I'm sure this has been covered before but I can't work out how to search the forums by topic?
I'm getting a poulty run set up that will be about 10m by 25m with fox proof fencing all round. I was thinking of getting a pond dug within the enclosure at the same time as they're doing the fencing so that the same digger can do both jobs (and it'll be hard to get a digger inside the enclosure later). But that means I have to think about ponds rather sooner than I was planning to.
I'd originally planned to just have a little plastic paddling pool for the ducks but I gather the bigger ducks need something deeper for mating hence the pond - but then how do I clean it? It is a little uphill from the vegetable garden but probably 100m away - is it reasonable to assume I can drain it, syphon style down a slight slope with a hose? And in terms of trying to promote self cleaning, would it be better to have a stamped down clay base or a liner or will it make no difference? Would a clay base allow for more planting? And is it possible to set up some sort of self-cleaning system with reed beds or is that just not going to keep up with ducks? And for Silver Appleyards, how big/deep should the pond be? I was thinking of 2m by 3m and about 1m deep at the deepest point but should it be bigger? I do have some more space to play with. How often does it need to be cleaned? I know they're supposed to have fresh water every day but realistically I'm not going to be cleaning out a pond every day and there are plenty of ducks swimming around in mucky ponds. Could I just give them a smaller tub of clean water somewhere else for them to wash themselves in?
The inflow is another big question mark. We do have a big nissan hut just above the enclosure so I might be able to get that guttered somehow to feed the pond with run-off in times of rain but what happens at other times? (yes, I know, most of you can only dream of other times).
Hope you can help!
Hester