Ducks and a pond with a snapping turtle?!

[amikk97]

I recently got 6 Indian runner ducks. I have been letting them swim in the bathtub and they absolutely love the water. however, when they get older, i want to take them out to a pond that is behind my house. it is a small pond about 3/4 of an acre, but has at least one big snapping turtle in it. i fish the pond regularly in the summer and can see his big shell moving through the water all the time. will he hurt my ducks? i have a kayak too and was thinking i could go out with them and paddle around with them. there is also a beaver ive seen swimming around in there too. i don't think he'll be a problem, but the snapper?

 

[Stoney Meadow Maple]

Snapping turtles readily kill and eat ducklings. They may also attack larger ducks.

They aren’t picky, one took a chunk out of my Yellow Lab. She didn’t really resemble a duck.

 

[5Australorpasaures]

They eat baby ducks like M&Ms. Ask around and see if some body is trapping snappers. Look for people who do wild life removal. Or you tube has vids on how to make your own fyke. Some tips if you want to soup 'em up don't use a hook they get what we call a fever, put them in a drum with water and let them clean themselves out, changing to fresh water each day, about a week, I have a great soup recipe that I've been using for over 50 yrs if you need one. I now take one snapper a yr for my own use. When I was younger I ran 15 t0 25 fykes and sold to resturants. My bait is sardines in oil with the tin being poked with a few holes.

 

[Shroppy]

VIDEO - TURTLE DROWNS DUCK! PLEASE keep your ducks away from the pond until you trap and kill any snappers. Three days ago we had our 23 ducks using our acre of pond. I was cooking and heard the Guinea Fowl and a Red-Winged Blackbird alarming like crazy so ran out. Hubby was working down by the pond, burning debris in the firepit so never heard anything. I counted the ducks and there were only 22. The Khakis ALWAYS swim in a group so I scanned the pond and found the victim. Not a mark on her. Not even a loose feather. She was still warm so this had JUST happened. She was only a year old.

We autopsied her and every organ was perfect. There was not even a bruise on her. The lungs, however, were pale and oedematous from waterlogging so she HAD drowned. My immediate suspicion was a turtle. We had a big one here two years ago, before we had the ducks.

In this video, the turtle grabs the duck by the beak and pulls her head underwater.. later, after she is dead, he starts to eat her. The fact that I spotted her just after she drowned.. and the turtle probably spotted ME meant that we were able to ascertain probable cause of death rather than find we had a duck -or two- missing by day's end.

What really gets me is that DNR will tell you that snappers are not a threat to domestic stock except for duckings and goslings.. WRONG!

Right now, we have a turtle trap set with the duck's entrails and we will kill any turtle we catch and then reset the trap for the season.

All the ducks and chickens are kept securely housed overnight, and we are always on the watch for daytime predators. No losses in almost two years, but this caught us totally unaware.

VIDEO ON FLICKR - https://www.flickr.com/photos/swamper/3808544213/in/set-72157621878926387

 

[DucksAndGardens]

Not quite fair to just let the ducks be killed by the snapper either. An alternative would be to relocate the snapping turtle and then put up a small fence that can deter other turtles from moving in but either way the turtle can't stay if the ducks are to be safe.

 

[5Australorpasaures]

I use rims from bicycle wheels with the spokes removed to strengthen the wire.

 

[ignisuti]

We had some large snappers in our pond. We've seen them literally pull several of our adult full-grown ducks under the water and kill them.

Tried baiting them. Tried trapping them. None of that worked. I think the turtle actually laughed me when I tried the pellet gun.

Got an air-rifle and quickly solved the problem. Set it up about 30-50 yards away (so we didn't spook them). Waited until they float on the top surface of the water. We found this was 3-5 p.m. You'll get about 5-30 seconds to setup your shot before they go back under, but was plenty of time for my son and I take "ethical" headshots. We only like headshots. because we don't like creatures suffering, even if it is a snapping turtle. They'll go under whether you hit it or not. The best way to know if you hit it is if you see cloudy water.

There are a lot of cheaper options, like a cheap rifle, but we opted for a $1000 setup: 0.35 caliber air-rifle Challenger Pro with high magnification scope and got a 4" digital Display screen to eliminate eye-relief issues. With this setup we can get consistent headshots on a snapping turtle at about 70 yards out after very minimal practice and calibration.

 

[5Australorpasaures]

Snappers are such dinosaurs head shot or not their nervous system keeps functioning. When I made soup chopping their heads off or three .22 hollow points to the head just tamed them down so I could clean them and still had to make sure not to grab the head 'cause they can still bite ! After scalding and splitting the top and bottom shell and dressing them out the heart would still be beating and the legs would still be moving. They even walk around with no heads attached. There is no "humane" way to kill them, you just whack 'em, and let time take care of it.

 

[5Australorpasaures]

You do not have 1 big snapper. If you have 1, you have many. They are mostly nocturnal and a small percentage enjoy sunbathing or just taking in the sights during the day. They are devastating to small and mid-size life on your pond. Some will live in a hole or under a rock 50 yds from your pond and visit the water every night to feed. It may take years of trapping pressure to rid them from your pond as they will migrate in from surrounding areas. Yet my 100' X 80' pond is snapper free. Dad and I cleared a 3 acre pond of snappers when I was a kid.

I agree with the expensive pcp air rifle setup. Benjamin has a marauder; great value. A 22 rifle with subsonics works well, be safe about bullets glancing off water surface. Snipering requires a lot of time. If you're retired, or young with the summer off, it's a satisfying accomplishment. You'll think they're gone, but the surviving few simply got wise and a week later you figure out there's more still in there. Occasionally a head shot will kill right there, just know the kill zone is peanut size. Nevertheless, nature is cruel and it's our job to manage (ie; lessen) the cruelty.

I found it necessary to eliminate 'em to keep from losing and having maimed ducks.

Trapping snappers is more efficient than shooting. Dad and I always trapped out the snappers cause they destroy the fishing. Just make or buy most any turtle trap and put in fish remains. They crawl up, fall in, can't get out.
https://www.amazon.com/Tomahawk-404R-Trap-Turtles-

Fykes are easy to make. I make mine from 2"x4" Turkey wire, and three bicycle tire rims at least 21" diameter, spokes removed of course. I used to weave the entrance netting, These days I cheat and buy fish net replacement and cut the bottom off. One of my favorite baits is Sardines packed in oil with poked holes in the tin, sorta puts out a nice chum slick. I used to sell to bars and restaurants but I have only one fyke left now, just in case I get a hankerin' for soup.

 

[Stoney Meadow Maple]

As I always say.