Pond in a chicken run, Yes or No?

[lazy gardener]

ok thank you. This answers my question. I was not sure if chickens would swim or not. I didn't think they could drown. I guess all birds are not ducks....


we are beginner chicken people and don't know much.

so no pond then.... what do they do in the wild? I picture whole flocks of drowning chickens in some lake in the woods.

I'm glad you can see the humor in that scenario! You can bet that the flock of chickens bobbing around in the lake would have a roo named Rudy standing on the edge of the lake egging them on.

For your run, I'd like to suggest that you look into deep litter as a source of entertainment for your flock, as well as making your run more aesthetically pleasing.

 

[Peter.J]

I agree, cool idea, but i think it would end up as a train wreck. Put the pond and a fountain somewhere else where you can enjoy it.

 

[JedJackson]

You could make one outside of the run somewhere, but I wouldn't make one inside for all of the reasons already mentioned.

 

[ToniTalley]

Well, after all the naysayers have spoken, I must say that we built our coop inside the fenced in area that has a 1/3 acre pond. There has never been a problem, the chickens do drink from it, usually in the gently sloping beach area but sometimes the are in the steeper rock filled sides. They can sort of swim, lol...hubby tossed the rooster into a shallow area and he did sort of half flying, walked on water, type of swim. If it isn't too cold, I have seen them wade in ankle deep. We never have little chicks, though, and they might tumble in and drown. Never had hawk/eagle problems, the rooster does his job and gets them under the hawk cover (out on the beach area) or into the coop on the rare occasion that there is one around. What is really handy, is that the beach is made of very coarse 'sand', that is about the same consistancy as the grit you can buy. So they have a full supply of grit at all times. The whole fenced in area is large enough that poop isn't a problem, and the catfish probably would love some chicken poop as a treat, lol.

 

[Blooie]

That sounds fantastic, and I'm jealous! But there's a world of difference between a koi-type smaller pond and one that's 1/3 of an acre. A larger pond is mostly self-regulated, for lack of a better term, and nutrients, debris, and other biologics are more balanced than they are in a smaller pond in a more confined area. Our pond was much too small to maintain that healthy balance, as I found to my dismay.

 

[ToniTalley]

Very true. In fact, the reason we chose 1/3 of an acre is because it was the best size for ease of care and cost.

 

[skullgrrrl]

Unless you net the top I think you'll find its a death trap for chickens that can't swim.

 

[dpenning]

Well, after all the naysayers have spoken, I must say that we built our coop inside the fenced in area that has a 1/3 acre pond. There has never been a problem, the chickens do drink from it, usually in the gently sloping beach area but sometimes the are in the steeper rock filled sides. They can sort of swim, lol...hubby tossed the rooster into a shallow area and he did sort of half flying, walked on water, type of swim. If it isn't too cold, I have seen them wade in ankle deep. We never have little chicks, though, and they might tumble in and drown. Never had hawk/eagle problems, the rooster does his job and gets them under the hawk cover (out on the beach area) or into the coop on the rare occasion that there is one around. What is really handy, is that the beach is made of very coarse 'sand', that is about the same consistancy as the grit you can buy. So they have a full supply of grit at all times. The whole fenced in area is large enough that poop isn't a problem, and the catfish probably would love some chicken poop as a treat, lol.

I think even a 1/3 acre natural pond will have a better natural filtration than a small koi pond. My braver girls wade in the shallows too.

 

[Blooie]

FILTRATION...that's what I was looking for!! Can I write my post over again?

 

[lazy gardener]

That pond sounds wonderful. Stocked with Catfish? How much can you harvest from it? A natural pond as you describe is much different than a little "pond liner" type of pond!