So it goes.......

My Duck Pond

I get a lot of questions about my duck pond so I thought I would do a quick blog on how I built it.  I had a Rubbermaid sheep trough from when I had dairy goats.  I no longer need it for the goats, so it has been laying around the farm unused.   A few years ago, I hurt my knee and needed surgery.  Since it was hard going up and down the porch stairs, I had the trough brought up to the deck, where I planted a garden in it that I could easily tend to.  Here it is as I was removing the dirt and preparing to pull it off the deck.

Before placing it in the duck pen, I hauled some gravel, then some rocks and topped that with more gravel in the spot where the pond would be, raising the trough up about a foot.

I had Cory get a valve for the drain hole that had a shut off.  The plastic flexible hose I have for my sump pump fits on this spigot for easy draining of the pond.  I just stretch the hose out so the water all goes at the base of the maple tree near the barn.  

Then, I gathered some old wood planks, some dead fall trees and limbs and placed them around the pond for a way for the ducks to easily get in and out.  I used branches from an old Christmas tree to fill in all the gaps and give it a more protected and natural feel.

Next, you simply add ducks and enjoy !!!  Since these pics were taken, I added a plank along the other side of the pond to allow them to get in and out easier on that side.  

Cleaning is quick and simple - the plank along the front hides the spigot.  To attach the hose, I simply lift out the greenery branches and stick a long handled screwdriver down to tighten the hose clamp.  I drain the tub, then put the garden hose in and let the pond flush.  I use a gong brush to do a quick brush out of it.  After the water is clear, I close the valve and let the pond fill up.  With two call ducks, the pond stays clean about a week.  With bigger ducks or more than 2, it needs to be cleaned a couple times a week.

This summer, I want to add more trees, greenery and rocks to the remainder of the pen to give them a nice woodsy home.