# Ponds with goats



## Drmike (Jun 23, 2019)

hi guys

I have a small pond in my goat pen but I want to start keeping ducks so want to expand the pond a bit

It’s fed from a small man made stream from a bigger pond in my garden

It has a pump in the bottom that pumps the water back up to a water fall in the garden pond

Currently it’s fenced off to keep the goats out but if I’m going to keep ducks it would be better to remove the fence so they can get access

What concerns me is will this be safe for the goats in terms of will they drink the pond water and could this hurt them especially if the ducks are pooping in it 

The pump is on 25/7 the water is clear but I have no way to tell if it has any nasties in it. The ponds are artificial with minimal fish loads of frogs and toads minimal plants


I’m guessing there are people here with ponds what do you guys do? Any issues? Should I be concerned?

My goats drink from fresh water buckets one in the goat house and one outside


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

The problem would be the ducks mucking up the pond. The other question would be if the pond is deep enough that a goat could drown.


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## Goats Rock (Jun 20, 2011)

Ducks are pretty messy. You will have a lot of mud around the pond and your water won't be clear anymore. Ducks are like geese, they poop a lot!


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## I luv Alpines (Jul 25, 2019)

I have a pasture around our pond. Since the grass was long I put my does out there and after they were out there for a while. Their Famancha score was really bad on the Famancha score it was a five which was a white lower eye lid. Once I took them out of the pasture and dewormed them and their Famancha score went up. Maybe the parasites thrive around ponds, but it probably depends on where you are from. I live in Va its really humid here, but if you live in drier climate it may not be a problem.


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## CCCSAW (Jul 11, 2019)

I luv Alpines said:


> I have a pasture around our pond. Since the grass was long I put my does out there and after they were out there for a while. Their Famancha score was really bad on the Famancha score it was a one which was a white lower eye lid. Once I took them out of the pasture and dewormed them and their Famancha score went up. Maybe the parasites thrive around ponds, but it probably depends on where you are from. I live in Va its really humid here, but if you live in drier climate it may not be a problem.


Most parasites and uv sensitive (ie they will die in direct sunlight), but survive longer in shaded and damp areas and long grass. Also frogs snails and slugs that prefer ponds and damp areas are intermittent hosts for many types of parasites.


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## cristina-sorina (May 4, 2018)

I have a pond, my goats will eat the willow branches growing on the shallow end but that's as close as they get to it. They've never tried to drink from it I always have fresh water available, they prefer the clean water from their buckets. 
I will say last year when the pond had a light freeze and it snowed, it wasn't very obvious where the pond began and the bank stopped. One of our goats who was pregnant fell into the deep end but she managed to get out, that was rather scary. I'd be careful if your pond freezes in the winter so that doesn't happen.


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## I luv Alpines (Jul 25, 2019)

Our goats loved to drink out of the pond even though we had fresh water available. Which I thought was weird, because if I were a goat I wouldn't want to drink warm stagnant water. I would rather drink clear cool water. We have a lot of stagnant water everywhere and the parasites like to thrive in warm wet conditions so parasites sort of become a problem with our goats Also if you do let your goats have access to the pond you should check your goats eyes frequently using the Famancha score (Just in case you don't know about it.) Here is the link
https://web.uri.edu/sheepngoat/files/FAMACHA-Scoring_Final2.pdf


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## Drmike (Jun 23, 2019)

Thanks guys

I did some research and apparently there are diy test kits for water that test bacteria levels (a sure sign of parasites) but to be on safe side I am thinking of running a single electric fence wire off a small energizer I have around the pond. The ducks should have no issues walking under it but a curious goat will hopefully get put off going near it.


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## SalteyLove (Jun 18, 2011)

I don't think a bacteria test kit for water would tell you anything about levels of gastrointestinal parasites eggs/larvae in the wet pond edges... but it might help for giardia if they choose to drink the water!

I do love ducks and their noises and habits - I hope you find a good solution so you can enjoy them! It sounds like the single hot line could work, provided your ducks don't decide to make the goat's water source their place for splashing. 

Also be sure to come up with a way to feed the ducks near water but exclude the goats and triple contain that duck food storage area!


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## Drmike (Jun 23, 2019)

Thanks guys

As it’s an artificial pond the edges will be raised and all rock so shouldn’t be much mess.

Cheers


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## mariarose (Oct 23, 2014)

I have ducks and goats, but no pond (several creeks). There are many good things about having ducks, and some challenges, too. No perfect system.
My son, who lives on the property, but not here in the house with us, just today shot 4 copperheads, all between 3-4 feet. Meanwhile, I don't have a single one around the house, BUT, I have a LOT of messy duck poop around the house, and they want to eat my goats' food and my dogs' food and are quite aggressive about it. So I feel like I'm often trying to sneak food to my dogs so that they don't turn on my livestock...

Does anyone want some ducks????


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## Drmike (Jun 23, 2019)

Yeah I have read reports of people saying they are messy.

I don’t have any mud around the pond (gravel and rock) so I’m assuming the only thing they can mess up is their poop. I’m guessing it’s more runny and frequent than chickens


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## Trollmor (Aug 19, 2011)

Goats Rock said:


> Ducks are pretty messy.


