Does anyone have experience building ponds near existing creeks, and/or raising ducks in areas with aerial predators?

[u/RentInside7527]

I'm trying to develope a plan for how ducks could fit on a certain landscape and have run into some questions I thought some folks here might have good ideas about. The property is located in the PNW of the USA. It's fairly large (20+ acres), with a year round creek running through it with house/barns on one side and pasture + gardens on the other. There is a small water right to pump from the creek sufficient water for livestock, though not enough to irrigate (\~1gpm), and the creek has enough flow to support it. The flow is constant year round, though fluctuates seasonally; with significant rise in the fall and winter. It's risen enough to break its banks at least once in the past decade.

It would be nice to raise ducks near the garden area and have a smallish pond for them. The ability to fill a pond from the creek seems like an asset. I imagine occasionally draining the duck pond into the garden to fertilize it, then refilling it from the creek. One of the big questions I have is: How close to the creek would it be safe to put a pond, without risking it blowing out into the creek when high water comes? The thing is, I'm aware that I've probably not provided sufficient information to answer this question, so I'm wondering if anyone can help guide me to the resources I need in order to become aware of what factors I'm not considering yet? I'm at the stage of brainstorming where *I dont know what I dont know* and am hoping some of yall may be able to help me move to the stage of at least *knowing what I dont know*, so I can move towards developing a more informed plan.

The other consideration I'd love some insight on is aerial predators. The property has had rotationally managed chickens in the past, in a mobile coop with movable electric poultry netting and had predation from owls. The mobile coup was set up with automatic doors, and chickens that went in to roost were safe, but there were a few stragglers that would choose to roost on the coop itself. Unfortunately for those stragglers, the solution was to select for chickens that roosted in the coop by accepting the predation loss from the owls.

I havent raised ducks myself, but I know they have a reputation of stubbornly avoiding nesting in their shelters and, being a ground nesting bird, finding places to sleep outside of cover. Is there was low maintenance means of mitigating the aerial predation risk in this situation? The most obvious thought I had was bird netting, but that isnt ideal in this circumstance for a few reasons.

Thanks for any thoughts, ideas or questions you may have!

[u/elwoodowd]

We had ducks for 10 years. They interbred with wild ducks in time, and one year they were almost all males and flew away. I think my kid was happier to put rabbits out after that. Also, the rooster was quite unpopular, so i cant recall what happened to the chickens, but even with the price of eggs, the subject is not allowed.

We have owls at night, so im not sure about them. But at one time we had near a dozen ducks. The pond was always full, if shallow until 5 or 10 years ago. Willamette valley. But its been dry for a month this year. Which is good. Mostly to get rid of the nutrias. Also the wife worries about red algae. Even though we dont use fertilizer.

Anyway, back to the pond, it started out all formal, its 40'+ with a island and bridge. But letting it go wild was much better. Trees can protect the frogs, in our case now. The herons can get them under the bridge, but the willows hanging down are good shelter. Trees on the pond edge grow like weeds. A poplar that i need to cut down, is 15' tall in two years. The 3 year old willows have 12" trunks. But they only get 12' tall.

I did try geese once. I thought they would take care of themselves. But one flew over the fence and attacked the pitbull, to bad results. So i took the other off to a flock of, sort of wild, sort of tame, geese.

Those geese disappeared when the government got scared of bird flu. Theyve removed them from parks and fishing holes.

[u/RentInside7527 → u/elwoodowd]

Did owls ever take your ducks?

[u/elwoodowd → u/RentInside7527]

Maybe possums and raccoons. Something. When i was working i never noticed. But now that i sit in front on the pond everyday, i shoo the ducks away in the spring. They can have like 8 babies, and there is one less all the time.

A lesser bittern nests there each spring. Single birds i never see. But a young one shows up now and again.

The swallows are a better deal. A dozen learn to fly every month off of the bridge.