use this lagoon? What types of animals? Do you have an effective worming regime?

 

[Al Gerhart]

Chickens love duckweed but I'd make some shallow ponds in a semi shady area and grow it from a clean source or harvest wild duckweed. It multiplies like crazy, a handful will cover a pond in a few months. Or a kid's wading pool in a week.

 

[Horsehead520]

My lagoon is not aerated, but there are quite a few turtles and such that seem to happily live in it. I have seen a few snakes swimming through as well, but I assume they aren't there for very long. I do have a worming system, so not really concerned on that front. Mostly worried about pathogens being spread.

Harvesting wild duckweed is what I'd be doing by taking it from the lagoon, which is why the question originated. I do have a couple other small ponds on the property, but I don't want them to become overrun. My chickens are not that excited about the duckweed when I've taken some from a local lake, I just thought it would be a nice substitute for some feed overall, if it is safe. I'm not motivated enough to cover another pond entirely in duckweed.