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Joined: Feb 2011
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OP
Joined: Feb 2011
Posts: 329 |
Just wanted to share with you the biggest mistake i have made so far in this pond building process. Probably will not be my only mistake but it has been a huge pain in the rear. I fell for the puppy dog eyes from my youngest daughter when she asked for cute little fluffy ducklings for our new pond. In my defense I never thought they would survive the bobcats, hawks and owls. But so far we have only lost one of the twelve we started with. They eat everything you try to put in the pond from beneficial plants to FHM to sunfish, tadpoles, frogs Everything!!!!. They eat all the time. I thought they also might be helpful in fertilizing the pond, but I can not get anything to grow. Last night I seen them hunting the FHM I had just stocked. They are voracious predators that never stop eating....... Don't do it......At least until your pond is established and then only put in a few. I had not remembered seeing anything on the duck subject (probably cause I hadn't looked hard enough...Everything else you ever wanted to know can be found on this sight) so I just wanted to share..
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Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 471
Lunker
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Lunker
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 471 |
HaHa! my dad did the same thing last year. The feed store had 40 duckings left over after easter and said they would take a 1.00 each for them so dad got all of them thinking most would get ate by predators. All of them survived! he ended up telling giving about half away and then finally a owl started eating them. Theres only 5 malards left now and they are still aggervating.
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Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 315
Lunker
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Lunker
Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 315 |
What kind of ducks are they?
Most ducks do not eat fish
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Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 10,458 Likes: 2
Ambassador Field Correspondent Hall of Fame Lunker
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Ambassador Field Correspondent Hall of Fame Lunker
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Many think only mergansers eat fish, however many diver and puddle ducks will gladly eat a slow moving FHM if they can catch it...
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Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 16,055 Likes: 277
Moderator Lunker
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Moderator Lunker
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 16,055 Likes: 277 |
Yeah, their appetite is only half the problem. Their manure can cause a serious bloom in the water. You guys need a visit from your friendly local coyote.
It's not about the fish. It's about the pond. Take care of the pond and the fish will be fine. PB subscriber since before it was in color.
Without a sense of urgency, Nothing ever gets done.
Boy, if I say "sic em", you'd better look for something to bite. Sam Shelley Rancher and Farmer Muleshoe Texas 1892-1985 RIP
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Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 28,541 Likes: 845
Moderator Ambassador Field Correspondent Lunker
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Moderator Ambassador Field Correspondent Lunker
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Posts: 28,541 Likes: 845 |
My neighbor thought it's be cute to have 2 white ducks on his 1/4 ac pond. It's unbelieveable what they did. The water was muddy all the time, and the banks where the plants met the water was chewed away by the ducks constantly moving the dirt to get at the plant roots and look for insects. His water quality and "erosion" problems stopped when the ducks were sold at the local auction.
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Joined: Apr 2009
Posts: 147
Lunker
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Lunker
Joined: Apr 2009
Posts: 147 |
Hi guys.
I'll jump in here and offer a differing point of view. I've actually got 5 peeking ducks (white ones) on my pond and I have had none of the issues you described - none. They actually seem to be eating any algea which grows near the rip rap and keeping it in check. I can't say that I have seen any increased turbidity in the water, etc... They spend some time swimming in it, but also spend a lot of time out in the yard wandering around and eating bugs, etc...
I was pretty unsure about them at first, but they have been here since last July and don't seem to be causing us any issues at all.
Maybe, I'm just lucky.
I subscribe!
1/3 Acre pond - Central, OH Deepest point 11 ft. Stocked with: Hybrid Bluegill, Bluegill, Yellow Perch, Largemouth Bass, White Amur.
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Joined: May 2011
Posts: 388 Likes: 5
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Joined: May 2011
Posts: 388 Likes: 5 |
How about wild ducks and geese. Do they present any problems?
"If you aim at nothing you'll hit it every time" Zig Ziglar
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Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 529
Fingerling
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Fingerling
Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 529 |
Ask Todd. He's a real devotee.
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Joined: May 2011
Posts: 388 Likes: 5
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Joined: May 2011
Posts: 388 Likes: 5 |
Forgive me in advance. But who is Todd?
"If you aim at nothing you'll hit it every time" Zig Ziglar
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Joined: May 2011
Posts: 344
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Joined: May 2011
Posts: 344 |
Big problem is catching out unwanted fish. You even don't see how much of them are left...
But ducks - that's not the biggest problem actually. You can shoot them or catch in other way (probably the only problem is how your daughter would react). By the way, duck is quite tasty.
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Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 16,055 Likes: 277
Moderator Lunker
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Moderator Lunker
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 16,055 Likes: 277 |
Todd is a ne'er do well that posts here.
Grundulis, welcome to Pond Boss. You are our first poster from Latvia. Please go to the Newcomers area and tell us about ponds and fish in Latvia. We like to hear about new areas and especially see pictures.
Last edited by Dave Davidson1; 05/24/11 01:44 PM.
It's not about the fish. It's about the pond. Take care of the pond and the fish will be fine. PB subscriber since before it was in color.
Without a sense of urgency, Nothing ever gets done.
