Duck pen upgrade: thoughts/suggestions on water etc

[Launchpad]

you could 'return it to the pond' but doing it by making an interim step in a secondary pond. (did that make sense without the hand gestures ? )

the way they do to recycle dirty water for industrial processes, the poo would sink and then the clean water is pumped (or gravity fed) out the other side.


my apologize to your babies for comparing their poo to what comes out of tar-sand oil production

This idea I like.
I might be digging a secondary pool tomorrow...
Just need to figure out logistics of drawing the cleaner water but as you wrote I should be able to use gravity... but I figure I could dig a pool and line it right be the edge.
I'll need to find a cover for it too so the ducks don't go playing in it...
I wonder if there is something I could place at the bottom to occasionally lift up and remove the waste for fertilizer
Or just grow stuff directly on top? (I'll have to fence it though because of the plethora of deer...)

 

[Mother-Hen-Michele]

This idea I like.
I might be digging a secondary pool tomorrow...
Just need to figure out logistics of drawing the cleaner water but as you wrote I should be able to use gravity... but I figure I could dig a pool and line it right be the edge.
I'll need to find a cover for it too so the ducks don't go playing in it...
I wonder if there is something I could place at the bottom to occasionally lift up and remove the waste for fertilizer
Or just grow stuff directly on top? (I'll have to fence it though because of the plethora of deer...)

Easier to just have it in the ground (no liner) the poo will get into the soil and fertilize it naturally. If you don't have enough poo compost from the bedding you can just put a little pump in the pond and use it as water on the soil you want fertilized. I water the plants that are not yet in fruit, or the fruit trees after they have made their fruit if the fertilizer seems too "fresh"

To have the water go 'out' you just need to place a pipe in an overflow position. (How do I explain the visual??)
Ok, imagine the pond has the same height all around (ground level is the same all around) you dig a little ditch coming out of the pond like a stream coming out in the direction towards the destination of the water. Like an uppercase Q if the pond is big enough for there to be some time between the water coming in and the water coming out, the poo will have settled.

The ducks will check out this second pond, but they don't like the taste of poo, they won't drink it once they have tasted it. They never go into water before taking a taste. I don't think you'll need to control their access to it. They should avoid it on their own. Same for deer etc, they may taste it , but unclean water is not going to be drunk unless there is no clean water available. If they drink, it means the water is cleaned enough to be ok. You'll see plants (Flowers mostly) thrive around your poo-pond. You could plant fruit shrubs around it if you want to make use of it. The roots will go into the soil around the pond and get what they need.

 

[Launchpad]

Easier to just have it in the ground (no liner) the poo will get into the soil and fertilize it naturally. If you don't have enough poo compost from the bedding you can just put a little pump in the pond and use it as water on the soil you want fertilized. I water the plants that are not yet in fruit, or the fruit trees after they have made their fruit if the fertilizer seems too "fresh"

To have the water go 'out' you just need to place a pipe in an overflow position. (How do I explain the visual??)
Ok, imagine the pond has the same height all around (ground level is the same all around) you dig a little ditch coming out of the pond like a stream coming out in the direction towards the destination of the water. Like an uppercase Q if the pond is big enough for there to be some time between the water coming in and the water coming out, the poo will have settled.

The ducks will check out this second pond, but they don't like the taste of poo, they won't drink it once they have tasted it. They never go into water before taking a taste. I don't think you'll need to control their access to it. They should avoid it on their own. Same for deer etc, they may taste it , but unclean water is not going to be drunk unless there is no clean water available. If they drink, it means the water is cleaned enough to be ok. You'll see plants (Flowers mostly) thrive around your poo-pond. You could plant fruit shrubs around it if you want to make use of it. The roots will go into the soil around the pond and get what they need.

Love it
Will be digging it tomorrow
And if I don't have to restrict the ducks access to it that simplifies it a ton

 

[CharlieX]

just see your digging works already hurting my back

these days, I do everything above ground; much easier to keep things clean and see any issue that arises. I would not be draining the dirty water back into the clean pond unless the dirty water was been filter.

I'm still trying to figure out how to clean a 300m2 pond ( about 3,200ft2) that's 2m deep. I have over 50 Muscovies and it's challenging to keep this pond clean. pumping the water to filter is expensive with grid electricity so i have stopped continuous pump and am looking for solar pump. I need to filter the dirty water, and return to the pond once the filtered water goes through the garden beds.

keep your large pond clean, unless you have unlimited water source to fill the large pond.

 

[Mother-Hen-Michele]

I have over 50 Muscovies

My brain exploded.

I have 5 ducks at the moment and the poo seems endless.

You are brave (and obviously loving) all the best to you and your brood!

 

[CharlieX]

they take care of themselves, i just open coop in the morning and close it at evening. they eat mostly grass/vegetation so i rotational grazing them. i think you do abpit equivalent amount of works whether you have 5 Muscovies or 50 Muscovies.

 

[Mother-Hen-Michele]

they take care of themselves, i just open coop in the morning and close it at evening. they eat mostly grass/vegetation so i rotational grazing them. i think you do abpit equivalent amount of works whether you have 5 Muscovies or 50 Muscovies.

Buy don't you need straw and have to rake out poo from the bedtime pen? I find just 2 ducks more work than 20 hens because of their poo and the water issues

 

[CharlieX]

Buy don't you need straw and have to rake out poo from the bedtime pen? I find just 2 ducks more work than 20 hens because of their poo and the water issues

Muscovies are the best of all poultry birds that I have raised. they are not water crazy like the other, they eat lots of grasses and whatever they can find. cleaning the coop is a normal routine duty that i do every three months on a weekend. i have had 1,000 Muscovies when I was unemployed, and taken bit of time to look after the babies and collecting eggs. with a full time job, i feel max is 100 Muscovies. With other waterfowl birds, there are lots of works. In my experience, geese is #1 and Muscovy is #2 in time of least amount of works. Though geese requires lots of room and vegetation for their diet as more than 90% of their diet depends on vegetation. Muscovy is bit less. With other waterfowl birds, you'll become poor on their feed.

feed and water in the coop are automatically from their containers. water is unlimited, feed once in the evening.

 

[Mother-Hen-Michele]

feed and water in the coop are automatically from their containers. water is unlimited, feed once in the evening.

(If it isn't rude of me to ask), can you please post a picture of the feed container and automatic watering? I think you may be a genius and I would like to learn from you