i was lucky enough to buy two pretty Mandarin drakes from my buddy Ryan. We have a nice area to the side of our yard that is shaded by a tree but also gets some sun. i have a great landscape guy ready to build me a pond. So my question is, how large and how deep should the pond be? Can it have a drop off or should it have like a beach for walk-in? My guy said he can put in a pump and fountain that should help circulate the water. But do i need some kind of filtration system? And then, how large should the enclosure be? i am estimating that i will be getting at least two ladies for the drakes, then probably one more pair. Would also love, love, love to see pics of what others have as their set up. Thanks so much for any help and suggestions.
Forget the filter............you will be better draining/re-filling it on a regular basis. If they are full winged birds make your pen as large as possible, with the main focus on making it easy for you to maintain it and protecting the birds from predators. Remember too, the more birds you have the less likely you will be able to keep greenery/plants surviving in it. I have alot of photos/info on the link below. giffy ------------------------ http://www.giffsfarm.com
We have a backyard pond that is kidney shaped about 40 x 60 (about 13,000 gallons) depth is 1' to about 4 1/2 foot with a rubber liner, it does have a waterfall that is about 4' wide with a 20 foot drop. The waterfall is recirculated with two pond pumps from koi joy web site and has a 4" input flow at the top. The pond is fed about 30 minutes a day or as needed with well water. There is a drain on the opposite end that allows so much water to drain out as the new comes in. In the waterfall at the top, photo doesn't show it well, is a upper hole that you can put sand, bags of carbon in to act as a built in filter. We do have some problems with algae, which is unsightly but not harmful and could use a UV sterilizer to eliminate that problem, building your pond in an area that has some shade from full sun will help reduce algae too. It has an edging of layed stone that the ducks like to get up on and sun themselves and don't seem to have a problem getting in and out of. One of these day's I'll try to get some better pics of the design of it. With this setup I seldom have to drain and clean it.
Thanks for the info. Lil_Chickadee, wowee zowee, that is a spectacular pond and waterfall. And it actually sounds like it's not too hard to maintain. giffy, i checked out your website, very nice. You know, i am concerned that if our pond just has a pump and fountain, that there will be too much solids build-up in a short amount of time. You site has a pond with a sewage type pump in it. How hard is that to set up and maintain? And where does one get such a pump? That would mean i would need to run electrical to the area, as it's not there now. My landscapers said they would just use a solar pump and spray. That would be great until we have some foggy days and then winter sets in. i want this to be nice, but not horribly expensive, and fairly easy to maintain. i suspect the most expensive part will be all the hardware cloth for the enclosure.
Filtration, filtration, filtration! LOL, you will *need* it. A solar fountain will never in a million years be enough for even two ducks, let alone eventually six. You won't ever regret having too much filtration. When you add waterfowl to a pond, plan on needing at least five times the filtration you would need in a similar pond with no waterfowl (my opinion). Keeping a pond clean is a constant battle when you add ducks to it. Unless you have a massive pond with significant filtration, you will be draining and refilling constantly. Constantly.
heheheheee i think you guys should have bought more acreage with all the animals you keep adding. How are the goats anyway? I saw those mandarin drakes on cl, very pretty. I just got two muscovy ducks... last weekend. love them but boy they are messy, i change the water constantly. i'm just going to do a small plastic pool and have a separate area where they eat with a waterer to at least keep the food out of the pool. cawoodduck raises mandarins i think, he's in the bay area but gets to citrus heights regularly to see his mom, he may have some ducklings or eggs for sale if you want to get some females. Good luck! Nancy
Quote:LOL, can you tell I'm bitter that I can never figure out how to keep a duck pond clean? LOL, I think my next pond is going be filtered with some sort of barrel sized filter!
I have read a lot about filtering duck ponds, and everything i read seems like more work and money than just draining and refilling it. My pond is 7' x 9'. Its frame is made out of 2"x 10" lumber, then i laid a pond liner in it, put a drain on one end and filled it. I drain it 2 times a week, but i just open the valve and walk away, then i go back in and wash all the crap down the drain and it all goes out into my new garden area, so everything is getting recycled and i dont have to water the plants seperately which would take up more time!! I will have mandarins for sale in the fall, things are looking good in the pen!! Thanks for the plug Nancy!! In about a month or so we may have to swap some quail eggs!! They just started laying!! take care..........Jason
Yeah, what you are describing sounds perfect. I want to do something similar eventually. Maybe even a long trough like pond that covers several runs. I want to be able to just open the drain, spray it out, and refill it. Of course, I would love a natural pond but would need a huge one for all my birds.
