Crows eating my duck's eggs...

[wolfinator]

My 21 (12 females, 9 drakes) ducks are semi free ranged in a 27ft x 50ft fenced area which is our garden and often lay eggs wherever (a few will use their coop). We totally free range when home during the day. Often we have crows in the yard but never bothered anything or went into the fenced pens.. The last couple days we've had a couple rogue crows flying into the pen before I'm able to collect eggs. They've eaten a total of 4 eggs, 2 today and 2 yesterday. I have a broody girl with 3 eggs, sitting since April 28th. We've even seen the crows fly into the pen, walk into the sheltered area adjacent to their coop, I'm guessing to steal food. My boyfriend has fired off the shogun several times but they still come back.

Aside from shooting the crows because they do keep the hawks away, does anyone have any successful suggestions that might stop the crows from eating the ducks eggs? In the next week or so, I'm moving the ducks to a new pen, once sectioned off and gate is made. I'm concerned they're still going to go after the eggs. I have poly poles set every 5 feet in each direction to deter hawks and owls, which works very well. I usually put up umbrellas but the weather hasn't been cooperative (rainy, windy). I also have aluminum pie pans tied to a few poles but it's not deterring the crows.

 

[Miss Lydia]

My problem has been snakes and the only way I have been able to stop them is to get the eggs early and keep the coop door closed. Not easy to do if you have a broody. I wonder if a radio with music playing or more moving pie plates. Thing is you'll just have to keep being creative until you come up with something that works. ?

 

[RidiculousName]

You should get at least four females per drake. Otherwise they can wear out their mates, and fight with each other.

The issue with crows is how intelligent they are. If they aren't scared by shiny things or shotgun blasts, I don't think you'll get them to go away. They will kill ducklings too.

You could try encouraging your ducks to lay in a protected area by building nest boxes for them.

You could try putting out food for the crows somewhere away from the ducks, and continue shooing away any you see trying to steal eggs. Crows will eat almost anything, so some invasive carp would make a good meal.

 

[wolfinator]

You should get at least four females per drake. Otherwise they can wear out their mates, and fight with each other.

The issue with crows is how intelligent they are. If they aren't scared by shiny things or shotgun blasts, I don't think you'll get them to go away. They will kill ducklings too.

You could try encouraging your ducks to lay in a protected area by building nest boxes for them.

You could try putting out food for the crows somewhere away from the ducks, and continue shooing away any you see trying to steal eggs. Crows will eat almost anything, so some invasive carp would make a good meal.

They have a coop to lay eggs in, I've even found them beside the coop. I opened up another coop and moved the fence to include it for the ducks. It's my juvenile coop, it won't be needed for another month or so when the chicks get old enough.

I've got 2-3 ducks share nesting on 8 eggs (was 10), they literally take turns or 2 will be sitting side-by-side. At night my almost 4 yr old Runner girl will join them, she's raised a couple clutches before. Looks like mommas and ducklings might be sharing the juvenile coop later. I've had ducks raise chicks and chickens raise ducklings over the years without much problems. They didn't care and a few still have a bit of a bond.

 

[wolfinator]

You should get at least four females per drake. Otherwise they can wear out their mates, and fight with each other.

The issue with crows is how intelligent they are. If they aren't scared by shiny things or shotgun blasts, I don't think you'll get them to go away. They will kill ducklings too.

You could try encouraging your ducks to lay in a protected area by building nest boxes for them.

You could try putting out food for the crows somewhere away from the ducks, and continue shooing away any you see trying to steal eggs. Crows will eat almost anything, so some invasive carp would make a good meal.

They rarely fight and the females definitely rule the drakes on mating. I've seen the drakes pursuing a female and she'd go to a different one and solicit him to mate with. Some of my females have paired up and won't let any other male near them, when they try, the drake runs them off. One of the sitting females has her drake standing guard as long as she's on the nest, when she goes to eat, drink or get some exercise, he is by her side running off other drakes.

Last year out of 15 ducklings, only 3 were females. I managed to rehome 7 drakes to someone in another state on their farm.

 

[wolfinator]

You should get at least four females per drake. Otherwise they can wear out their mates, and fight with each other.

