Will this pond give ducks botulism?

[Mccluckers]

Hi guys,

I have to ducklings that are moving outside into their pen soon but I don't know If the pond is safe because there is a lot of decaying leaves in the pond and the source ( run off from a a massive hill) I have cleared the pond of most of the leaves but I don't know if it is safe as the "stream" that feeds it is pretty much a trench full of leaves but the water somehow gets through it. The mud which I cleared out from the pond to make it deeper also smells abit when you hold it up to your nose or disturb it by digging.. ECT. I have built the hole pen around the pond so I would like to avoid building another pen but understand if I have to.
Pics below:

The hole thing.

The "stream" which feeds it(looking up from pond side.

Thanks

 

[Frank Phinster]

I would not use this body of water as a duck pond. Botulism is indeed a concern, the ducks will dabble in the mud and spoil the water with their feces so the water will also go bad pretty quickly and stink horribly so the ducks will even refuse to use it at all. I have to clean out my pond every two weeks, change the water and get rid of the mud that has gathered on the bottom.

Can't you just fence off the pond and dig a new one or give your ducks a kiddie pool for a substitute? Then you would not have to set up a new run.

 

[Mccluckers]

I would not use this body of water as a duck pond. Botulism is indeed a concern, the ducks will dabble in the mud and spoil the water with their feces so the water will also go bad pretty quickly and stink horribly so the ducks will even refuse to use it at all. I have to clean out my pond every two weeks, change the water and get rid of the mud that has gathered on the bottom.


Can't you just fence off the pond and dig a new one or give your ducks a kiddie pool for a substitute? Then you would not have to set up a new run.

Thanks for the reply I can't just fence of pond because cannot get hose out there to clean out kiddie pool... Is your pond dug into the ground? If so how do you clean it out? What happens when the pipes freeze?

 

[patolocoeggs]

The water should be moving, if not naturally, then with a large pump and filter. My ducks swim in a dug out portion of wet lands in our back yard. The water is moving slightly and we also pump it through a 58 gal filter to break up and trap the debris. Weekly we drain off all the debris. This keeps everything healthy, happy and smelling good. Ducks poop a lot so if your water already smells, you definately don't want to risk their health.

 

[Mccluckers]

The water should be moving, if not naturally, then with a large pump and filter. My ducks swim in a dug out portion of wet lands in our back yard. The water is moving slightly and we also pump it through a 58 gal filter to break up and trap the debris. Weekly we drain off all the debris. This keeps everything healthy, happy and smelling good. Ducks poop a lot so if your water already smells, you definately don't want to risk their health.

Ok I will see what I can do

 

[buff goose guy]

i personally have never had a problem with my pond , although it is a good sized pond of about 3 acrs


and there is a stream running off of it that collects water so a minature pond as well, ive just never had a problem, but i do suggest taking cautious measures.

 

[Mccluckers]

i personally have never had a problem with my pond , although it is a good sized pond of about 3 acrs and there is a stream running off of it that collects water so a minature pond as well, ive just never had a problem, but i do suggest taking cautious measures.

So do you think I should not use it? My mum says they will be fine so I have terry and convince her, how????

 

[Mccluckers]

I also have another problem because the rest of my field has thistles in it so I cant. Build a pen on that unless I get rid of the thistles,do ducks do alright with thistles? If not is there a way to get rid of them without using herbicide?

 

[buff goose guy]

I use a garden tool ho or shovel to dig them out of the ground seems to get rid of them well enough

 

[Mccluckers]

I use a garden tool ho or shovel to dig them out of the ground seems to get rid of them well enough

Thank you!! Now I can build a duck run in the chicken run?