Tella and Ettie like their new "diving" pool!

[Tevyes Dad]

The "kiddie pool" has area, but this one has depth!

Look how DEEP it is!!!!

 

[Miss Lydia]

The "kiddie pool" has area, but this one has depth!

Look how DEEP it is!!!!

I like that they had to show us. lol very nice.

 

[Tevyes Dad]

Right now this is exclusively used by our adult girls (2 Rouens) as the ducklings (11 various) completely took over the kiddie pool. I can't wait until the Swedish (1 black 1 blue) can negotiate and find this pool. They love diving as deep as possible!

 

[Miss Lydia]

Right now this is exclusively used by our adult girls (2 Rouens) as the ducklings (11 various) completely took over the kiddie pool. I can't wait until the Swedish (1 black 1 blue) can negotiate and find this pool. They love diving as deep as possible!

They'll love it, explain how you made the ramp going up to it please.

 

[Tevyes Dad]

It is a real simple frame with an ouside carpet over it. I will get a photo of it flipped.

 

[Miss Lydia]

It is a real simple frame with an ouside carpet over it. I will get a photo of it flipped.

Thank you, I have a stock tank but i don't like the ramp we're using. I like your set up muck better.

 

[Tevyes Dad]

Miss Lydia,

Here is a flipped over view. To tell you the truth, I didn't know if my ducks would use this at all. When I first got them I bought them a small coop for a couple hundred dollars. It was made for chickens/ducks/rabbits and had ramps that were just about as steep as this with steps on them for traction. I led them into the house of the coop several times with mealworms and they ate all the mealworms then left as soon as they were gone. To my knowledge, they never ventured into the coop on their own despite -31 degree weather over the winter. And I had a heat lamp shining in the coop for much of the winter. They just sat out in the snow where they wanted. So my first consideration on this ramp was price. If they ignored it, I would throw it out

. The surfaces are super cheap fence planks (under $2 each. I bonded them together and made two angle supports for the bend between the ramp and the platform with a single 1x4. And the rest of the support I made from a 2x4. Everything was put together with screws and the entire thing was covered with a $17 (over half the price of the project) outdoor carpet piece that was on sale at Lowes. I think it was originally 8' x 12' or something like that. Since they are actually using the ramp, I will make my next one out of better materials, and figure out a better way than staples to put the carpet on the ramp (if they managed to get them free, they could cause all kinds of problems, but since they are on the underside, I think that isn't very likely.)

Additionally, since this was just thrown together and designed on the fly with zero forethought, I set it in the gazebo where my ducks get to hide from eagles and shade from the sun. Since the stock tank mostly supported the ledge (although it sank a bit into the ground with 800lbs of water in it), I took the pvc pipe that I use to stir up the water while I am pumping it out ot the pools (to make sure most of the "good stuff" gets pumped) and put it through the sides of the gazebo to press the ledge down against the stock tank.

It isn't the most secure structure I ever built, but I will keep an eye on it, and I am pretty sure it will support a single duck for long enough to climb it.

The ducks climb up the ramp easily (because of the carpet). Sometimes jumping sideways into the pool and sometimes sliding off the ledge (as it was intended). They like exploring under the ledge which is the main reason I will probably rebuild this without the staples. Exiting the pool, I have never seen them go back up to the ledge. They either go off the side directly onto the ramp (right where the ramp crosses the lip of the tank). or they hop up on the lip of the tank nearest the door and fly (like a brick with wings) out the door and onto the ground.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Thank you so much for sharing that with me, you did a great job putting it all together, you must have some pretty good building skills. I'd have to get my dh or son to help with that project, actually I would be helper. and your description of how they get out especially fly like a brick with wings is hilarious, and so true that's just the way they look.

Have a question though, is your area covered you have your ducks in? since you mentioned they don't use their house don't you worry about predators? I picture Montana being so rugged the grisly's would be coming up to the house. We have alot of preds I couldn't leave my flock outside one night with out tragedy.

Thanks again for sharing.

 

[Tevyes Dad]

Oops, I forgot my second picture which also addresses the predators somewhat:

Non-flying predators haven't been a problem so far. We have CCTV all over the property, so anytime there is a disturbance outside, we can whip out our phones and see what the problem is. Usually it's that pesky sun showing up or disappearing.

We do have bald eagles / gold eagles / red-tailed hawks / turkey vultures. The ducks have two (soon to be three) of these gazebos to hide under plus I am working on a duck house. They are close to our actual house and our daily activities also keep the eagles at bay. Also we have large raven and magpie populations and as long as they don't get to the eggs they actually help keep the eagles at bay. I have only heard of problems with ravens / magpies getting eggs or very small ducklings which will hopefully be taken care of by the duck house. (So far we lost two eggs to magpies), but the girls are pretty good at moving/hiding their nests in the long grass and we try to collect them pretty early. Probably the biggest help to keeping the eagles away is that we are in the middle of a bunch of 20+ acre cattle ranches where there are tons of prairie dogs which means usually the eagles are full.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Oops, I forgot my second picture which also addresses the predators somewhat:

Non-flying predators haven't been a problem so far. We have CCTV all over the property, so anytime there is a disturbance outside, we can whip out our phones and see what the problem is. Usually it's that pesky sun showing up or disappearing.

We do have bald eagles / gold eagles / red-tailed hawks / turkey vultures. The ducks have two (soon to be three) of these gazebos to hide under plus I am working on a duck house. They are close to our actual house and our daily activities also keep the eagles at bay. Also we have large raven and magpie populations and as long as they don't get to the eggs they actually help keep the eagles at bay. I have only heard of problems with ravens / magpies getting eggs or very small ducklings which will hopefully be taken care of by the duck house. (So far we lost two eggs to magpies), but the girls are pretty good at moving/hiding their nests in the long grass and we try to collect them pretty early. Probably the biggest help to keeping the eagles away is that we are in the middle of a bunch of 20+ acre cattle ranches where there are tons of prairie dogs which means usually the eagles are full.

I like that setup for your tank. sounds like you have it under control. But where's the grisly's? lol