Keeping standing water clean

[Goosebaby]

Some more information on the subject.

https://extension.psu.edu/barley-straw-for-algae-control


It’s seems like a good idea but something to consider is that any time you’re keeping wet or damp organic material like straw around you’re also creating your own Aspergillosis grow, the risk of illness is then higher especially if sunlight isn’t a daily guarantee to dry everything out and the animals are kept in a smaller space where used decomposing straw is nearby.

 

[Leader Bee]

So not as entirely safe for animals as the poster claimed then. Oh well. I'll just have to stick to covering the pool when not in use.

 

[Goosebaby]

So not as entirely safe for animals as the poster claimed then. Oh well. I'll just have to stick to covering the pool when not in use.

It really depends on your setup and climate.

I’m in California and if I were down in the valley with our hot dry summers it would probably be something I would do if I had a pond/large pool for the geese. And keep the used straw in a compost heap at the other end of the property than my geese like I do anyway.
But I’m in the mountains on the north side of the hill above a stream. The summers get pretty hot and it dries out during the day but the moisture comes up from the creek at night, so it never really bakes out, so any left over damp bedding and compost are a health risk because of Asper and aflatoxins so I keep them on the other side of the property, intentionally submerging straw into water isn’t something I would personally do where I am.

It’s easier and safer to clean out buckets and pools every day and I have to do it anyway considering how much mud and rocks my ducks and geese dump into everything anyway, the straw won’t clean that out, it just prevents algae growth.

 

[iturnknobs]

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.

I have a 200 gallon pool. It's AWFUL and needs to be emptied every 3 days. I let them swim in a 300 gallon koi pond I have and they destroyed it and the pump/filter. Killed the fish. Death by zoomies. They never even bit them. No more access for the murder chickens(Spanish slang translation from what I've heard).

 

[TheAlrightyGina]

I have a 200 gallon pool. It's AWFUL and needs to be emptied every 3 days. I let them swim in a 300 gallon koi pond I have and they destroyed it and the pump/filter. Killed the fish. Death by zoomies. They never even bit them. No more access for the murder chickens(Spanish slang translation from what I've heard).

What is Spanish slang for murder chicken? I must know!

 

[Goosebaby]

Are you talking about cobra chickens?

 

[Isadora]

Are you talking about cobra chickens?

That's what I've always heard.