Going for it! phase one 12,000 gallon pond.

[GBBUDD]

The water weeps over the wall and down the water fall. The pond never needs care.

That maybe a flaw to my design in avoiding the look of a volcano and wanting as high a water fall as I could get with the bog my water flow is only a about 2" from over flowing the side wall at it's lowest point. when the plants start growing in I am concerned about the water over flowing or backing up. I can cut the water fall damn down more to lower the water level in the bog I hope I don't need to.

Addy you think the water will rise 2" with plant growth?

 

[addy1]

WELLLLLLLLLLLLLLL over time, i.e a year or so, the pea gravel settled I added more now and then. In the beginning, the water did not weep over the wall.. i started out with around 3 inch below the level of the wall. Now it does weep over most of the wall Which gives the pond even better water circulation and filtration. Moss etc grows on the wall where the water weeps.

I have not been a great puller of plants. I do try to keep a river type flow through the center of the bog also right behind the bog wall. If the water fall gets blocked by plants, which it does, just more water flows over the wall.

This is what is looked like when I first planted. Water fall is the red arrow.

Now

 

[Telion]

That maybe a flaw to my design in avoiding the look of a volcano and wanting as high a water fall as I could get with the bog my water flow is only a about 2" from over flowing the side wall at it's lowest point. when the plants start growing in I am concerned about the water over flowing or backing up. I can cut the water fall damn down more to lower the water level in the bog I hope I don't need to.

Addy you think the water will rise 2" with plant growth?

You could create a secondary outlet that would increase the speed the water exits the bog keeping it from rising.

 

[GBBUDD]

It has been a crazy day!!! started off with two bucks in the back yard. oh joy my new arborvitaes are in jeopardy. A couple weeks ago I noticed one fish really picking on an other as I watched I said ah love or at least lust was in the air as these fish are no more then a foot long if that. but it seems I was wrong as I am seeing some baby fish swimming around in the lights. But the day hasn't ended there. As the wife an I headed out for a ride as we were driving through a congested area with jersey barrios on both sides of the highway here's a mother duck with her babies in a foot wide space between the painted line and the barrier. And as a truck would drive by the babies were blown off there feet and rolled down the highways. it wasn't pretty. but being on the bike gave me options none that were very wise but I dropped the wife off and spun around and got the ducks to a small construction zone. Thinking she at least stood a chance now She headed through the construction barriers and back to the highway. Well I managed to catch a couple of the babies. before mom got to far into the highway poor thing was doomed as the barriers were way too tall and stretched for a mile and being in the left median well we didn't watch for the end to the story but we did save two. Brought them home to the pond and they started eating everything in sight including small koi pellets.

 

[GBBUDD]

 

[Lisak1]

So are the babies able to fend for themselves food wise? Or are you up every hour chewing up worms to deposit in their cute little bills? (I have no clue what ducklings eat!)

 

[GBBUDD]

I went to the local pond store where I know they had tons of duck weed growing on the plant tables. and I dumped it into the pond when the green water hit me I had done the same and found the Helix skimmer worked almost too well and it was all in the skimmer within days and I had added A LOT. And Google can be a wonderful thing when google is not involved. We found out that yes they will eat bugs and any soft plant matter that is mushy. it said they have no teeth. which was kinda a dumb statement as no duck that I know has teeth but they do have little points that work like teeth. I let them go in the pond as you can see by the pics and they were swimming around taking a bite of everything and anything and they did like the small pellet koi food. It is a bit of a challenge to catch them and bring them in, they are too small to leave out at the pond over night. Especially with the blue heron making visits, Alas I have lost at least one koi to the blue. We chopped up lettuce and carrots and duck weed along with some koi pellets and placed it in a little cup along with a towel where I made a couple folds for them to use as like a cave and stay warm. This was in an old fish tank that is still in the basement. Presently they are in a towel on the sofa next to me my hope is to become mama " ok so the ugliest mama around" but it should be easier to catch them if they are use to being next to me. I used the fish next to wait till they swam over it and lifted them up out of the pond but that trick is getting known they have learned so I need to work on something else. thus mama. Yea theres two sides to keeping them wild but my choices are limited so mama it is.

 

[GBBUDD]

In short they do fine on there own with a little help.

 

[Lisak1]

Well, you're a good duck mama! I imagine them quacking happily while they follow you around the yard!

 

[GBBUDD]

Well, you're a good duck mama! I imagine them quacking happily while they follow you around the yard!

LMAO well I hadn't thought of it that way . maybe just sitting by the pond keeping a watchful eye

 

[Jhn]

I grew up on a tributary/river on the Chesapeake Bay. Mama ducks would constantly lose track of one of their ducklings. So, I would end up raising them and letting them go at the end of summer.

You can imprint on them fairly quickly, then they will follow you everywhere. I had to watch not stepping on them because they would get under foot constantly.

It’s cool that you were able to rescue them.

 

[Gemma]

Great job on the pond, it looks awesome and can only get better from here as the plants grow!
It's nice to know that there are still people who care for animals enough to get out of their ways to help them when they need it. Thank you for sharing your story!

 

[GBBUDD]

Just noticed a mama duck with some babies across the street but they were three times the size of the baby duck I have. but I brought the duckling over placed her on the grass and she started calling out and the mama came running over , it looked good. MOM came running up and got right up to the baby and started pecking at her. Baby ran toward the other much larger babies they all ran into the water, once there even the babies started hammering the little one. mom came over and basically hammered continuously the baby. She chased baby to shore and turned away. the other babies came to shore and started hammering the little one. hopes were dashed. I'm back to being mama. "ducky"

 

[Lisak1]

Oh boy! Nice try though! We’ve seen geese families “adopt” babies from other mamas a few times, but usually they were all the same size young ones. I guess mama duck felt she had too many already!

 

[GBBUDD]

Nice try though

It's nice to know that there are still people who care for animals enough to get out of their ways to help them when they need it

The way I see it man has taken over this planet and wild life gets caught in ways they don't understand who what where when or why. Concrete jungles have there own beauty just not a life I care to live. Give me the woods a nice pond a stream and the wild life. OK i'll take Telion 's mountain range too. These little guys have kept us entertained watching them experience what I believe to be experiences for the first time. like a koi nibbling at the webbed foot as they swim by and turn into a tinny water walker " priceless"