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 Help building duck slough
#5823612
07/08/15 11:53 PM
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Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 1,729
Exbellicus
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Working up a plan to build a duck slough on my property. I've never done anything like this before, so any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. The property is about 35 acres and the current pond is .3 acres and is part of a small creek channel. The set of woods you see on the right hosts a much larger creek that feeds in to a lake. The property is graded and is lowest at the bottom. My plan right now is to rent a tractor and cut out that blue area about 36" deep, then plant japanese and brown millet. Then around end of Oct hope it rains a lot or draft water out of the tank to flood it. 
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Re: Help building duck slough
[Re: Exbellicus]
#5823889
07/09/15 02:04 AM
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Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 11,788
wal1809
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What do you mean cut it 36 inches deep?
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Re: Help building duck slough
[Re: wal1809]
#5823998
07/09/15 03:01 AM
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Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 1,729
Exbellicus
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What do you mean cut it 36 inches deep? Dig out a pit 3 feet deep throughout that whole blue area basically making it a wetland.
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Re: Help building duck slough
[Re: Exbellicus]
#5824131
07/09/15 04:21 AM
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Joined: May 2011
Posts: 1,871
brazosboyt
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Ok. Looking at your scale id say you are 300 x 150 ish x 3' deep.
That's about 5000 cubic yards of dirt or 400+ dump truck loads of dirt.
With a 300 hp tractor, 12 yard belly scraper, and a d5+ dozers with rippers, you can move about
250 yards/day. So 20 days if you aren't moving the cut spoils very far.
With a tractor and a 2 yard bucket you may cut and move 75-100 yards/day.
So, if the tractor has the weight and hp to actually cut it, you'd be 50 days.
My advice-build a levee on it with flood control structure to drain it.
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Re: Help building duck slough
[Re: Exbellicus]
#5824198
07/09/15 10:39 AM
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Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 11,788
wal1809
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Re: Help building duck slough
[Re: Exbellicus]
#5824361
07/09/15 01:51 PM
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Joined: Apr 2011
Posts: 447
woodduckhunter
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Bird Dog
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Do you have a topo or elevation changes of the area? Even if you acquire the equipment, you want to be careful when you remove the top 36 inches of top soil. In some areas you could be left with a poor quality dirt that requires a load of help to grow anything. If you could get the existing pond drained, I would consider having someone come in with a dozer and convert it. We have taken a typical stock pond before, and basically filled it in. Making the "pond" shallow, and creating a much bigger shallow area where we pushed the dirt from 3" at a time. This would probably cost about the same as renting equip. to DIY
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Re: Help building duck slough
[Re: Exbellicus]
#5824481
07/09/15 03:08 PM
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Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 11,788
wal1809
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If it is flat enough to levy it up then just do the levy. The water level will vary which is quite alright. It can be 3 feet in some ares and 5 inches in another. All of which is OK. Optimum would be 6 to 8 inches but you don't have to have picture perfect optimum to attract a respectable amount of birds.
I did exactly what you are doing. Every bird that comes in hits the 4 foot water in the middle and then they swim into the vegetation. You can levy that place of yours for very little money. Rather than do it yourself, check bulldozer guys. When I inquired they were $900 a day. That was a bulldozer and a track hoe. With those machines they can have you completed in less than a day.
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Re: Help building duck slough
[Re: Exbellicus]
#5824488
07/09/15 03:10 PM
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Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 11,788
wal1809
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I think the biggest problem you will face is water volume. When you go from your pond to the duck pond you will lose a massive amount of water to saturation. Until you overcome saturation and evaporation you will be able to keep up. The question should be, does that pond have the volume it takes to overcome saturation, evaporation and then fill to a hunt-able depth, then maintain that throughout the season?
So if the dozer and track hoe can finish a levy in no time, then let them open the retention pond up to hold more water. Maybe hire them for two days and get yourself a lot better situated water wise, if in fact you find water volume would be a problem.
Last edited by wal1809; 07/09/15 03:12 PM.
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Re: Help building duck slough
[Re: brazosboyt]
#5826234
07/10/15 06:22 PM
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Joined: Oct 2013
Posts: 280
zbot11
Bird Dog
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Bird Dog
Joined: Oct 2013
Posts: 280 |
Ok. Looking at your scale id say you are 300 x 150 ish x 3' deep.
That's about 5000 cubic yards of dirt or 400+ dump truck loads of dirt.
With a 300 hp tractor, 12 yard belly scraper, and a d5+ dozers with rippers, you can move about
250 yards/day. So 20 days if you aren't moving the cut spoils very far.
With a tractor and a 2 yard bucket you may cut and move 75-100 yards/day.
So, if the tractor has the weight and hp to actually cut it, you'd be 50 days.
My advice-build a levee on it with flood control structure to drain it. When you put it like that... that's a lot of dirt.
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Re: Help building duck slough
[Re: zbot11]
#5826346
07/10/15 07:26 PM
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Joined: Feb 2005
Posts: 4,636
Gdogg
Extreme Tracker
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Is that road going to be an issue?
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Re: Help building duck slough
[Re: Gdogg]
#5826359
07/10/15 07:36 PM
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Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 10,645
garrett
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Is that road going to be an issue? I would avoid being so close to the road, gives the GW to much of a view
Attention rickym, this is not a troll post, just a good hearted fun type of post
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Re: Help building duck slough
[Re: zbot11]
#5826388
07/10/15 07:58 PM
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Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 1,729
Exbellicus
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Yeah that plan is definitely not going to fit in the budget! It's pretty flat so it sounds like a levee would be possible. So the levee is just a buildup of dirt at the lowest end and the sides? 
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Re: Help building duck slough
[Re: Exbellicus]
#5826924
07/11/15 02:34 AM
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Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 11,788
wal1809
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Yes. A levy is formed usually by pushing dirt into place. Be sure you put a good drainage system. It doesnt have to be expensive, just good.
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Re: Help building duck slough
[Re: Exbellicus]
#5827014
07/11/15 03:52 AM
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Joined: Nov 2009
Posts: 732
muddyz
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Just a wild guess here but the lowest spot on that now is due East of the current pond with another low spot to the SE off the point of the black line you just drew to mark the levee. Figure out which way the water enters and exits those spots and then block it off and you are good.
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Re: Help building duck slough
[Re: wal1809]
#5828144
07/12/15 03:27 AM
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Joined: Jul 2010
Posts: 746
TTUhunter4
Tracker
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Tracker
Joined: Jul 2010
Posts: 746 |
If it is flat enough to levy it up then just do the levy. The water level will vary which is quite alright. It can be 3 feet in some ares and 5 inches in another. All of which is OK. Optimum would be 6 to 8 inches but you don't have to have picture perfect optimum to attract a respectable amount of birds.
I did exactly what you are doing. Every bird that comes in hits the 4 foot water in the middle and then they swim into the vegetation. You can levy that place of yours for very little money. Rather than do it yourself, check bulldozer guys. When I inquired they were $900 a day. That was a bulldozer and a track hoe. With those machines they can have you completed in less than a day. Are you saying $900 a day total for a dozer and track hoe?
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