Chipmunks stealing duck food! How to stop them?

[DuckNoobie]

Hi Everyone!
A chipmunk had discovered my yard with an abundance of duck food and now he's there all day long taking duck food away! My ducks don't even get any!

Is there any household products (safe for ducks) that help to keep those buggers away?? Anything besides live trapping them?

 

[quackingdom]

I would say you should just stop feeding them free-choice. I offer my ducks food in the morning, and they eat it all within 15 minutes. In the evening, we give them more food in their coop (where only the ducks can access it), and they clean it all up before morning.

There might be effective ways to ward off the chipmunks, but I think it would be a good idea to not offer food all day long.

 

[DuckNoobie]

I would say you should just stop feeding them free-choice. I offer my ducks food in the morning, and they eat it all within 15 minutes. In the evening, we give them more food in their coop (where only the ducks can access it), and they clean it all up before morning.

There might be effective ways to ward off the chipmunks, but I think it would be a good idea to not offer food all day long.

My ducks had access to food anytime (besides bed time ) all their life. Is it a good idea to just stop feeding all day and switch to feeding a few times all of a sudden? My ducks are never hungry (before this chipmunk problem)!

 

[quackingdom]

I figure it would be fine. I've read in several places that however much they can clean up in fifteen minutes is enough for them, if they have forage during the day as well. Just offer it twice a day, wait fifteen minutes or maybe longer, and take it away. They'll learn that when the food comes, they'd better eat. Once they figure it out, which won't take long, they will probably come running when you set the food down.

Besides chipmunks, wild birds can come and spread disease. I'm especially wary of wild birds since I have a feeling our ducks once contracted something from the wild birds that used to frequent their feeding area. Rats can also be bad. In some areas, more dangerous creatures such as bears can even steal food. Here, the food also attracts fire ants. I find that unattended food simply attracts unwanted animals, which ends up wasting a lot.

It also makes it more likely for them to overeat, I believe.

 

[MeepBeep]

Spring rat traps work well to control chipmunks if live traps are not an option... I personally just eradicated a huge chunk of my chipmunk population this year, as they were destroying my garden and flowers...

Or sprinkle/mix Cayenne power into the duck food (use caution) birds have no pain receptors for capsaicin so it does not irritate them at all, in fact they appear to actually like it in their food as some studies suggest to them it adds a slight vanilla flavor to the food... On the other hand it will cause sever irritation to the chipmunks and other rodents... Plus it will make the yolks a darker orange, win win....

 

[cayugaducklady]

I live in an area with an abundance of chipmunks. Hardware cloth with the smallest holes covering the sides and door will help. Making a hardware cloth apron and burying or stalking to ground will help.

You can try peppermint oil and or cayenne pepper the areas they travel.
If you have dogs or cats that can patrol the area,even on leash, they may help deter the most weak willed of the chipmunks.

Some ducks will eat them. My youngest birds actively hunt them but they haven't killed or eaten any. The oldest ducks are card carrying members of the chipmunk alert system. But at least the chipmunks know to run away from the ducks.

I know they're frustrating. A few weeks ago I had 4-6 chipmunks a day trying to steal food out of the food bucket while I was I unlatching the pen door to let the ducks out / give them their food ration. I don't have that many now. The Hawks have really thinned out the population. I haven't had my dogs patrolling the yard and surrounding area because one of them is still recovering from surgery and I don't like to work them while they're apart.

Another possibility would be creating a feeding site for gym away from your ducks. If you have waste feed you could dump it someplace far away from the coop. This might attract more than just chipmunks though so you might want to use it as a last resort.