Do crows possess a threat?

[melissamerry]

I used to like crows because I thought they kept hawks away. But now that I have two ducklings running around with the pack I'm starting to think twice.

When I let the ducks (3 full grown and 2 wee fluff butts) out to "pluck weeds from my garden" there is this one crow that hovers on the roof and follows them around. I swear he's eyeballing the yellow fluff as lunch. But crows don't eat ducklings right.....? They eat eggs, yes, but ducklings?

I've even seen mama duck chase the crow away when it starts following the pack on the ground.

It's just one crow too. He even sits on the top of their run when they are inside of it. Is he just trying to be an honorary duck or waiting for one of the ducks to pop an egg out on the go so he can swoop in?

 

[Speceider]

Yes, crows can and will eat ducklings.

Clint

 

[melissamerry]

Any idea how to get him to leave the ducks alone? They sure do like their garden time. Less time in the run equals happier and quieter ducks

 

[Going Quackers]

Unfortunately, for wee ones yes they can be a concern. Not sure what to suggest, their is some tape by this company..

http://www.niteguard.com/pages/OtherProducts1

We have quite a few around here that said i also have massive amounts of cover and my breeds are also quite big so are of large size fairly quickly.

 

[desertdarlene]

Crows are very smart about getting around deterrents and, yes, they are regular predators of small ducklings. You might want to just keep them inside or in a covered run until they get a little bigger. I've noticed that crows and other birds (like gulls), tend to ignore ducklings when they get to about two weeks old. Bigger birds, like hawks, are another matter.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Any idea how to get him to leave the ducks alone? They sure do like their garden time. Less time in the run equals happier and quieter ducks

Just the other day someone posted about crows decapitating their ducklings, so keep those babies under cover. I had a very hard time believing that till others said it was true about crows. Or you stay with them the whole time they are out and about. Till they are larger.

 

[Duck Drover]

I have safe pens that I use for babies because the crows will kill them. I have seen crows chase hawks and eagles so they are probably better to deal with than large predators but the newly hatched ducklings can easily be killed by crows. Once they are mostly feathered they are big enough that the crows will not bother them but when they are little I keep them indoors or have a net over them outside.

 

[desertdarlene]

I saw on the other thread that you have baby Pekins. They should grow big pretty fast. I've hardly ever seen Pekin mothers take good care of their babies, but yours seems to be a great mother.

 

[Miss Lydia]

I saw on the other thread that you have baby Pekins. They should grow big pretty fast. I've hardly ever seen Pekin mothers take good care of their babies, but yours seems to be a great mother.

If your talking about melissamerry she has white mallards.

 

[melissamerry]

I saw on the other thread that you have baby Pekins.  They should grow big pretty fast.  I've hardly ever seen Pekin mothers take good care of their babies, but yours seems to be a great mother. 

If your talking about melissamerry she has white mallards. 

Thanks Miss Lydia! It's sometimes hard to tell in pictures or videos, but they are way too small to be Pekins but larger than Calls. This is her first time being a mother, and so far no problems! She does leave them behind a lot of the time though, but the minute I pick them up she's tugging on my shoelaces.

For the majority of the day they are in a covered dog run with their pond. A few times a day we all go for a walk and the crow joins us. Myself or mama duck scares him off. Ill just have to make sure the ducks never leave my sight for now