Old Updates and New Friends

[revans2003]

Happy new year BYC!!!!!

It has been a busy couple of weeks for the ducks and their home.

The small pond went through a major overhaul, I leveled it out with the ground, added an 85 gallon filtration system and added some river stone and a baby palm tree for ambiance. The palm tree is now the favorite water fowl chew toy

Welshy is sitting under one of the palm frawn in the picture but don't let her fool you, she started chomping on that frawn the second I put the phone away.



You may be asking why six ducks stuffed themselves into a small pond when they know DARN well that I spent countless hours building a large duck pond. Well......the answer is.......they're ducks??

The big pond is nearly finished. It has a 35 gallon filtration system and bigger palm trees and more rocks for ambiance. This is the pond that no one is going near, because.....well...they're ducks.



This was the ducks Christmas dinner. I got the idea from a post on this forum but I cant find it. It is a half pumpkin, roasted and filled with grower crumbles. YUM!

The run is getting closer to finished. The rear wall is 10 feet high and re-enforced with hardware cloth. The roof is a combination of hardware cloth and galvanized fencing.



You eagle eyed water fowl experts may be wondering who those three Pekins are running around in that last picture when you know darn well I only have baby Pekins. Well, that the new friends part

A member on the board who lived nearby needed to re-home his ducks, so I am now the proud owner of three adult Pekins. They are a bit nervous, as you would expect, but are very sweet and will have a very happy home

 

[Amiga]

Wowza, very newsy news!

Bravo, bravo, bravo!!!!!

We are just beginning to do the build part for Day Pen II. We only have a couple of hours on our best days lately - but we finally have the groundwork done, and picked up the lumber for the base, and all the hardware cloth.

Now, once we are feeling a little more perky (between some ugly head colds and the holidays and some other draining events, energy levels are low right now), I expect we'll get the pen built pretty quickly. I plan to have coated hardware cloth along the base, so I am still sorting out what to do for swim pans. No more lifting and dumping - I want something with a drain. So I plan to review your posts and lift ideas

 

[revans2003]

Wowza, very newsy news!
Bravo, bravo, bravo!!!!!

We are just beginning to do the build part for Day Pen II.  We only have a couple of hours on our best days lately - but we finally have the groundwork done, and picked up the lumber for the base, and all the hardware cloth.

Now, once we are feeling a little more perky (between some ugly head colds and the holidays and some other draining events, energy levels are low right now), I expect we'll get the pen built pretty quickly.  I plan to have coated hardware cloth along the base, so I am still sorting out what to do for swim pans.  No more lifting and dumping - I want something with a drain.  So I plan to review your posts and lift ideas 

Awesome! Let me know if you have any questions. A word of advice on drains.......if you are attaching a drain to a flat surface (like the bottom of a pan/pool) bulkhead fittings are the way to go. If you are attaching to a curved surface (like the side of a pan) then you will want uniseals.

On my old setup my 1" drain would consistently clog with duck poo, so I recommend a 1.5 or 2" drain.

 

[Amiga]

Awesome! Let me know if you have any questions. A word of advice on drains.......if you are attaching a drain to a flat surface (like the bottom of a pan/pool) bulkhead fittings are the way to go. If you are attaching to a curved surface (like the side of a pan) then you will want uniseals.

On my old setup my 1" drain would consistently clog with duck poo, so I recommend a 1.5 or 2" drain.

I have been planning on using a 4 inch Schedule 40 pipe, since I have seen nothing, in years of working with livestock watering troughs, that will choke that up.

 

[revans2003]

I have been planning on using a 4 inch Schedule 40 pipe, since I have seen nothing, in years of working with livestock watering troughs, that will choke that up.

I think the drain would eat a duck or two and not choke up

 

[Amiga]

Well, while the ducks are in the swim pan I was planning on having a plug in the drain . . . . and no, I don't mind reaching in and unplugging the drain….. I have some nice gloves to wear for that task.

 

[revans2003]

Well, while the ducks are in the swim pan I was planning on having a plug in the drain . . . . and no, I don't mind reaching in and unplugging the drain….. I have some nice gloves to wear for that task.

For sure! I was just teasing, that is a solid plan!

 

[Amiga]

That's why I put the winky face on my reply! The spectre of the drain swallowing a duck was chilling, though...

No duckies in the pool when it's draining! It's the law!!!!