mud

[lynnegobioff]

I've had my ducks about 4 months now and am getting used the them - as they are me. I have a nice area for them to run with two separate pools, their own house, and lots of shade. I am looking for advice on two areas: first - the dirt has caked up into hard soil with being constantly doused with water. What can I plant that would keep things a little more green and eliminate the muddy areas? Second: I would love to build them a pond but I'm concerned about the filteration system as, back to the mud, they are very messy - anyone have any suggestions on this? Thanks! Lynne

 

[Amiga]

Lynne, my solution with my Runners and Buffs is to get a nice, horizontal compost/mulch base going. This improves the soil underneath, and even brings in worms that the ducks can hunt for, right in their pen. It prevents odor as well.

To manage water, I dump into a corner of the pen that is at the lowest point, and along the side of the pen begins a shallow channel to a garden area, so that by dumping the used water, I am watering and fertilizing gardens in one step.

 

[lynnegobioff]

Thank you for your reply - I thought of mulch - I may look into that - do you have snow where you are? I was concerned trying to clear snow with mulch underneath -

BTW I saw your book - Love it! I'm going to get a copy - I just finished a mystery that I'm trying to find an agent for so thumbs up for authors!

Best,

Lynne

 

[cayugaducklady]

I was going to post a similar question myself.

I've been looking at plants to for our in-progress permanent pen.

Right now I have a mix of green cover crop planted in there. The ducks have had a blast harvesting the oats and nibbling pea shoots as they ripened and hiding in the taller native grasses in that mix.

Around the edges of the pen I was thinking of trying some of the native grasses in my area like Big or Little bluestem so they'll have a place to snuggle around and hide when they want to.

I might try microclover since it is wet and drought tolerate, takes trampling well and is evergreen.

For the area around their stock pond I was looking at planting wetland tolerant plants or a hunter's mix of flood tolerant seed.

I don't think we can do a compost mulch layer due to the placement of our pen. But I will think about that and see if it works. I'd love for them to be able to hunt worms in the safety of their pen while we're at work .

 

[Amiga]

Thank you for your reply - I thought of mulch - I may look into that - do you have snow where you are? I was concerned trying to clear snow with mulch underneath -

BTW I saw your book - Love it! I'm going to get a copy - I just finished a mystery that I'm trying to find an agent for so thumbs up for authors!

Best,

Lynne

Glad to hear you are writing! I need to clear the calendar for some more writing - that's a winter time task. This time of year it's gardens and ducks and bluegrass music and a couple of other important matters.

I shovel snow off the mulch, yes I do. It's not that hard. I shovel it down to where I can see the mulch, and then I sprinkle another couple of inches of material on top. If we have a very snowy winter, there are just a few small areas that get shoveled, and then I take used bedding from the night pen and toss that on top of the snow, for a more comfortable platform. Some days there is no point in even filling the swim pans, but I know to empty them in the afternoon. One year, I kept getting sidetracked at the end of the day and I ended up with a stack of giant ice cubes from the swim pans.

 

[Amiga]

@cayugaducklady my Runners enjoy the comfrey I planted right next to the outside of their pen - they eat the leaves through the fence (they also like the hosta planted a little too close to the pen). They enjoy the leaves of the hardy kiwi, a lovely vine that can make a living structure (needs strong supports). We have a grotto that is kiwi over cedar posts. The ducks like to hang out there when it's warm and sunny - and when I am near enough to keep watch.

I grab handfuls of smartweed, lamb's quarter, amaranth, and other goodies and toss them into the day pen or swim pan to play with.

 

[jennifleur]

I have been reading about purslane alot lately. It's an edible weed that's very common. It grows like a weed and people often spend hugh amounts of time and effort getting rid of it when they should be eating it. It's high in vitamin E, essential omega-3 fatty acid, vitamin C, magnesium, riboflavin, potassium and phosphorus. Might be a good addition to the micro clover.

Yarrow is worth looking into also. Widely considered toxic and shows up on almost every toxic to animals list. People need to remember that many of the toxic lists are not based on scientific studies of the individual plants, but often hearsay and legend.

http://plants.usda.gov/plantguide/pdf/pg_acmio.pdf

This is an interesting study by the usda on yarrow. in it you'll find yarrow is a important food source for some birds such as the sage grouse. As well as other animals like, Bighorn sheep, pronghorn antelope and deer. Yarrow is often also found in bird nests, such as the common starling. It inhibits the growth of parasites in nests.

A few reasons you might use yarrow for ducks.
1. It is something they don't normally eat. A plus if you want to help keep an area green. I have no experience with ducks eating it, at all.
2. Yarrow is very hardy and is used as lawn substitute. will stand up to foot traffic.
3. Yarrow has wound healing abilities. Staunching flow of blood from wounds. As an anti-inflammatory, pain relief and astringent. Duck feet are vunrable to injuries.
4. It's a soft fuzzy place to lay or walk on. Web foot friendly
5. It repells certain insects. US Army studies show its much better than Deet for mosquitos, sand fleas and ticks for example.
6. Attracts many "good" insects
7. easy to grow, drought tolerant, poor soil

 

[cayugaducklady]

I did some more reading about plants last night too.

Purslane is an excellent idea. Fun fact it sold for $12/lb last yearat the farmers market near us. And it grows as a weed on that producer's farm.

I'm thinking of adding watercress and english plantain ( if i can find seed) into their duck yard as well. Both will grow in wet soil and english plantain has a reputation for growing anywhere other things cant. Historically it was used a forage for sheep pastures.