Tell How Predators Got Your Ducks. Save Somebody Else From The Bad Experience

[Amiga]

If I had the cash, I would cover the whole pen with metal half inch hardware cloth. As it is, a neighbor blessed me by telling me how years ago, another neighbor had lost a duck to a fox without even realizing it. It was broad daylight in the afternoon, and a fox nabbed a duck walking in the backyard while the duck owner was doing something out on the back deck with her back turned. She never saw it happen, never heard anything. The neighbor who told me the story was also out on his deck, and saw what happened.

That is why the top of the day pen is covered with coated woven wire, 2"x3". And I know it is not a guarantee.

A friend recently lost her flock to a raccoon that climbed up the chain link, ripped through the plastic "hardware cloth" then reached through the three inch ventilation opening at the top of the door to the dogloo.

Twice last year I heard raccoons yelp from contacting the electric fence around the duck house.

 

[PeanutnCashew]

LOL..gotcha about the hardware cloth.


That is just terrible about the fox attacking with a human right there!

After reading this, I feel like keeping my babies inside all time, but I know that is no life for them. I need to do something but money is an issue right now. I have the radio on by their outside pen in hopes it will scare anything off...aghhhh

 

[Missy60]

I have thought about the electric wire, but we don't have electricity out at the duck pen. That's the only down fall to not having them closer to the house. A coon has been hanging out around our yard at night I have even seen fur on top of our pen. I put their pen on the edge of our property line in the trees so they would have constant shade.

 

[Amiga]

I use a Patriot charger with a lawnmower battery for power. Once a week I charge the battery. It's mainly a one-time expense for the charger and the battery lasts a few years, I think.

 

[nickie]

I've lost a duck and a juvenile chicken to raccoon. I lost another duck to a human, sad awful story. We've been trapping the coons, but I'm working the logistics of hotwiring my fences. Kids and dogs plus the neighbors cattle are being taken in to consideration.

 

[QueenDuck]

Well when I was younger I rescued two baby Mallards because their mum had abandond them and went off with her other ducklings and left them two!!

So what else could I do? Younger than a week old, Tiny, I felt like i needed to take them in. So I did. I raised them up at my house until they were about 6 weeks old then I took them round my nans. We built a duck run and stuff but didn't think that they would be able to get out or anything get in as the fence was 6ft high. But I guesswe where wrong! The ducks flew out the top and went up my nans horse feild in te middle of the night. They rang me up the next day and said that they couldn't find them. So I came straight over and I found them dead up the horse feild. foxes are the only preditor I know of round where She lives. There was part of wings and duck bones and part of a beak there. So now I keep Milkey and April in the same run BUT we fixed a roof on and hopefully nothing can get in or out.

 

[Missy60]

I use a Patriot charger with a lawnmower battery for power.  Once a week I charge the battery.  It's mainly a one-time expense for the charger and the battery lasts a few years, I think.

I will have to check into this because it seems like I could do something like this now. I don't know a thing about it so I'm off to do some research. It's so scary that something is casing the duck house just waiting to get them.

 

[PeanutnCashew]

Please keep us posted on how to run a wire around the pen..seems like that would solve many of these predator issues.

 

[furbabymum]

We've had seceral feral cats eliminated by our trusty gaurd dogs. Now we just need to take them seriously when they bark at night and let them out. They always bark when they hear something but we rarely let them out to "take care of it". Gotta start doing that.

 

[furbabymum]

I have thought about the electric wire, but we don't have electricity out at the duck pen. That's the only down fall to not having them closer to the house. A coon has been hanging out around our yard at night I have even seen fur on top of our pen. I put their pen on the edge of our property line in the trees so they would have constant shade.

They make solar powered electric horse fences so electricity shouldn't be a problem.