[fifixx]

Hi all
2 questions:
1. What age will the ducklings (5 wks old) be able to go in with the big ducks?
2. I have no stream, so what is the best way of keep an artificial pool (liner/paddling pool etc) clean for the ducks - I was thinking some sort of pump to filter water - it is expensive chucking away dirty water and refilling each day - and they do ALL their poos in the water!!

[jameslindsay]

Once you think they are big enough that a crow etc can't grab them and they have more feathers than down you should be ok. That should be another couple of seeks at a guess and as for the water - sorry these are ducks and nothing will keep it clean unless you have a massive container and a pump.

[doganjo]

I tried a solar floating pump one time - they macerated the glass literally in 2 minutes! Waste of £35

[OverWyreGrower]

We have a couple of 'turtle' plastic sandpits for the ducks (from freecycle/small ads)...

They get filled up/emptied out every other day.... the water either goes in my compost, or on the veg patch....

We got the turtles cos it meant I could lift up and empty out on my own without needing my hubby to help.

Eventually, we're looking to hook up some sort of hose and valve system through the bottom of them, then I don't have to bail out or tip into buckets to empty...

[fifixx]

At the moment I have an Asda paddling pool which I half fill - but then they tread on the sides and all the water runs out!  I tried an old bath but they were freaked out by the slippery sides and bottom....

Today they have an old plastic dog bed as the paddling pool is having a scrub.

What would be perfect is some sort of shallow pond with a pump filtering the dirty water (problem; where will the dirt go?) and putting back sparkling clean water.  Or a deeper pool that at night has a sort of hoover which picks up the dirty layer on the bottom - dreaming now!

Or - just make my garden into one huge lake then i wouldn't notice the poo!

[doganjo]

I had a plastic dog bed in there too, but recently bought a lovely hard plastic kiddies paddling pool from Focus for a tenner. Works a treat - just tip it onto the grass and refill every three days or so. I hope they realise how many eggs they owe me

[northfifeduckling]

I use a kids' sandpit as the paddling pool. I clean it once a week by carrying the water to the veg plot, it takes about 5 watering cans. Messy but it works. Drinking bowls are cleaned out daily.
They are big enough to go with the adults as soon as they are too big for a sparrowhawk to take from above...
Hope this helps. 

[hexhammeasure]

we use the flat trugs you can get £5 each we set up two or three at a time and just let the overflowing spouts fill them uponce a  month we will tip out the mud

[Pony-n-trap]

We have a pond, recycled pond from when next door moved out and left such a tip.  It is topped up everyday and about every four days, our strategically placed hosepipe is blasted throught with the one attached to the tap and dropped into the pond, said pond drains right down, refill and in jump the ducks with the excitement of Christmas!!