The Duck Thread

[JanetMarie]

Hi there
Thank you.
I love ducks (and hens) but my ducks live longer
Yes the pond will be on my property maybe only 7 foot by 7 foot.
Not too big but it's big enough
What do you think? It it big enough
I will be starting the pond project after Christmas.
Thank you
Fionn.

I have noticed in the making of our ponds, that the tendency is to go bigger than previously planned. We started with a 50 gallon pre-formed liner, now we have two ponds connected by a waterfall that hold about 5,000 gallon water total.

 

[ChickenGrass]

Thanks for the reply.
Wow that it a huge pond.
Do you think that a 6x6 foot bond would be big enough?
I was thinking of making its 8x8 foot instead but is it worth it
Thanks
Fionn.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Thanks for the reply.
Wow that it a huge pond.
Do you think that a 6x6 foot bond would be big enough?
I was thinking of making its 8x8 foot instead but is it worth it
Thanks
Fionn.

I would go as large as you can ducks can muck up a pond pretty quick.

 

[ChickenGrass]

Ok thank you,
I will see how big I can go
Fionn.

 

[Chicken Egg 17]

There is no plastic or liner.   We pump water from one of our stock tanks to fill it up. I don't mind you asking but honestly I don't know.  My DH and brother in law did all of the digging with a back hoe and tractor and they used rocks from our back pastures.  The pump is an old used swimming pool pump.  My DH says if we were to pay for the digging it would have cost around 3,000.

No liner.  Do you have a filter?  Ours is still a work in progress.  The top part is the original that was dug deeper when we dug the bottom part. For some reason, the bottom isn't holding water.  Would love to see pictures of yours

X2

X2  Good luck and keep us posted if you can.

Thanks we have a few old pool pumps that still work, so I will think about that and was also thinking of making a gravity fed filter. But I just don't see how the water stays in your pond, do you have water running to it from your stock tank constantly or do you have a valve that you turn when the water starts to get low? We have a lot of clay that would keep water but it wouldn't hold for very long I don't think. And if I need help digging my cousin has a crawler that he used to dig for his basement. And my uncle has a tractor we could use also. Thanks again

 

[Ren2014]

Thanks we have a few old pool pumps that still work, so I will think about that and was also thinking of making a gravity fed filter. But I just don't see how the water stays in your pond, do you have water running to it from your stock tank constantly or do you have a valve that you turn when the water starts to get low? We have a lot of clay that would keep water but it wouldn't hold for very long I don't think. And if I need help digging my cousin has a crawler that he used to dig for his basement. And my uncle has a tractor we could use also. Thanks again

We only pump water into it when it gets low. When we dug the first shallow one, my DH said it was all of the duck poop at the bottom that was what caused it to hold water, lol. We have a clay/black soil mix. If we were to do it over again, I would go with a liner simply to protect the edges from the ducks. The bottom part has no protection and the ducks are making it the size they want, lol.
That's great you have your cousin and uncle. I can't wait to see pictures and to hear more about your gravity fed filter.

 

[Ren2014]

Interesting. Our lower clay lined pond held water last year, but this spring noticed it would not, so instead of making the clay thicker, decided to just get a liner, and dug it much bigger. There's no filter. I need to get some updated pics, since just re-arranging flagstones on the waterfall, then I'll post a picture.

How does the water hold up with out a filter? Deeper definitely makes a difference. Can't wait to see your pictures.

I have noticed in the making of our ponds, that the tendency is to go bigger than previously planned. We started with a 50 gallon pre-formed liner, now we have two ponds connected by a waterfall that hold about 5,000 gallon water total.

X2

Thanks for the reply.
Wow that it a huge pond.
Do you think that a 6x6 foot bond would be big enough?
I was thinking of making its 8x8 foot instead but is it worth it
Thanks
Fionn.

I would go as large as you can ducks can muck up a pond pretty quick.

X2 and as deep as you can.

 

[Chicken Egg 17]

We only pump water into it when it gets low.  When we dug the first shallow one, my DH said it was all of the duck poop at the bottom that was what caused it to hold water, lol.  We have a clay/black soil mix.  If we were to do it over again, I would go with a liner simply to protect the edges from the ducks.  The bottom part has no protection and the ducks are making it the size they want, lol.
That's great you have your cousin and uncle.  I can't wait to see pictures and to hear more about your gravity fed filter.

I will maybe try it with out a liner but if it don't work i will buy a water proof tarp. I will update in the spring when I build the pond.

 

[Blue Godz]

I have 5 muscovy girls, whi laid prolifically all of last year (2015)

3 Kahki Campbell girls who I just got from a friend maybe a year old, and a male who is like 4 years old

3 cayuga
4 magpie
2 black sweedish
All females hatched in February

This year I've only gotten eggs from the new Campbells.

I thought the muscovy and the flock hatched on feb was just going somewhere else to lay eggs.

Yesterday I found 7 eggs in the coop.

Could it be that they just "felt like" laying in the coop that day, or could it be that they JUST started laying?

Why haven't my muscovies laid any eggs this year?

 

[Miss Lydia]

I have 5 muscovy girls, whi laid prolifically all of last year (2015)

3 Kahki Campbell girls who I just got from a friend maybe a year old, and a male who is like 4 years old

3 cayuga
4 magpie
2 black sweedish
All females hatched in February

This year I've only gotten eggs from the new Campbells.

I thought the muscovy and the flock hatched on feb was just going somewhere else to lay eggs.

Yesterday I found 7 eggs in the coop.

Could it be that they just "felt like" laying in the coop that day, or could it be that they JUST started laying?

Why haven't my muscovies laid any eggs this year?

@Blue Godz Just going by my own flock of Muscovy females they usually don't begin to lay till around 8 months and older. Like if they hatch in spring [May] they won't lay till following spring. And they are the most prolific layers mainly because they want to brood so much. But I don't mind they are a great breed to have. They are seasonal layers for most of us in northern climates. Spring till fall.
They will try and lay outside if there are places they can find that are private. Mine do lay inside their coop though thankfully. I have made places for them inside that make it more to their liking .If you have older adult Muscovy's and they haven't laid at all this year and none have gone broody?? Could be age or diet or I just don't have the answer. I know as they age they don't lay as often but I have females from age 4 to 9yrs old and they are all still laying in their laying season. Not like my young Runners and Buffs but enough to keep us in eggs. and some to share.