Pomeranian Goose Breed Thread

[Going Bhonkers]

So, how deep is your pond Bhonkers? I don't know if the shrubs bother them or not. I have some Blueberry and Goumi Berry bushes on the bank of our larger one. Both the ducks and geese love to go lay under the bushes during the day. Ours aren't horribly thick though, so I don't know if that is why your geese don't like it or not? Maybe if you trimmed them and removed every third one or something it would help. Goofy geese....try to give them something nice and they turn their picky little bills up at it: Go figure.

Our pond needs some serious work (at least thats what I think). It was dug in 2003 by the builders when they were elevating the grounds of what would become our house. Over time it has kind of filled in. I would describe it as bowl shaped, with the deepest part in the middle being maybe 4 feet? It cant be very deep seeing as it dries up every winter, and overflows in the summer. Its located near the back of our property.

Here's the view from the goose coop

Those bush looking things are some kind of tree/ shrub. The majority of their leaves fall into the pond and I think thats what makes the water look so dark (maybe that scares my geese?)

Here's a closer view


Here's a view from the back

and, see all the vegetation growing in the middle of the pond? That might be another sign that its not deep enough

And from the side


Do your ponds dry up at all? (and maybe you can throw in another Pom pic to keep this on the thread topic

)

 

[1MrsMagoo]

Our pond needs some serious work (at least thats what I think). It was dug in 2003 by the builders when they were elevating the grounds of what would become our house. Over time it has kind of filled in. I would describe it as bowl shaped, with the deepest part in the middle being maybe 4 feet? It cant be very deep seeing as it dries up every winter, and overflows in the summer. Its located near the back of our property.

Here's the view from the goose coop

Those bush looking things are some kind of tree/ shrub. The majority of their leaves fall into the pond and I think thats what makes the water look so dark (maybe that scares my geese?)

Here's a closer view


Here's a view from the back

and, see all the vegetation growing in the middle of the pond? That might be another sign that its not deep enough

And from the side


Do your ponds dry up at all? (and maybe you can throw in another Pom pic to keep this on the thread topic

)

Bhonkers:

You can tell it isn't very deep by the photo with the coop circled: That looks like grass coming up through the middle. Also, if it were very deep, it would not dry out completely. Do you know if the water is just evaporating or if the pond is seeping/leaking water out? If it is the first you are okay, if it is the second, you may need to line it to keep the water in, which can be expensive.

I can't believe the geese won't go in it at all though. After it rains, if we have any large puddles, they go kick the ducks out and take the puddles for themselves.

If it were my pond, I would enlarge a bit and deepen it. We have a tractor with a loader and that is how we originally dug the pond. If your pond dries up for a couple months you could deepen and enlarge it then if you have, or know anybody who has a mid-sized tractor with a loader (recommend filling the tires with water to give the tractor more weight for moving dirt). However, to deepen and enlarge a pond that is not dried out, you would need a backhoe. Where I am located, I can get a guy and his equipment here for 10 hours for $500 (He also has a bulldozer and we are going to get him to push back the tree line in the woods in a spot or three). Yes, $500 is a lot, but I need the stumps taken out where we have cut the smaller trees out and moved the woods back: We need to push the woods as far away from my pasture fence as possible to clear a large area between the woods and fence: This will discourage the fox and bobcats from entering the pasture (we still haven't caught any of them...only raccoons in our traps).

I would cut the shrubs all down on one side of the pond. Now I don't know on which cardinal directions the sides of the pond with the growth are located. If they are on the east- west sides, just cut the east, but if north-south, I would cut the south side. Cutting the south allows the most winter sun (south) to reach the water to warm it. While leaving the other north side alone they will shade part of the pond during the summer (not much but a bit).

My ponds have not dried since we installed them: We have very heavy clay soil. However, the water levels do drop several inches during the summer if we go an extended period without rain. To that end, we have run water lines to both ponds. We will let the water run for 4-6 hours on the smaller pond to fill it and overflow it (flush it out). The larger pond takes an entire day. Now, we have a well, so our only expense is the electricity: This wouldn't be feasible if we were on city water and forced to pay for the water itself. Even during the hottest summer months when the air is on nearly 24 hours a day and we are running irrigation to the gardens, and filling the ponds our electric bill has never been over $235.00. We are on a small Co-op, so the rates are very good, unlike our neighbors to the south who are on Cleco and Entergy. I have seen their electric bills: Ouch.

I don't have any new Pom pictures this morning....I will have to get one, or somebody else is going to have to share.

 

[Going Bhonkers]

I agree with your analysis completely! I'm pretty sure the water evaporates. Will definitely have to wait until it dries up to deepen it. Its looking like an eye sore with those bushes running wild, and if my geese wont get in, at least it will be prettier to look at. My geese love puddles, they love their blue container pools, I got them a small kiddie pool for when the pond dries up (obviously I made the purchase before I realized they were afraid of the pond) and when they tried that out, they loved it too. I dont know what it is, they'll go in to the edge of the pond, but wont go in. Dont they realize they there's more room for swimming there?!

 

[1MrsMagoo]

I agree with your analysis completely! I'm pretty sure the water evaporates. Will definitely have to wait until it dries up to deepen it. Its looking like an eye sore with those bushes running wild, and if my geese wont get in, at least it will be prettier to look at. My geese love puddles, they love their blue container pools, I got them a small kiddie pool for when the pond dries up (obviously I made the purchase before I realized they were afraid of the pond) and when they tried that out, they loved it too. I dont know what it is, they'll go in to the edge of the pond, but wont go in. Dont they realize they there's more room for swimming there?!

Its odd they won't enter. Their aren't any nasty snakes or other critters in there that you know of? I mean, its not like an alligator could hide in it....you'd see its back...lol!

Silly geese. Maybe they just like having their "maid" put fresh water in their swimming pool for them. When they go to the edge of the pond to check it, they discover housekeeping skipped it, so go back to their "fresh" swimming area.....

 

[Going Bhonkers]

Its odd they won't enter. Their aren't any nasty snakes or other critters in there that you know of? I mean, its not like an alligator could hide in it....you'd see its back...lol!

Silly geese. Maybe they just like having their "maid" put fresh water in their swimming pool for them. When they go to the edge of the pond to check it, they discover housekeeping skipped it, so go back to their "fresh" swimming area.....

Its got to be because the pond is too dirty. These geese...

 

[mschlumb]

Could it be your pond water is stagnant and they dont like the taste of the water? If the water is shallow and it has that much organic material in it, I wonder is there is a heavy bacteria load and they may not like the taste. I could be wrong, just a thought. Or they're just weird.....I have seen and owned plenty of weirdo animals lol.

 

[1MrsMagoo]

Could it be your pond water is stagnant and they dont like the taste of the water? If the water is shallow and it has that much organic material in it, I wonder is there is a heavy bacteria load and they may not like the taste. I could be wrong, just a thought. Or they're just weird.....I have seen and owned plenty of weirdo animals lol.

Weirdo animals make us weirdo humans feel a tad more normal.....

 

[mschlumb]

Weirdo animals make us weirdo humans feel a tad more normal.....

Haha, I guess they do!

 

[tillyita]

Are Poms able to fly - or should they be able to fly?

 

[1MrsMagoo]

I've seen footage of them flying in Europe, but the best mine can do here in SE Louisiana is two feet off the ground for short distances.