How to secure a pond

[WannaBeHillBilly]

Hi All,

i have this beautiful, semi-natural pond on my property and would love to use it for my duckies:
Semi-natural? - It fills up naturally with rainwater - that's why it is looking so muddy on one picture - but has an artificial overflow that drains into a small creek.
Here is the catch: The pond sits right at the edge of my forest and i do not know what else but deer, turkey, quail and squirrels is in there. Also the walls of the pond are very steep - one of the previous owners drowned in it - so the duckies would need some kind of a ramp to climb out.
Fencing around would be difficult as the wooded side is a swamp (duck paradise!) and a deer path is just on the left side, meaning a fence would have to be deer prove. If i span a fence across the pond, would the ducks dive through under it?

Also i am not sure what is living in that pond, i have seen little fishies and frogs. There is another pond on the other side of the mountain with snapper turtles inside, more like a mud-hole, and i'm not sure if those duck cripplers are also present here.

Suggestions and recommendations very welcome.

 

[Miss Lydia]

I’d just let them keep enjoying their kiddy pools lol the pond sounds like more trouble than it’s worth let the wildlife enjoy it.

 

[snow5164]

I agree with @Miss Lydia , I’d be concerned about what they catch in there .... too many risks in my mind

 

[True Patriot]

Securing a pond is quite a task. First you have to decide what you're keeping out. If just the big animals a 4-5 strand electric fence will be sufficient. Welded wire will also work. The turtles you will just have to fish out when they show up. They're very small when they migrate and will fit through almost any fence. They are native to your area and likely are there or will show up.

 

[chickens really]

My Pal put up welded fence panels and it helped but not 100% secure..Definitely helped though.

 

[snow5164]

What a shame to put metal panels up in such a beautiful pond site ,

Electric fence 5-6 strands is not cheap or fool proof , it won’t work well with grass on the lines...

What do you think @WannaBeHillBilly

 

[CrystaBub]

I agree with @Miss Lydia - sounds like a lot more trouble than it's worth... I suppose it's possible to clean it up and let them have 'supervised' special treat swim time in it occasionally, but I'd still be worried about snappers and poisonous/decayed things - I doubt you'll ever get the water clear enough to see the bottom since it's so deep..... And my morbid curiosity - how in the world did someone drown in it???? That's horrible!

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

I agree with @Miss Lydia - sounds like a lot more trouble than it's worth... I suppose it's possible to clean it up and let them have 'supervised' special treat swim time in it occasionally, but I'd still be worried about snappers and poisonous/decayed things - I doubt you'll ever get the water clear enough to see the bottom since it's so deep..... And my morbid curiosity - how in the world did someone drown in it???? That's horrible!

When we bought the property last December we were told by the realtor that the previous owner had a little too much »moonshine«, fell in and drowned; he could not swim. I have not been near the pond, though i can swim, i don't know how deep the pond actually is. There is nothing like a »bottom«, it is just a natural depression in the ground that has filled up with water. I poked a 2x2 in, could feel more and more resistance the deeper i pushed it and then had a really hard time to pull it out again. The water quality is fine, if there was no heavy rain, there is plenty of vegetation growing inside - no algae - and lot's of interesting stuff growing around - cattail, willows. And lot's of life as i wrote little fishies, toads, frogs - it was full of tadpoles ins spring, had i had my duckies they would very likely have exploded during the first day…
Supervised playtime sounds like a goof idea, but i'd like to build a little pier or a bridge first for better access. - Project for the winter time.

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

Securing a pond is quite a task. First you have to decide what you're keeping out. If just the big animals a 4-5 strand electric fence will be sufficient. Welded wire will also work. The turtles you will just have to fish out when they show up. They're very small when they migrate and will fit through almost any fence. They are native to your area and likely are there or will show up.

Electric Fence together with water sounds like »Ol' smokey« - don't get me wrong, i like fried chicken, but my duckies... nah!

 

[CrystaBub]

When we bought the property last December we were told by the realtor that the previous owner had a little too much »moonshine«, fell in and drowned; he could not swim.
.

. Wow!!!!