Will this pond give ducks botulism?

[Frank Phinster]

My pond is completely artifical, a hole in the ground covered with a layer of pool liner. I have a submergibl pump to get the water out. Then I use a small shovel to transfer the mud into a bucket and throw it away. Not the most elegant method, but it gets the job done for almost ten years now.

The outside tab has a special construction that keeps water from freezing.

Tell your mother that your pond is too small to maintain a healthy ecosystem that would be able to recycle the influx of nutrients provided by the ducks. You can see this sometimes in public parks where way too many ducks populate the ponds. The water quality declines to a point were health hazards arise for the ducks.

I guess a few thistles would not be too bad, but it's good to eliminate as many as possible.

 

[Mccluckers]

I think I am going to go down the route that you took,how big is your pond and how often do you have to clean it out? I don't have that thing on my tap but I guess if it freezes( doesn't happen often here) than they can have a small tray filled up from the house. Would I siphon work instead of a pump don't see why not, do you have a picture? Sorry for all the questions just want to have all the information.

 

[Frank Phinster]

Since it's already dark outside and I never shot a picture of the whole pond, this will have to suffice for now.
Note that this concept could indeed use some improvement but the overall idea is valid. It covers about 6 m² and is 45 cm deep. I need to clean it every two weeks, but the ducks always get additional drinking water in a bowl.

I guess a siphon would work as long as you know how to dispose of the waste water. A connection to the sewers would be great ( although maybe costly and labour-intensive), but I am not sure about legislation in your country.
I usually water the flowers and the lawn with the water from my pond.

Maybe you use a tab inside the house and run a hose from there to the pond? You could also use smaller tubs during the winter, when a pond really freezes, ducks often refuse to swim in there anyways.

And while thinking about artifical ponds, you may again consider kiddie pools or bath tubs. These would be cheaper and less labour-intensive in the setup.

 

[HollyDuckFarmer]

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?

About thistles. I too have thistles and yes the thorns can injure your ducks' feet and create problems. I agree that a hoe will work, but only if handled carefully and methodically. The way the roots of a thistle plant work is that first, it is really very difficult to get each and every root piece out of the ground. Any disruption to the root network will result in more thistle plants, therefore compounding the problem and making it worse. I have found that a better way for me is to use a bush blade, scythe-type blade, chop down the thistle to about 6" or so, and *very important* collect all seeds and dispose of them off the property. I don't think you can burn them and def don't try to bury them. I just wrap the seeds up and send them to my trash pick up. This is a battle of attrition. It's not a fast or easy battle, but it can be won. You can also try vinegar, which is a natural herbicide, but honestly I don't know how effective that would be. And even if you did use a chem killer, remember thistles are remarkable plants, there are no guarantees that chem will work on them either. Be vigilant, collect the seed and interrupt the cycle there. Keep cutting back the plant, eventually this will exhaust the life cycle. But it will take time.
I do agree with Frank. Just get a kiddie pool, it's your best bet. And you will want to fence off that soggy spot... Even if you provide 6 kiddie pools, your ducks will find any and all soggy spots.

 

[Mccluckers]

About thistles. I too have thistles and yes the thorns can injure your ducks' feet and create problems. I agree that a hoe will work, but only if handled carefully and methodically. The way the roots of a thistle plant work is that first, it is really very difficult to get each and every root piece out of the ground. Any disruption to the root network will result in more thistle plants, therefore compounding the problem and making it worse. I have found that a better way for me is to use a bush blade, scythe-type blade, chop down the thistle to about 6" or so, and *very important* collect all seeds and dispose of them off the property. I don't think you can burn them and def don't try to bury them. I just wrap the seeds up and send them to my trash pick up. This is a battle of attrition. It's not a fast or easy battle, but it can be won. You can also try vinegar, which is a natural herbicide, but honestly I don't know how effective that would be. And even if you did use a chem killer, remember thistles are remarkable plants, there are no guarantees that chem will work on them either. Be vigilant, collect the seed and interrupt the cycle there. Keep cutting back the plant, eventually this will exhaust the life cycle. But it will take time.
I do agree with Frank. Just get a kiddie pool, it's your best bet. And you will want to fence off that soggy spot... Even if you provide 6 kiddie pools, your ducks will find any and all soggy spots.

ok thanks, a couple of months back I cut down all the thistles but now there are all the dried bit of thistles because I didn't pick the clipped bits up!! I have tried raking up the bits but it doesn't work so I guess I will have to go over the new 240m2 duck pen picking up all the bits!! About the pond I think I may go ahead and look for a kiddie pool.. They are quite hard to fnd at this time of year and I can't seem to find on deep enough so I will look into other options. Any other suggestions? Thanks a lot

 

[attimus]

here's my hand dug. Lined with heavy mill plastic. I use the water to help fertilize the garden in the summer so it gets changed alot. Not as often in the winter with the rain overflowing it sparatically. Planning on enlarging it and concreting along with some other features in the spring.

 

[Sfraker]

I have a livestock tank that I use for my ten ducks. It is round 8' across and 3' deep, we took at 1" x 12" x 8' long board and made a ramp for the ducks. It only took a day or two of training to teach the ducks to use it. The tank has a tap at the bottom so that I can drain it easily. I drain every 1-2 weeks as needed. I have netting over my duck pen so I don't get any leaves in the pool (and it keeps the hawks from eating the ducks during the day).

You can look at a farm supply store for a tank. I found mine on a Facebook group for equestrians, I've seen others on craigslist.

The pond you have will get stagnant quickly, it is small and does not have fresh water. You would need to bucket the water out and find a way to scoop out the mess at the bottom on a frequent basis. They may just have to wait until you can find a stock tank or kiddie pool.

 

[Mccluckers]

@Frank Phinster I am looking for a pump to get the water out of the pond but I wondered if you could send me the link to the one you have as I dont really know what I am looking for. Thanks

 

[patolocoeggs]

This is a great pump I use for my ponds. Flotec 3000GPH Submersible Waterfall/Utility Pump. You can buy it at Home Depot for $129. Works great!!! Here is the link:

http://www.homedepot.com/s/sump%20pumps%20waterfall%20pump?NCNI-5

 

[Mccluckers]

Hi there I am looking at these 2 in particular, the first looks good but is slightly more expensive, the second also looks good but don't know if the water has to be all the way up the pump for it t work http://www.amazon.co.uk/Electric-Su...0671871&sr=8-3&keywords=Submersible+pond+pump http://www.amazon.co.uk/Generic-Mul...669987&sr=1-12&keywords=Submersible+pond+pump

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