Keeping standing water clean

[Leader Bee]

I just got a huge 220 Litre pool for my birdies because it's getting a pain having to bath them all the time; It's going to sit outside and I wondered if there was anything that I could put in it that was non-toxic and safe for my geese that would keep the water cleaner for longer???

 

[Chickensandhorsesforlife]

My water gets gross, and it is only a gallon!

 

[Leader Bee]

Haha, but it's easier just to tip out and re-fill when it's barely a bucketfull.

 

[Chickensandhorsesforlife]

true.

 

[Goosebaby]

There’s nothing you can do, I’d hesitate to add anything to the water that keeps it cleaner, it probably isn’t healthy. I have a few baby pools for my geese and I just have to tip them periodically, sometimes more often depending on what mood the geese are in. Sometimes they can go a few days, other times it’s an hour.

This is Darby & Strawberry, I had cleaned and refilled the pool just two hours before. https://www.instagram.com/p/B82Ul2knNP5/?igshid=1jkywgkk8xxy1

 

[Leader Bee]

Oh good grief! Haha it doesnt even look like water until you see the ripples

 

[Goosebaby]

Oh good grief! Haha it doesnt even look like water until you see the ripples

They were quite proud of their creation

 

[Leader Bee]

As they should be! Good job geese.

 

[The goose girl]

I use a relatively small and low masonry/cement mixing tub (70 or 80 litres) and fill it with 50 litres of water. It's a bit less water to carry than a kiddie pool and it's sturdy and easy to tip. I change the water every or every other day.

I don't think you can keep a 220 litre pool even remotely clean unless you install a giant pond filter. And no matter what you add to the water it would be no match against the massive amount of goose poop it would collect in no time at all.

I also have a small pond for my two geese. It's about 3.000 litres, and I have a koi pond pump running all year plus usually a filter during the summer. It has tubs with sturdy plants and waterweeds, and all that combined keeps the water pretty fresh. It doesn't always look very appetizing; lots of algaes during summer, but salamanders and dragonflies breed there every year. The geese use it mainly for swimming; they prefer the tub for bathing.

 

[Leader Bee]

I saw a post on facebook about people keeping their chickens water cleaner for longer and wondered if it was true?

"Barely straw bale. Put it in the water and as it decomposes it sucks up the oxygen. Algae can’t grow. Perfectly safe for animals. They make barely extract too."