Looking for a Duck Pond Photo/Thread

[Scott]

There was a thread on here some time ago... I think it had to do with duck ponds. At any rate, someone had made a natural duck pond by simply digging a hole in there field and letting it fill with rain water. It was a small pond though, probaby no more than 10 or 12 feet wide. They had posted a photo of it. It was just in a field with trees in the background. The pond had a natural bank with grass, no rocks or anything. I have searched and search and can not find that post. Does anyone know where that post is? I want to make a pond similar to that one for an aviary for my wild ducks. I even think I contacted the person who posted the photo... perhaps they will see this post.

 

[CMV]

Check out Wifezilla's story. It's a great read. https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=146829&p=1

 

[Wifezilla]

Mine isn't a natural pond though.

There are 2 ways to create a natural pond. Plastic sheet liner or bentonite clay.

If I remember that thread I think they had bentonite....possibly the soil was naturally high in bentonite.

 

[Scott]

Quote:
They didnt mention using bentonite clay. They literally dug a large hole and water held... like a miniature farm pond. Perhaps they used a backhoe... I dunno.

 

[1lpoock]

Did you already delete the PMs maybe it's still in there?

 

[WadeMD]

Most soils will not hold water - so digging a hole will rarely ever work. If a depression exists that has a substrate that would hold water, it will probably already hold water (at least when it rains) for extended periods of time. I used a pond liner and the neighbor brought over his backhoe...

 

[1lpoock]

This guy had two posts about his pond and said he dug it with a backhoe and the water just held. However, both the posts have pics but the pictures don't work

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=174194

 

[Wifezilla]

If the water "just held", his soil has got to have a certain component that is clay. Otherwise the water will just slowly seep away. I know about bentonite specifically because it is in a lot of soil out here in Colorado. You can have your soil tested. I think it is called a perk test?

Wade, nice reflecting pool you made for your doggie

 

[chickboss]

I agree, the only way soil is going to hold water is if it has a ton of clay. We have a dug pond that holds all year, but the clay in the soils here are extremely high. Like so high that when you tell the locals that you tried to put in fence posts in the summer they just laugh at you. It is like trying to run a auger through brick. In fact, even with a two man auger, we would go down a few inches and just stop. The surface of the hole looked like shined pottery. We had to soak the holes and in the worst places it would take two days for the water to absorb enough, so that we could drill another few inches and then stop. I have a book somewhere that tells about how to find clay deposits, what to look for ect. withot excavating your entire property. I could look it up, or you may find what you need on the web.

 

[WadeMD]

Quote:
Yeah, that pond isn't so shiney and clear anymore! A week after the ducks were in it full time, it burst into bright green algae. The white feathers on the duck's chests are now stained a pukey green/yellow from all the algae. But, they are very happy in their enclosure and spend 95% of their time messing in the pond. They especially like to go bobbing for earthworms in the bottom after a rain - one of the runners is a superb diver, and zooms around the bottom snapping them up.