can anyone help me?

[DurhamDuck]

This might sound like a dumb question but I'm going to ask anyway.

I have a large spring fed pond that my ducklings will "free ranged" on when they are older (the pond is fenced but there is no netting above it). Occasionally a red-tailed hawk has gotten the wild mallards who've made their home in my backyard for years (about 2 a year).

I am wondering if I put up a human looking scarecrow near the pond if that might keep the hawk away from my domestic ducks once they are released to the pond. They will be housed at night, but allowed to free range on the pond and inside the fenced area all day long. I am not worried about night predators as they will be safely locked up at night, but I am worried about a hawk getting at them during the day.

Do you think a scarecrow near the pond would keep a hawk away? He won't come near our yard when we are outside, but when the yard is empty of humans he circles around.

What do you thinK?

Thanks

 

[chickensducks&agoose]

you need a goose or two.

 

[DurhamDuck]

chickensducks&agoose :

you need a goose or two.

Really?!! I was considering getting a goose. Oh goody!!

Thank you!​

 

[FenDruadin]

I was thinking geese too, especially if you can raise them with the ducks. I had two who grew up with my flock and I kind of miss them. One died defending the flock from a neighbor's pit bull who got into my yard one afternoon. The other went with his buddies to a new home when I downsized my flock recently. Geese cannot provide 100% protection from anything (obviously, they're no match for a pit bull), but they will defend their flock to the death, and they are smart. My goose, Hercules, almost never relaxed--he was always alert and watching for danger. He would herd the flock around to safer or better ground, and when things did happen (like the time a duck got tangled in fishing line), he knew just what to do (brought her up to me in the backyard so I could untangle her, got her settled in the pen to rest, and then went back to the lake and herded the rest of the flock up to the pen so he could keep an eye on them).

I don't know that a goose would always protect from a hawk, but he'd certainly keep the hawk on his toes and looking for an easier meal. It's worth a thought. Besides, geese are awesome.

A word of caution, though--the same intelligence and aggressive tendencies that make geese good guardians also makes them a bit more of a handful to humans than ducks. If you have young children, you will need to teach them to be assertive with the goose or he may well attack them (my children have been attacked on occasion until they learned to handle him--the toddler had to stay close to me when the goose was in the yard because he was too little to handle the goose). They may also attack you or guests if you don't take the time to teach them good manners. They CAN learn good manners, but you can't just expect it to happen without training like you can with ducks.

Good luck!

 

[DurhamDuck]

Quote:
Thank you for all the great information. I will strongly consider getting some geese (perhaps a pair!). My kids are older so we can learn about them together and how best to raise them. I did read somewhere that while ducks are great to hand feed to have a good bond with them, that you shouldn't hand feed geese as they will get ticked off if you don't have food for them. Apparently its a bad habit with geese, but good with ducks!

 

[DurhamDuck]

Thanks for the suggestion to get some geese. I have just ordered 2 Buff geese to go along with my 10 Blue Swedish ducklings!
Can't wait for them all to get here!

 

[Oregon Blues]

Oh good. Blue Swedish. I was going to suggest that you get a larger breed of duck. The larger they are, the fewer the breeds of hawk that will try to tackle them.

I don't think a scarecrow does much of anything except to look decorative.

Hawks don't want to take on anything as large as a goose. And, gosh, look what a good excuse it is to get geese.

 

[ksmith]

Its not a dumb question! I know with chickens out in the open, scarecrows work very well. You just need to move it around every couple of days, because the hawk qill get smart and figure out its not moving.

 

[DurhamDuck]

Quote:
You're right, it was a perfect excuse for me to get a few geese and now I can't wait for them to get here!

 

[DurhamDuck]

Quote:
Thank you!
I didn't know scarecrows worked for chickens if you moved it around a lot. Moving it around and maybe changing the clothes on it occasionally so it looks a bit different might help right?
I will try this while the mallards are still out there and see if it keeps the hawk away before my domestics are let out on to the pond.

Thanks again.