Repairing the pond .

The new run for the Jemima Puddleduck  duckling was put up in July 

It needed a small dam across the burn. But we have had sow much heavy bursts of rain  ir has washed away some of the bank

And some nifty work ( and wet gloves) with the stones

 So we shall see if it survives the next load of rain

The new duck run

And we have realised that duck eggs sell quite well. And our current ducks - there were 8 but one has wandered off somewhere - arent laying anything at the moment. And they are very sweet , but also stupid , as explained here 
So we are going to get some Indian Runners  ( Jemima Puddleduck -like ducks )

But obviously ours wont have the hat or coat.

And we, and the rest of Orkney,  still have a problem with stoats. So the new duck run, just like the existing one  , will have to be stoat-proof.
And we dont want to be lugging watre around for them , so it has to be near a pond/stream.

So i dammed a bit of the stream

aand whacked in a few fence posts we have . Ishould have concreted them in - the ground there is a bit soft and getting the posts  to stay vertical has been tricky and not entirely successful.

And then covered the whole thing in wire mesh

The ducks were getting a  bit big for their old chick run.

so they have been moved to the new run.

 The hen will go back to the rest of the flock in a few days and the ducks will get used to their new home,

The new duck run.

So it is eventually finished.

They have access to water , and it is hopefully stoaf-and otter- proof.

We wont take the indoor run down yet, in case there are problems  with this . But it ould be nice to reclaim the space and not have the hassle of buckets of water

The new duck run

We've lost lots of ducks through the summer to stoats .
They have been brought into the shed and have lost no more - but its not sustainable through the winter .
So we need a stoat- and otter- proof run for them.

The location is the same as the old one

- but I'll have to think a bit about access to the water in the pond but doesn't allow stoats and otters into the run.


So the first stage is to put the wooden frame

And ten its just a matter of going round and attaching  fine (1/2" hole) chicken wire to the whole thing, sort out access - a door and a bigger removeable side in case we ever need to get the house out , and then go round and ensure there are barriers to them digging under the frame (I think  large old slate roofing tiles, pushed down into the ground should do it ) .

And then do something about access to the water.

And then there were 4

The attrition  of the ducks has continued. Another 3 have disappeared in the last few days  - the otter(s)  clearly keep on returning,
So something had to be done.

The duck enclosure was adjacent to the burn , giving them access to running water , but the otters will be gaining access along the water courses.

So we have moved the duck enclosure away from the burn.

Some nifty construction with a discarded farm gate,  a discarded shed door and some sheep hurdles

2 drakes and 2 hens is not agood balance  - so the drakes ended up having a pushing and shoving match over one of the hens.

But things should improve soon, as we are getting some new adult females.