Discussion
After some advice from the resident experts please.
After eighteen months of searching, we found a property that satisfied our wish list on all of the key points. One unexpected bonus was a pond at the bottom of the paddock, hidden amongst a small copse of tress and some overgrown bushes. Neither the vendor nor the property agent had made us aware of its existence and we only discovered it after clearing the bushes. A duckpond was something that I had always had on my list but never really expected to become reality.
The pond has now been cleared of over ten years of leaves, twigs, overgrown irises and general neglect. It has an intact liner and is around twenty feet wide by fifteen feet back to front, around three feet deep in the middle and has a footbridge across to an small island where a previous owner kept ducks and geese. The duck house had collapsed so we are starting with a blank sheet of paper.
The surrounding ground has now been cleared of debris and the pond is completely empty.
The pond is over one hundred metres from the house right at the back of the property; there's a dry stone wall and open fields behind the wall.
Is it sensible to try to keep some ducks or should we just leave it as an ornamental pond? Would the ducks be safer nearer the house? There is room to build an enclosure near the pond or closer to the house.
Picture is mid-clean and before it was fully drained.
After eighteen months of searching, we found a property that satisfied our wish list on all of the key points. One unexpected bonus was a pond at the bottom of the paddock, hidden amongst a small copse of tress and some overgrown bushes. Neither the vendor nor the property agent had made us aware of its existence and we only discovered it after clearing the bushes. A duckpond was something that I had always had on my list but never really expected to become reality.
The pond has now been cleared of over ten years of leaves, twigs, overgrown irises and general neglect. It has an intact liner and is around twenty feet wide by fifteen feet back to front, around three feet deep in the middle and has a footbridge across to an small island where a previous owner kept ducks and geese. The duck house had collapsed so we are starting with a blank sheet of paper.
The surrounding ground has now been cleared of debris and the pond is completely empty.
The pond is over one hundred metres from the house right at the back of the property; there's a dry stone wall and open fields behind the wall.
Is it sensible to try to keep some ducks or should we just leave it as an ornamental pond? Would the ducks be safer nearer the house? There is room to build an enclosure near the pond or closer to the house.
Picture is mid-clean and before it was fully drained.
The only real negative about ducks is that if you don't lock them in a house each night they will get taken eventually.
They are interesting birds to keep and don't really require much effort beyond the occasional cleaning of their house, throwing a bit of food out and just generally keeping a bit of an eye out for them.
They are interesting birds to keep and don't really require much effort beyond the occasional cleaning of their house, throwing a bit of food out and just generally keeping a bit of an eye out for them.
Just make sure they can get out of your pond with it's slippy lined sides. desolate said:
The only real negative about ducks is that if you don't lock them in a house each night they will get taken eventually.
They are interesting birds to keep and don't really require much effort beyond the occasional cleaning of their house, throwing a bit of food out and just generally keeping a bit of an eye out for them.
We kept ducks for years when we where children, very easy to keep. I'd keep them away from the house as the sThey are interesting birds to keep and don't really require much effort beyond the occasional cleaning of their house, throwing a bit of food out and just generally keeping a bit of an eye out for them.
t everywhere, but they're great pets and you get duck eggs!Gassing Station | All Creatures Great & Small | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff