Snapping Turtle and Crows as Predators??

I have read many reports of snappers hurting or killing ducks, as well as reports of crows eating eggs.

If you cannot get rid of the snapper, the pond must be off limits to the ducks.  

Keeping the ducks closer until they have laid their eggs (most lay in the morning) may reduce lost eggs.

Sounds like a bunch of lovely ducks you have.  How old are they?

I have crows stealing duck eggs too. I now try to keep their pen closed during the day and that is helping. I do have one female that refuses to lay in the cage and has to have a nest in the bushes and most I can get up to is 3 eggs then the crows find the nest!

So sorry you lost someone.

Must be fun to keep up with such a range!  Right now, all eleven of ours are 2.5 years old.

Wondering if you might set up some kind of interim area for the ducks to noodle around in until everyone has laid, then let them go elsewhere.  Just trying to think of ways to keep the eggs in a known territory that can be picked up before the crows arrive.

In our case, crows are our allies.  They eat what the cats kill (rodents), and warn us of approaching trouble.  I don't doubt they would take advantage of a food opportunity (eggs) if it presented itself, but so far, the relationship is amicable.

Crows were stealing eggs and killing chicks and ducks.  My son started sighting in his .22 every time the crows came around.  The loud noise scared them off.

I think maybe someone else had been shooting at them, because they knew a gun by sight.  I didn't want to kill them, so fortunately threatening them worked.

I think the only effective solution to the crow problem would be to get and train a guard dog to chase them off. 

Snapping turtles are easy to catch. You probably have more than one. A outdoors guy that likes to hunt and fish would  jump at the opportunity to catch your snapping turtles.