Advice on Metacam/antibiotics after a hawk attack

[galgo98]

Thanks for the kind words.
Now, the rest of the ducks have been locked in their run since yesterday afternoon. They are not happy about this, especially since it's raining. I know free-ranging always has its risks, but is there a certain amount of time to wait & hope that hawk has moved on? Or am I going to have to stand over them at all times w/a baseball bat now? I'm not sure if I can handle this lack of contol w/owning "livestock".

 

[Amiga]

Managing the risks with my duck flock has been intense at times. We have a long list of predators and none has succeeded in injuring or harming anyone yet.

In our case, I am the livestock guard animal. I keep an ear out when I'm home, as I let the ducks romp in their garden area. When I vacuum or nap or such, they get closed into the 10x16 day pen (with a fenced top) that is attached to their 16x4 house and porch. That's where they are when I must leave the place. If it's frigid, they go into the basement pen, 10x6.5.

On a good day, we get two or three supervised walks around the place. It's good for me to get some fresh air, and sometimes they let me do some gardening while we are out together. One of my cats helps herd and keep an eye on them, which is nice, but she's apt to wander off if she gets bored.

When the hawks are nearby, I watch them and wonder. I'm told they go for small rodents. Well, some hawks may not read the books.

We also get a hand from the crows. They watch out for birds of prey and sometimes chase them away. For that I am grateful.

When the ducks complain about getting locked up early, or not getting out for as many walks, I just remind myself that a bored safe duck is better than one that has come to harm.

But predators watch us, I think. They learn our behavior patterns, timing and all that, and make their moves when we are distracted.

Trust your instincts.

 

[galgo98]

Thanks. Its been hard listening to them complain about being locked up. I did let them out supervised yesterday. It was raining and they were having a fit! I did not see any hawks, but the crows were hanging around again. I do feed them to keep them around. Do you think a couple geese would help or would they just protect themselves & cause more harm to the ducks? I have been eyeing a pair of sebastopols, but don't want cause trouble. I guess I'm going to start taking the runners for walks!

 

[Amiga]

I take mine for walks, especially first thing in the morning! It's good for me.

From what I have heard, and you might post a question on the Goose Forum, geese are wonderful watch animals with ducks. iamcuriositycat has at least one goose, if I recall correctly. So, yes, I think you might look seriously into a goose or a couple of geese.

I have been considering some kind of guard animal, but we have no grass for geese, and I'm not sure how a goose or two would fit into our extended household. I've thought of a dog, but we are currently about six runners shy of our AAL (absolute animal limit).

The ducks' garden is just a few feet from the house, so I can hear them either chatting happily or telling me the feed bowl is low or occasionally an alarm call. There is quite a bit of human activity during the day, too. And the neighbors listen out and watch out a bit.