How big of a swim area?

[flynntheduck]

I am starting to think about swimming areas for my 2 ducks and don't know how big I need. My ducks are about 10 days old now but want to get started on making them a pond. We will not be getting more ducks. Just these two. One is a Rouen and the other is a Runner. We are wanting to go simple but not a kiddy pool (my husband says they are tacky looking) so we are looking at getting one of those black plastic trough/buckets from tractor supply. We are thinking about burying it partially. How deep should it be? How big around? We really have no idea where to start! Thanks for the help!

 

[SlipsWife]

This year is our first with ducks. We just let them play in a plastic pond we bought at Home Depot last year that use to be for our turtle. We won't be putting it into the ground because I'm wanting it to be easy to dump. Hopefully we'll figure out a way to build a ramp or deck area where they can get in easily. Today we just put them in. They used the shallow part to stand on and groom themselves, the middle is deeper.


I don't think it will be big enough long term for the 4, but I think it would be perfect for 2.

 

[flynntheduck]

Oh I like that one!

 

[flynntheduck]

If we bury it we will get a pump to pump the water out.

 

[SlipsWife]

If we bury it we will get a pump to pump the water out.

I had thought about that too. It would make things easier than having to build a way to give them access. We had it buried for the turtle but didn't keep it long enough to get a pump. I think an underwater light would be fun too.

 

[imtc]

I have an old garden bathtub we took,out of our house I am in the process of converting into a swim area for mine. It is more of a pond shape....wide and oval with a sitting area making it slightly triangular. It is made of plastic (possibly PVC?) so was easy to cut with an electric saw. I cut it down to about 2 ft deep and plan to bury it as level to the ground as I can. It also has the tub drain where I plan to put a drain pipe with a cut off valve that has a hose attached where I can drain it directly into my garden to water and fertilize my plants. Oh, and I also sprayed the inside with that black rubber sealant to hopefully make it more outdoor durable and less obvious when the water is dirty where it's not against a white tub.

 

[JacksonC]

I used to have a buried pond for my ducks but found that draining the water out was troublesome once it got packed with mud, lol. I ended up finding a square plastic pond and built a deck around it for them to get in and out. I think it looks a lot nicer than a buried pond, but everyone will have a different opinion.

 

[SlipsWife]

I used to have a buried pond for my ducks but found that draining the water out was troublesome once it got packed with mud, lol. I ended up finding a square plastic pond and built a deck around it for them to get in and out. I think it looks a lot nicer than a buried pond, but everyone will have a different opinion.

Do you have any photos of your setup? I know before we had ducks i saw lots of cute ideas but now i cant find any!

 

[TLWR]

I built my ducks a pond with landscape timbers and a liner.

this is my pond build
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/496237/building-a-pond-step-by-step-mostly-complete-post71

 

[JacksonC]

Do you have any photos of your setup? I know before we had ducks i saw lots of cute ideas but now i cant find any!

I'm sure my wife does, I'll ask her when she gets home from work in the morning.