The issue with crows is how intelligent they are. If they aren't scared by shiny things or shotgun blasts, I don't think you'll get them to go away. They will kill ducklings too.

You could try encouraging your ducks to lay in a protected area by building nest boxes for them.

You could try putting out food for the crows somewhere away from the ducks, and continue shooing away any you see trying to steal eggs. Crows will eat almost anything, so some invasive carp would make a good meal.

I ended up getting them moved to a smaller pen, they're coop is open on one side so it can't be closed. We moved the sitting duck while on her eggs and coop in one swoop. I tacked netting across the open side, she never moved, hissed or anything as we moved her, just sat on her eggs.

They don't have a pond but have several kiddie pools so carp wouldn't work too well. But putting a scarecrow (crow face type) about 9ft up on a pole has helped as did giving them access to my juvenile coop. The trade off was they have to temporarily share their space with 18 broiler chickens and a momma coop hen (almost 5 yr old golden comet) who's raised them since they were 3-4 weeks old. They don't mind it a bit and were even sleeping together with them. I'm starting to get 7 eggs a day once again. The hen hasn't laid an egg for quite a while.

We're going to put up more scarecrows especially since our garden is next to them and it's helping.

 

[Luv Ducks]

My 21 (12 females, 9 drakes) ducks are semi free ranged in a 27ft x 50ft fenced area which is our garden and often lay eggs wherever (a few will use their coop). We totally free range when home during the day. Often we have crows in the yard but never bothered anything or went into the fenced pens.. The last couple days we've had a couple rogue crows flying into the pen before I'm able to collect eggs. They've eaten a total of 4 eggs, 2 today and 2 yesterday. I have a broody girl with 3 eggs, sitting since April 28th. We've even seen the crows fly into the pen, walk into the sheltered area adjacent to their coop, I'm guessing to steal food. My boyfriend has fired off the shogun several times but they still come back.

Aside from shooting the crows because they do keep the hawks away, does anyone have any successful suggestions that might stop the crows from eating the ducks eggs? In the next week or so, I'm moving the ducks to a new pen, once sectioned off and gate is made. I'm concerned they're still going to go after the eggs. I have poly poles set every 5 feet in each direction to deter hawks and owls, which works very well. I usually put up umbrellas but the weather hasn't been cooperative (rainy, windy). I also have aluminum pie pans tied to a few poles but it's not deterring the crows.

I have had to use bird netting on top of my pen to keep the hawks and wild birds out of it. I use zip ties to put it together as I have a large pen. Also I use painters poles attached to large metal stakes in the ground and that is what holds it up. It does not look pretty but the ducks don't complain and are just happy they are safe.

 

[wolfinator]

I have had to use bird netting on top of my pen to keep the hawks and wild birds out of it. I use zip ties to put it together as I have a large pen. Also I use painters poles attached to large metal stakes in the ground and that is what holds it up. It does not look pretty but the ducks don't complain and are just happy they are safe.

Thanks for the suggestion, I did that with my past layouts only to have it clasped due to snow in winter. The pens were much smaller back then. My pens are too big now to use netting overhead. The duck pen goes over about 8ft behind the large building (chicken coop) and is 20ft at the widest point. The ducks outsmarted the crows and dug a hole under the coop to hide their eggs. I almost didn't find them.

The crows have now turned their attention to our garden and started stealing the corn seeds we just planted. We now have tighter weave netting over the seeds.

 

[Luv Ducks]

Thanks for the suggestion, I did that with my past layouts only to have it clasped due to snow in winter. The pens were much smaller back then. My pens are too big now to use netting overhead. The duck pen goes over about 8ft behind the large building (chicken coop) and is 20ft at the widest point. The ducks outsmarted the crows and dug a hole under the coop to hide their eggs. I almost didn't find them.
View attachment 3534997

The crows have now turned their attention to our garden and started stealing the corn seeds we just planted. We now have tighter weave netting over the seeds.

My bird netting has about half inch holes in it and I have had to take a broom and wack it from underneath only to have it fall on my in the winter but not too often. Most of the time the ice and snow make it through it and land on the ground underneath into the pen. I am fortunate that it works for me as we have lots of hawks and they would attach my ducks for sure.