but yesterday the boys and i were outside and i thought they had thrown something into the pond...turns out...........................2 ducks were swimming in our pond!...we sat there and watched them for about 40 mins...it was pretty cool...they just cruised around the pond...wish i had taken a picture
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I do not see a problem with the chlorine as you hear of ducks in pools all the time. They are not drinking it, expect the little they get when they eat something soaked in the pond water, like the bread. My concern would be the duck poop (bacteria) in the water, but if it is just 2 ducks or one family of ducks in a large pond they should be fine. Do you test the pond water or just keep adding chlorine ? I would be more concerned about too much chlorine for the boys using it. :)
Maybe use an alternate to chlorine: Interesting article attached.
‘Millions of British swimmers can now avoid bloodshot eyes following the Allergy UK “Seal of Approval” for Pristine Blue, a new alternative to chlorine. The Seal of Approval has been awarded to Pristine Blue for skin and respiratory irritation and as a safe alternative to chlorine treatments. This comes as hot tubs, spas and inflatable swimming pools become the “must have” home accessory for summer 2006.’
my new lil buddies are back...but i have a concern!...i treat the pond like a pool...i put chlorine in it!...now i'm scared to cuz i don't wanna hurt them and they seem to enjoy themselves so much in there...what can i do ...cuz the boys swim in it!
One.. Envious of your back yard!!! Two.. The are adorable duckies!
Neighbours down the road have a shallow box with a little roof on it for the feed they put out for the ducks. In Summer when I hear a bunch of quacking through the open windows I hurry out to watch when they 'parade the youngins'! I just love watching the duck family out for a stroll.
Have your boys named them yet? It sounds like they may become part of the family!
When I lived in Victoria, I volunteered at a nature sanctuary, giving tours to classes of 5-6 year olds. One of the tour highlights was giving each kid a handful of oats to feed the ducks. As soon as the ducks saw the class trooping down to the dock, they'd swarm! The kids loved that the ducks would eat right out of their hands. Every once in awhile, a duck would get a little "nibbly" and there would be a few tears, but for the most part, it went great. As we continued on the rest of the tour, the ducks would waddle along the dock after the kids as if to say "What, no more? Come on!" :)
chocoholic my son has them tamed as well at his cottage. He made a small feeder for food pellets that sits on the dock. 5 years now and they keep coming back and I have seen the territorial fights with the males as well. Mom comes with the babies and it is so cute and if the feeder is empty they walk up the path to the cottage and sit and wait, On a Friday night they must hear the sound of movement as soon as my son arrives as they are on the dock, as if to say " the feeder is empty and where have you been?" His kids love it !
Now there is a project for 2 boys,,,,build a feeder from wood for the ducks, :)
Just have to tell you that a few summers ago we were at the cottage and my FIL started feeding small pieces of bread to male and female ducks Well the family grew and mother/fater arrived with all 7 babies, and got out of the water and headed up to the cottage. They were looking for my FIL, who by this time was so trained by the ducks to feed them some bread. We have pictures of the ducks and all their babies on the dock, along with my FIL in his bath robe. The ducks were so tame, they would pull on the bottom of his bath robe as enough to say "Feed Me". It got to the point that you couldn't be outside that the ducks wouldn't come out of the water, looking for you. They even came back the next year, mom/dad ducks looking for him. They finally decided not to encourage them anymore. Talk about creatures of habit. The only thing he didn't like, was the ducks came close into shore to eat the baby bass.
Jen, that's wonderful.........you will be having great fun with them, they're so cute...........we amaze at them each year they come into our backyard for the past 18 years......yes, that's how long they've been coming here, and sometimes we see another couple with them, but there have been fights last year between the males :laugh: you can spend hours watching them, because sometimes they sit in your backyard after a meal and rest there.......a neighbour across the street has an inground pool and have been nesting there every year even though they had 2 dogs......here are the pictures again of our resident ducks
Enjoy!
i have a Co-Op in town....gonna pick some duck pellets up!!
They will also eat berries, tadpoles, small fish, bugs, as they are both meat and veggie eaters lol. If you have a feed store nearby just buy duck pellets,
Small amount in case they do not come back LOL
off to the store to get raw oatmeal and corn kernals!!!....hehehe
omg Pearl!!!...that's EXACTLY what i had here...that's so awesome!
The male has the green/blue on him and the female is all brown.
If you find a Mallard's nest on your property and don't see the mother on the eggs, don't necessarily worry. Ducks lay an egg every day or two until they have a full clutch (usually 8 to 15); only then will the mother start to sit on them. It takes the eggs 28 days to hatch from when she starts sitting all the time. When they hatch, she will soon lead them to a nearby body of water. The father takes no part in caring for the eggs or young.
Oh and they like raw oatmeal and corn kernels.
do Mallards have bright green heads?...if they do then one was a Mallard...the boys went and got bread to try and feed them...but no worries about Milo...he was more interested in the bread than he was the birds...he didn't even notice them...some hunting dog he is!...lol
Wouldn't it be fun if the ducks decided to nest near your pond? We had 2 mallards in the pool 2 weeks ago that stayed most of the afternoon. I have read where ducks will nest in yards with accessible water, but with dogs I doubt that would happen. :)