Ducks = a lot of water —and water that gets dirty fast! 

Here at Point 6 Acre, our water comes from a well and it’s precious. We use it carefully inside the house and as needed for the animals. To be honest, they get priority – and rightly so!

So what do you do with all the filthy duck water from the kiddie pools, buckets, and now a large livestock tank?

In the past, the smallest kiddie pool was tipped out daily where it sat. The medium-sized one needed emptying every few days with a bucket, and that water went into the nearest garden bed or the climbing rose. Helpful, but limited. It never reached any of the veggie beds.

That changed when we added a used livestock tank holding 330 gallons of water. We wanted to harness that nutrient-dense water. 

The solution? A sump pump! 

We attached a short six-foot length of hose to the sump pump to avoid damaging the threads on the pump. From there, we connect a longer hose and move the water wherever we need it.

Plants in the veggie beds benefit. The soil improves, and moisture is better retained from the mulch we use from the duck house. The ducks get fresh water weekly, and the gardens get a deep watering at the same time. We call that a win-win!

Using a system like this prevents the water from becoming too dirty or smelly, and to be honest, it makes way more sense than tipping the water out of a kiddie pool. That always felt wasteful.

On a small piece of land, this is one of the ways we make things work to our advantage. 

It’s not perfect, but it works.

Warmly,

Brin

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Brin writes about the quieter lessons of small farm life – ducks in the morning, goats in the barn, and the slow work of tending a small piece of land. Between animal chores, soap making, and reflexology work, she reflects on what it means to live well, live simply, and discover what “enough” really looks like.