Boy, if I say "sic em", you'd better look for something to bite. Sam Shelley Rancher and Farmer Muleshoe Texas 1892-1985 RIP
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Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 10,458 Likes: 2
Ambassador Field Correspondent Hall of Fame Lunker
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Ambassador Field Correspondent Hall of Fame Lunker
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 10,458 Likes: 2 |
Yes, welcome to Pond Boss Grundulis. My dad used to travel to Latvia quite a bit before he retired. He still has some friends from Latvia come to visit him every now and then. From what I have heard, it is a gorgeous country!
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Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 529
Fingerling
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Fingerling
Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 529 |
Forgive me in advance. But who is Todd? Besides being a avid pondmeister and raconteur, he loves geese.
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Joined: Feb 2011
Posts: 329
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OP
Joined: Feb 2011
Posts: 329 |
These ducks are ruens and snowy mallards. And I guarantee they eat fish. I was putting more riprap on the pond and I watched them take out one of my sunfish as well as a couple frogs. One nearly choked on the frog. I think it is time to start giving them lead poisoning one by one so its not to obvious. My daughter is on to my resentment of the ducks and has been getting home from school and counting them. You should have seen her face when she came home two nights ago and I was grilling chicken breast. she almost shot first and asked second.....
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Joined: Sep 2010
Posts: 384
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Joined: Sep 2010
Posts: 384 |
Your bass get big enough the ducklings might make some good food. Kidding, wild ducks are a nice treat if they stop once and awhile... pet ducks make a mess.
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Joined: Feb 2011
Posts: 329
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OP
Joined: Feb 2011
Posts: 329 |
We actually used ducklings and kittens for musky fishing up north in my younger years. Had to give all that up when I had compassionate daughters... Too bad cause it was killer when they were in the shallows.
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Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 471
Lunker
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Lunker
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 471 |
Theres a wood duck down at the pond that has 5 duckings with her. They must be the luckiest ducklings ive ever seen. They hatched about 3 weeks ago and she takes them all over the pond. She even brings them to the feeder when the HSB and on 25 lbs catfish are eating. So far all 5 are still alive.
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Joined: Sep 2010
Posts: 384
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Joined: Sep 2010
Posts: 384 |
I honestly think it takes a REALLY hungry bass to go after a duckling, then size comes into effect. I know it happens just think it is pretty rare. I have been setting a trap in a really small pond that loaded with stunted BG. Catching about 30-50 a day and my bass sit there like dogs when I feed them to them. The CC always come looking but hey are never fast enough to beat the big guys to the punch. Ducklings would be much easier feed
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Joined: May 2011
Posts: 1,752 Likes: 33
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Joined: May 2011
Posts: 1,752 Likes: 33 |
Ducks and geese are annoying to us. We have that is not stocked and there are 8 geese on it. The geese cause other problems in the winter eating acres and acres of wheat. A few years ago, there were not any ducks around. Now there are at least a pair on every pond and the better ponds have up to 20 ducks on them.
I have heard of muskie and pike going after ducklings but never bass.
Last edited by jludwig; 05/28/11 12:12 AM.
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Joined: May 2009
Posts: 5,722 Likes: 282
Lunker
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Lunker
Joined: May 2009
Posts: 5,722 Likes: 282 |
Our pond has mostly a natural edge (not mowed like a subdivision pond). This seems to keep the ducks and geese under control, although we had one clutch of geese hatch and leave after the number of babies went from 8 to 3 in a couple days. Also still have a wood duck with 7 babies. Our floating dock provides access for people.
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Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 28,541 Likes: 845
Moderator Ambassador Field Correspondent Lunker
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Moderator Ambassador Field Correspondent Lunker
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 28,541 Likes: 845 |
Geese don't like walking out of the water thru tall grass (or other plants) to get to the grass that they can eat. Too easy for a predator to hide in the tall grass. They avoid ponds that are kept that way.
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Joined: Jul 2009
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Ambassador Field Correspondent Hall of Fame Lunker
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Ambassador Field Correspondent Hall of Fame Lunker
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Forgive me in advance. But who is Todd? Besides being a avid pondmeister and raconteur, he loves geese. R&R, let's just say I've had a number of run-ins with geese at my property. And let's just further say that of the two sides to these encounters, I'm the one still able to post to Pond Boss! Geese and ducks are a potential disaster at a small pond. In my case, they are no longer just potential, but realized potential, as they have over many years prior to our ownership fertilized the pond to such a level that we have a massive nutrient problem that produces lots of complications with unwanted vegetation.
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Joined: May 2011
Posts: 388 Likes: 5
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Joined: May 2011
Posts: 388 Likes: 5 |
Todd, Thanks, I have always tried to keep the geese run off just because of the mess they leave. Not to hard on the 1 ac. behind the house but the 10 ac. pond 45 min. away its a little more difficult. sometime's there's upwards of 30 on that one.I will definatley be putting the fed. duck stamp to use this year.
"If you aim at nothing you'll hit it every time" Zig Ziglar
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Joined: Jul 2009
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Ambassador Field Correspondent Hall of Fame Lunker
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Ambassador Field Correspondent Hall of Fame Lunker
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Posts: 3,505 Likes: 3 |
Well the nice thing about the 10 acre pond is that it's a lot of water and can probably process the nutrients more effectively than a small pond, but still, I wouldn't do anything to make them feel welcome!
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