:nod:


I luv Alpines said:


> Here is the link
> https://web.uri.edu/sheepngoat/files/FAMACHA-Scoring_Final2.pdf


Now, THAT was a nice link, thank you!!!


Drmike said:


> a single electric fence wire off a small energizer I have around the pond. The ducks should have no issues walking under it but a curious goat will hopefully get put off going near it.


Try to figure out what happens if a goat gets into that fencing, trying to come back out, uphill, wet, and maybe alarmed.


Drmike said:


> Yeah I have read reports of people saying they are messy.


They are, in our opinion, not necessarily in their own. They have the habit of "washing" their food while eating, so parts of the food always lands in the water, just like their poop, which is rather loose. But they are nice funny creatures, and their eggs ...
:great:

I wonder if we would understand one another better if you would be so generous and share some photos of your garden and ponds? I have two very different pictures in my mind: 1. A natural, muddy, creek with wild ducks diving for food, and 2. A "perfect" Japanese garden with very carefully selected rocks and plants, placed in exactly the right places, including a fine Japanese woman with a beautifully decorated parasol.

These two "pictures" simply do not come together!


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## Trollmor (Aug 19, 2011)

PS Ducks' poop lands _everywhere_...


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

Ponds and goats do not mix, several reasons why already mentioned. 

I would not allow them around it. 
Fence it off.


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## Trollmor (Aug 19, 2011)

We have not yet seen the pond in question.


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## Drmike (Jun 23, 2019)

toth boer goats said:


> Ponds and goats do not mix, several reasons why already mentioned.
> 
> I would not allow them around it.
> Fence it off.





Trollmor said:


> We have not yet seen the pond in question.


thats because it's not built yet. I had a very small fenced off pond without issues. But I'm now expanding it to accommodate ducks.

Based on what I've learned here the pond will be shallow enough so as never to cause a drowning hazard (ponds are pumped out During winter so ice isn't an issue) there will either be a single wire electric fence or I'm currently looking at possibly of making the (vertical) rock bank sides high enough from the water level so goats can't reach down to drink

The latter would be more aesthetically pleasing if doable

I need to run some experiments to see just what height is needed


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## Trollmor (Aug 19, 2011)

How will you administer the ducks' need for water during winter? I think it gets very messy inside a ducks' pen when they have their water in there.


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## Drmike (Jun 23, 2019)

Trollmor said:


> How will you administer the ducks' need for water during winter? I think it gets very messy inside a ducks' pen when they have their water in there.


A much easier problem to solve.

There is a number of designs that would work for mess free duck waterer and feeder

Doesn't need to be much


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## Trollmor (Aug 19, 2011)

What a nice innovation!  (Even if I suspect the ducks may have another opinion, they probably compare with the above mentioned muddy creek out in the wild ...)


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## goathiker (Apr 14, 2011)

Sorry to pull this back up but, I'll show you something tomorrow. In the meantime, ducks do carry Campylobactor and if they are pooping in your goat's food or water, the goats may all have stillborn and deformed kids.


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## Drmike (Jun 23, 2019)

goathiker said:


> Sorry to pull this back up but, I'll show you something tomorrow. In the meantime, ducks do carry Campylobactor and if they are pooping in your goat's food or water, the goats may all have stillborn and deformed kids.


Thanks.
I plan on looking at the design/location of the feeders to ensure ducks cant poop on/in it. May take some thought

If we decide to breed (very unlikely) and we have ducks i would in all likelihood test for and if necessary vaccinate for Campylobactor just to be safe as the bacteria is carried by goats as well as ducks


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## Trollmor (Aug 19, 2011)

I still hope for some photos of your place, Drmike!


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## Drmike (Jun 23, 2019)

So, I finished the duck pond and am happy to announce that goats and ponds can cohabitate no problem.

1. The pond is not deep enough for a goat to drown in

3. The sides are high enough that a goat can’t reach down to drink the pond water

4. Sides are nearly vertical so goats can’t get step into the pond

5. Sides are made of large rocks so no mud no mess

6. Ducks have shown zero interest in drinking or pooping in goats water as they drink pond water. Also no interest in goats hay. In fact they keep away from the goats as they are a little intimidated 



I have found that the goats have zero interest in the pond although they do enjoy standing on the rock sides and the duck house roof. They have shown no interest in going in the pond or drinking from it even if they could reach

Couldn’t be happier with the ducks or pond


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## Drmike (Jun 23, 2019)

Better view


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## Trollmor (Aug 19, 2011)

Ducks' inn - and goats on?  This looks really nice, @Drmike! I can see that IF a goat gets into that pond, it will easily climb up the ducks' stairs, and get out of the Brrr! wetness.

Thanks for sharing! 

And yes, I think this looks rather Japanese!  Lots of peace in a small area!


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

That is one really nice duck house. Glad it is all working out for you.


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

(thumbup)


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## Dwarf Dad (Aug 27, 2017)

Looks good Dr.Mike!


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