Muscovieponics

[wolf]

Hi All,

I finally took the plunge and expanded my food production to include Ducks. I went for Muscovies due to the fact that I could keep a breeding trio without the associtated noise/neighbour/council bylaws problems with chooks and standard ducks.
I've built an enclosure for them which includes a large pond - which they absolutely love and actually spend more time in or under the water than on dry land, for a 'duck' that doesn't need a large pond they sure do appreciate it.
Of course the water was filthy within minutes of them having access, I have no intention of emptying and refilling the pond everyday (it would be close to 1000ltrs) so have hooked up a spare pond filter and pump. That does seem to help clear the water overnight, not crystal clear but better than it was.
So I was wondering how it would go hooking up a few grow beds to it, would I get any real growth from the mucky duck water? Would the grow beds be effective at purifying the water as they do with the fish tanks?
I don't see any reason why it wouldn't work, diluted duck poo would have to be a great fertilizer.
Just after your thoughts or experiences.

Thanks

Wolf

[GaryD]

Hi Wolf,

Muscovies are great backyard livestock for the reason you've identified........they hiss rather than quack. They will also eat grass.....although for serious meat and egg production, they'll need a balanced ration.

The water that comes out of your pond will be heavily polluted with duck poop, mud and food.

Ducks will often grab a mouthful of food and splash it around in the water to make it slide down easier. They have no qualms about pooping and eating in the same water.

The bottom line is that keeping their pond clean will be more like sewage treatment than aquaponics.

A few suggestions:

• Don't put a pump in the pond......the grit will kill it pretty quickly.
• Think about taking a mini-wetlands approach where you filter the mud and solids early in the process and then use reeds and similar plants to filter out the nutrients.
• Let the water drain into a sump and put your pump in the sump.

Duck poop is a good fertiliser - but the issue may be whether it is worth recovering it using a pond.

If you use a grow bed approach, the untreated duck poop water (which will contain a fair bit of mud) will quickly clog the media.

Muscovies do not need water to swim in......just enough to get their heads into......flush their eyes.

If you can't process their waste using the pond you might be better off to put them outside the fence.

Gary

[MarkEinOz]

Hi Wolf,

Yeah Gary is pretty spot on with his advice.

My method of avoiding muddy water is to elevate the water trough on a wire framed platform with a 30degree ramp. They soon learn to scamper up. Poop still goes in but slushy mud doesnt. So far has worked for my Indian Runners. for the last year.

[JohnMc]

I have had thoughts along the lines that wolf is suggesting. But rather than a growbed, substitute a shallow pan to grow azolla or duckweed, covered so the ducks can't get to the plants.

[GaryD]

Hi John,

Restrict the access that the ducks have to the duckweed by covering the trough with welded mesh that prevents them from getting to the duckweed in other than specific points. That way, there's less likelihood that they'll eat it all....before it gets a chance to regenerate.

Gary

[Ravnis]

You will need a strong framework. Just experimented with this last summer, and got some good size cantaloupes started and lots of azolla and duckweed, but they figured out how to get on top of the cage and pick at it with there beaks. I entered the water first a duckweed and azolla tub which flowed into another duckweed tub and then into a third tub with lava rock in the last tub. I planted a cantaloupe seedling in there and had 4 growing on one plant, before the ducks ended the experiment with their huge appetite.

I would recommend putting the growing system in its own cage to keep them out of it. It did work very well before the plants became duckfood. I plan to set up a more permanent system this summer (May - august on this side of the pond).