Single hen

[TheChookKeeper]

Hello,

 

2 things -

 

1. It has only taken 14 months - but we have our FIRST EGG(s)!!!!

I say EGG(s) as I had given up looking months ago for them each day, but my sister spotted one through the door the other morning, and then on closer inspection this morning, we found 2! So they've actually been in production for 3 days! Hoorah! We were (and still are) VERY excited!

 

2. Onto the question...

At present, our 2 silver appleyards have 2 big terracotta plant bowls from Ikea as baths - to start with, they both fitted in one, with room to swim around... now they don't.

We bought a second one... but will they use one each? Will they heck!

 

We thought we'd buy a paddling pool when the weather cheers up a bit, and they could swim about in that - but we were thinking today about the possibilities of a pond...

Now - our garden is very small, so we don't think we could really go bigger than 1 (possibly 2 at a push) metres in diameter (ish).

 

2a - Is this big enough - aka, is it worth bothering?

2b - How to you go about keeping it clean? Could it handle this itself? Their current bowls seem to fill with mud more than anything - so wondered if a gravel approach to the pond would help keep that out?

 

 

What are your thoughts?

[Guest]

Hi

Glad the ducks are doing well and you are finally getting some eggs, now the sunshine is out you should see the egg production pick up.

Re the pond, if you build a pond it is essential to keep it cleaned out(it wont clean itself in any way. Ducks are the messiest creatures and will pollute the water really quickly).

So if you have no way of emptying it out you should just really provide something you can empty out as ducks do need water at least to dabble in. An old baby bath would be ideal(or a couple)!.

Even if you make a small pond it probably wont be enough for them to have a swim more a splash and dabble.

If you have something you can fill up with a hose/clean and empty that would be perfect.

Good luck

indie 999

[Guest]

oh forgot re the gravel ducks are prone to leg and feet problems just think the gravel could be too hard(they get sore feet quite easily)?

indie

[Gem]

My two little Welsh Harlequins started yesterday, very exciting! It must be the change in weather that's kick-started the egg production.

 

As for the pond question... I sympathise, as we only have a small yard for our girls too.

 

We started with little trays when they were ducklings, then moved up to an inflatable paddling pool - but that was very difficult to empty. We now have a tin bath (bought for about £25) which they love - it has plenty of depth for them to splash in, and they just about fit in it side-by-side. It has a nice big rock inside and another outside, which they manage to use as steps very well.

 

We tried sand in the bottom, or gravel, but nothing seems to make a difference. It can be crystal clear one minute, but as soon as they get in the girls muddy it up again. We empty it, rinse it, and refill at least every week. They have a bowl of fresh water every day for their heads.

 

We also put some of that pipe-insulating foam around the edge to protect their feet. I've got a photo to explain what I mean, here's the link:

 

http://www.new.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=5985851&l=9a771&id=512530524

 

Hope this helps!

[Lesley]

Ducks poop as soon as they hit the water so it is never clean - we provide a drinker with a guard so that they can drink but can't swim in it! We placed their duck pond (from The Domestic Fowl Trust) on a sump about 2' deep, filled with gravel. We empty it onto the gravel and the water soaks away more easily than just emptying it on the lawn.

[TheChookKeeper]

Thanks Lesley.

 

I saw something about your sump in another post while I was searching around - it makes more sense now I know it's 2' deep!

 

I saw the ponds from the DFT, but they said they were only 6" deep, which sounds rather shallow?

 

Also, (alongside the awful picture) it says it has a ballvalve, which I assume works with a hose connection, is this right?

 

Would you mind awfully sharing a picture of your "setup"?

 

 

How often do you need to empty your pond into this sump? I would guess quite frequently? Also, do you use it all year round?

 

 

Thanks!

[Lesley]

They may only be 6" deep but that's still a lot of water to empty!

 

We have both the small and large version - we use the small one in the winter. We don't use the ball-valve as we only have hose-pipe supply. We only have 4 ducks and the small one is fine for them. It needs emptying most days - as long as the hose-pipe isn't frozen

 

I'll see if I can find a photo

 

We use one of these.... http://www.ascott.biz/acatalog/Eltex-Round-Galvanised-Ball-Valve-Drinker-PY86.html with a water butt to top up the water in it. The cage stops the ducks from swimming in it. They always have clean water to drink and bathe their heads. We fill the water butt from the hose and the ball-valve tops up the drinker.