[VIDEO] Owl snags one of my ducks

[erkme73]

I got up this morning to review last night's activity around the pond. For the first time since the pond has been put in, we've had a coyote attempt to get at the ducks. The water was a successful barrier. THIS is what wife and I had in mind when we build the floating duck house. Owls, not so much.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Coyotes do swim though so I doubt this will be the last time you see it.
Poor ducks have to be scared to death now.
Ducks are no different than any other poultry or animal that are prey if you want them to live you have to protect them.

 

[Jenwisp]

Ours go into the coop at dusk with the chickens and I padlock it.

 

[erkme73]

Coyotes do swim though so I doubt this will be the last time you see it.
Poor ducks have to be scared to death now.
Ducks are no different than any other poultry or animal that are prey if you want them to live you have to protect them.

I did not know that. Fortunately there is no kill limit or season on Coyotes so I may have to make a long night of thinning their ranks.

That said, I agree about the ducks being traumatized. They are behaving completely differently at night now. The group together so tightly, it looks like one huge duck. During the day they still lounge around the banks. But night time does not appear to be any fun for them.

I'm headed to town for co-op for kids, and will snag materials needed to get them penned up. Hopefully last night was their last night out.

 

[GranderTheGander]

I got up this morning to review last night's activity around the pond. For the first time since the pond has been put in, we've had a coyote attempt to get at the ducks. The water was a successful barrier. THIS is what wife and I had in mind when we build the floating duck house. Owls, not so much.

Yes, you did exactly what you thought you should do to protect them from predators. Many people don't know all the predators in their area until they set up cameras or personally see them. The predator scene can change, too. Our top predators were raccoons until about 5-6 years ago. Then, one night I saw a red fox and know there are at least two now. Few people around here have seen them. I did only because I'm a night person. A fox extremely changes the predator scene, and a coyote even more extremely.

You might consider rehoming the ducks if you already have too many more responsibilities. I'm not the biggest fan of that, though, because you never really know how people treat animals, unless you know them well. I once found a home for a park pekin on a small farm, and the person, who seemed very nice and knowledgeable, told me one day her dog "harassed" the duck to death. Another person's husband built a nice secure little night house for two young pekins someone dumped in the park that I caught, and one suffocated one hot night. I got the other one back, and never again tried to rehome a duck.

P.S. I personally don't think you should be feeling guilty about the owl getting your little mallard. Live and learn. Seeing what predators you have, though, I don't see any way you can save your ducks without locking them up at night.

P.P.S. I see now a new post where your are going to build a secure pen. I'm glad you are not giving up on them.

 

[erkme73]

P.P.S. I see now a new post where your are going to build a secure pen. I'm glad you are not giving up on them.

Ha... My attached 6yo daughter and 8 yo son, are why I can't give up on any of the animals in my "zoo". They took it pretty hard when Malmal was taken, but they now have first-hand experience with the circle of life. Fortunately we had been preparing them ever since we realized her vision was so poor. It really was just a matter of time.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Coyote and Fox will come around during the day too. I hear the coyote more than see them up behind the birds fenced area in the woods but Foxes I’ve seen during the day. Bob cats too. Hawks also dine on duck. It’s a never ending battle when we have animals that are called prey. And then there are the raccoons, bears, and mink and weasels and that isn’t naming them all lol.

 

[HeathenHavenHomestead]

I don’t know much about ducks but would definitely suggest having them locked up at night to prevent night predators.

 

[erkme73]

Just a quick update: I've assembled an 8x8 fully covered pen using cattle panel, chicken wire with a portion of the pen being just into the pond edge - giving the ducks about 18" of water inside the pen. The t-posts hold everything securely and I have high confidence that it would withstand most predators.

That said, ever since the owl attacks began, the ducks' personalities have changed. They are now extremely distrustful. They were never trusting enough to eat from my hand, but they at least would eat within feet of me. Now, I cannot get them to approach at all.

I've put their feeder near and inside the pen, and they refuse to get with 20' of it.

Is there a gentle, non-stressful way to get them to explore the pen? It's been up for three nights, and they prefer to get dive-bombed by the owl all night rather than seek shelter.

 

[Silly Indie]

Maybe try to herd them in and keep them in there for a while so they learn it’s safe and can call it home. That’s what we did with our ducks and they go in every night without human intervention