Tevye's Dad: Rumors of my demise are greatly exaggerated.

[Tevyes Dad]

Here is one of my summer projects. It is "Ducky Dome v2.0" (DD2). The thicker PVC proved too rigid for me to bend all the way into an arc like DD1, so I had to put some angle pieces in so it actually is not a dome any more, but the name stuck. It is built on the same 15' x 30' base DD1 was.

There are several improvements over DD1.

*4 supports instead of 3.
*10 Steel wires run the entire length on the top pieces so that the tarp can not fall into the dome if it should tear free (that is what took out the first one).
*Put 2x4s along 30' side to try to battle warping in lumber (partially successful).
*Tarp Anchor strips are now structural 2x4's instead of just being held on the pvc.
*Because of the above, dome is now supported internally from front to back so it no longer needs external guy ropes.
*Clamps were fitted to the tops of the supports where they meet the PVC so there are no edges to wear on the tarp.
*Little yellow crocodile holds the entire structure in place.

Note the tarp anchor strip you see is crooked because the street side one is perfectly straight. The side away from the street was positioned to get a constant tension on the tarp and reflects all the imperfections in the pvc and the base support structure, so this is actually by design.

Ducks' favorite place in the world is lying under the bottom beams.


Edit:
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By the way, all of you out there who have a little ramp going into a house that your ducks are balking at. Look at the ramp going into this pool. 15 out of 15 ducks can navigate that ramp and none of them has fallen off of it more than once (when they were first learning). Your ducks are lying to you and trying to make you believe that going into the house is too hard because they want to stay out and play with the predators (no one ever accused ducks of having good survival instincts). The difference is my ducks WANT to go into the pool, then after a while they WANT to come out and eat. Oh and guess where their favorite preening spot is...

 

[Amiga]

Quote: I'm told it's mineral-rich!

And I am so happy to hear from you all! You must have heard me thinking of you many times! Yes, I am delighted for the update!

I have not been on as much myself, the past while, been working on projects beyond the duckstead.

There must be some big news, let me see. Didja know @Miss Lydia has Runners now? Do I recall Buffs also?

We have not gotten beyond the base for Day Pen II - so many other things to manage. The ducks do not seem to mind. No new additions since Alba and Salem.

Oh! Rowena finally molted! She has been with us for sixteen months. She's a champ. Alba and Salem lay daily, Romy developed a bit of a limp that has resolved now that I add turmeric to their food daily. The Buffs and Runners will be seven years old in three months. Bean, Hazel and Carmella spend most of their time separated from the rest due to Bean's fixation on Romy, but these days hormone levels are low, and I can take them for walks together with no incident. But unsupervised, they are in separate pens.

Thanks for checking back in, hugs all around

 

[Ravynscroft]

Amiga I was just getting ready to tag you and Miss Lydia!

 

[Amiga]

Thanks! What a delight to see photo's of Tevye and the gang

 

[Ravynscroft]

It sure is! Was just thinking of them all the other day...

 

[Tevyes Dad]

@Amiga wow! I remember you asking about the rebar on day pen ii. Sometimes those projects take longer than you'd think, or get pushed back. My secure area was supposed to be a fall '15 project, but ended up being a summer '16 project. I'm really happy with how it has turned out. I'll get some finished pics and specs up shortly. Glad all are doing well. Little limps I still call well as long as they're looked after. Ducks have no respect for their feet. They'll step on the only sharp rock in the yard, turn around and step on it again then go wipe their feet off on a thistle. That is how it seems to me anyway. Both Casey and Allie have stayed super tame... We can stoop over them and stroke their chests 2 or 3 times and they just let us - with no treats. Any more and they'll walk away, but we respect their limits and they tolerate us with no fuss. That's pretty tame for a yard duck I think.

 

[Amiga]

I trimmed the rebar with a hack saw and used a cow stomach magnet to catch filings. Took maybe half an hour.

 

[Miss Lydia]

I am excited to see @Tevyes Dad and the gang back with us.. Yep I finally did it added Runners and Buffs to my flock and love them to pieces. They add comedy to our lives.

 

[Julie Birb]

Here is one of my summer projects. It is "Ducky Dome v2.0" (DD2). The thicker PVC proved too rigid for me to bend all the way into an arc like DD1, so I had to put some angle pieces in so it actually is not a dome any more, but the name stuck. It is built on the same 15' x 30' base DD1 was.

There are several improvements over DD1.

*4 supports instead of 3.
*10 Steel wires run the entire length on the top pieces so that the tarp can not fall into the dome if it should tear free (that is what took out the first one).
*Put 2x4s along 30' side to try to battle warping in lumber (partially successful).
*Tarp Anchor strips are now structural 2x4's instead of just being held on the pvc.
*Because of the above, dome is now supported internally from front to back so it no longer needs external guy ropes.
*Clamps were fitted to the tops of the supports where they meet the PVC so there are no edges to wear on the tarp.
*Little yellow crocodile holds the entire structure in place.

Note the tarp anchor strip you see is crooked because the street side one is perfectly straight. The side away from the street was positioned to get a constant tension on the tarp and reflects all the imperfections in the pvc and the base support structure, so this is actually by design.

Ducks' favorite place in the world is lying under the bottom beams.


Edit:
--------
By the way, all of you out there who have a little ramp going into a house that your ducks are balking at. Look at the ramp going into this pool. 15 out of 15 ducks can navigate that ramp and none of them has fallen off of it more than once (when they were first learning). Your ducks are lying to you and trying to make you believe that going into the house is too hard because they want to stay out and play with the predators (no one ever accused ducks of having good survival instincts). The difference is my ducks WANT to go into the pool, then after a while they WANT to come out and eat. Oh and guess where their favorite preening spot is...

LSAKDGJA;SLDFKJ ASLDFK ASD ON THE POOL RAMP. LOOK AT HER. LOOK AT HER ROUND PUFFNESS AND HER ORANGE WEBS. SHE LOOKS SOFT, WARM, CUDDLY, KISSABLE AND CUTE.

DOES ANYONE ELSE NOTICE THE POP OF COLOR OF HER WEBS?

 

[Julie Birb]

Hello Julie, I have a dirty picture I saved just for you!

Mr. Precious is my phone's background now. I loves hims.