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I get it, I get it. I was only going by personal experience...
Ducks and Alligators.....
- Thread starter MrsPlopPlop
- Start date
- May 11, 2013
- 4,775
- 512
- 356
Nah, that's a myth (they even had it on mythbusters, ha!). Besides, gators are masters at turning. They can whip their heads around in a fraction of a second. Kinda neat to see 'em do it, actually! They can also swim up to 20 mph, faster than any duck I've seen. Even if you had a flying breed like a call or a mallard, I wouldn't believe for one moment that they'd be safe from gators.
suzy4027
Chirping
First, I'd like to take the opportunity to thank the Dear Lord for being land locked in Kansas!!! Oh. My. Gosh. Raccoons gave me enough sleepless nights when we went through planning and moving our 2 ducks out. I can't even imagine trying to outsmart a gator! The ducks would still be in the garage.
BUT... All my flustered drama did have a few grounded thoughts. (It happens every now and then. Lol) I wonder if there previously WERE ducks on the pond. All you can eat duckweed would be a big draw, right? All you can eat ducks would then draw the gators. Could be a "which came first" question to ponder. If the pond is as inviting to ducks as it appears, they'd already be there, right?
@MrsPlopPlopI don't think this question is specific to this situation, so I don't mean to beat the point into the ground, I just had an aha moment when it ran through my mind. We should all think like a duck or a predator when designing and building. Kudos to you for asking first!
To THIS specific predator issue, House Hunters on HGTV came to mind. Anytime people are looking at houses in Florida, the pools look like Alcatraz! They basically have enclosures. Maybe something along those lines would work. Having handy skills would make it a lot easier too. (Gators in trees?!? Shudder!)
When my kids were younger, we watched a lot of Crocodile Hunter. Hearing what gators are capable of brought to mind the feeding shows he would have at his park. The ones where he would stand on a platform that seemed 1000 ft above the water and dangle a raw chicken.... It never failed to amaze me that gators could jump so high out of the water. Until I heard they could run 30mph.
Last thing about the fun of duck ownership. When someone said to enclose the entire pond after removing the gators, my next thought was, don't they have Pumas and bears in Florida? Even if the gators are too lazy to climb, Cougars and bears climb as part of their regular patterns. Suddenly, a caged backyard pool became a must if we ever move to Florida!
I actually grew up in Tennessee, close to the Smokey Mountains. I spent childhood summer vacations in Florida, so it's not like I had no clue Florida had critters that thought "kids menu" meant children were a meal choice, I just never looked at it from a duck owner point of view. Mine would probably waddle right up and try to pick a fight. Not the brightest bulbs in the box.
Our family now vacations on Hilton Head Island, SC. They have a huge PGA tournament there every year, the Heritage. Has the lighthouse and harbor view on the 18th? I'm not a golfer so whatever. ANYway! Any of the holes with a pond near it, which is the majority of them, have signs that assure certain death should you glance their way. One hole has a massive gator that lives in a pond on the fairway! There are no golf carts in the PGA! THIS is why I don't golf. Well, that and my utter lack of hand to eye coordination. It reminds me of the insurance company commercial that has the Cracken in the golf pond. Lol. No thanks.
BUT... All my flustered drama did have a few grounded thoughts. (It happens every now and then. Lol) I wonder if there previously WERE ducks on the pond. All you can eat duckweed would be a big draw, right? All you can eat ducks would then draw the gators. Could be a "which came first" question to ponder. If the pond is as inviting to ducks as it appears, they'd already be there, right?
@MrsPlopPlopI don't think this question is specific to this situation, so I don't mean to beat the point into the ground, I just had an aha moment when it ran through my mind. We should all think like a duck or a predator when designing and building. Kudos to you for asking first!
To THIS specific predator issue, House Hunters on HGTV came to mind. Anytime people are looking at houses in Florida, the pools look like Alcatraz! They basically have enclosures. Maybe something along those lines would work. Having handy skills would make it a lot easier too. (Gators in trees?!? Shudder!)
When my kids were younger, we watched a lot of Crocodile Hunter. Hearing what gators are capable of brought to mind the feeding shows he would have at his park. The ones where he would stand on a platform that seemed 1000 ft above the water and dangle a raw chicken.... It never failed to amaze me that gators could jump so high out of the water. Until I heard they could run 30mph.
Last thing about the fun of duck ownership. When someone said to enclose the entire pond after removing the gators, my next thought was, don't they have Pumas and bears in Florida? Even if the gators are too lazy to climb, Cougars and bears climb as part of their regular patterns. Suddenly, a caged backyard pool became a must if we ever move to Florida!
I actually grew up in Tennessee, close to the Smokey Mountains. I spent childhood summer vacations in Florida, so it's not like I had no clue Florida had critters that thought "kids menu" meant children were a meal choice, I just never looked at it from a duck owner point of view. Mine would probably waddle right up and try to pick a fight. Not the brightest bulbs in the box.
Our family now vacations on Hilton Head Island, SC. They have a huge PGA tournament there every year, the Heritage. Has the lighthouse and harbor view on the 18th? I'm not a golfer so whatever. ANYway! Any of the holes with a pond near it, which is the majority of them, have signs that assure certain death should you glance their way. One hole has a massive gator that lives in a pond on the fairway! There are no golf carts in the PGA! THIS is why I don't golf. Well, that and my utter lack of hand to eye coordination. It reminds me of the insurance company commercial that has the Cracken in the golf pond. Lol. No thanks.
Who would have thought that golfing had the makings to be an extreme sport. Bahaha. Try retrieving your ball from one of those ponds?
- Thread starter
- #35
MrsPlopPlop
In the Brooder
@suzy4027
We dont have pumas. I think you're thinking of Florida panthers - they are nearly extinct and there aren't any in our area. Bears are mostly all north of here. So neither of those are any issue to me.
As for gators climbing trees:
Just by doing a little research I found that crocodiles are actually what climbs trees - and only in certain concentrated areas. It mostly seems to be an isolated behavior in certain regions - Florida is not one of them -Since we have mostly Alligators.... not Nile crocs... and at most an odd American crocodile here and there.
So based on my research, cumulative input from people here and knowledgeable sources, I will be building a secure enclosure large enough to let them roam and including a handsome pond. Since there will be a fenced yard eventually (which will be excluding the gator lake) I will let them clean the garden in the fall/winter during the day as a nice treat every so often. Of course they will have a lovely sturdy home on stilts attached to their enclosure and their fence will be buried 2 ft underground to stand against digging predators.
thank you everyone for the factual, experienced, helpful responses! These ducks will be happy, healthy, and totally spoiled!
We dont have pumas. I think you're thinking of Florida panthers - they are nearly extinct and there aren't any in our area. Bears are mostly all north of here. So neither of those are any issue to me.
As for gators climbing trees:
Just by doing a little research I found that crocodiles are actually what climbs trees - and only in certain concentrated areas. It mostly seems to be an isolated behavior in certain regions - Florida is not one of them -Since we have mostly Alligators.... not Nile crocs... and at most an odd American crocodile here and there.
So based on my research, cumulative input from people here and knowledgeable sources, I will be building a secure enclosure large enough to let them roam and including a handsome pond. Since there will be a fenced yard eventually (which will be excluding the gator lake) I will let them clean the garden in the fall/winter during the day as a nice treat every so often. Of course they will have a lovely sturdy home on stilts attached to their enclosure and their fence will be buried 2 ft underground to stand against digging predators.
thank you everyone for the factual, experienced, helpful responses! These ducks will be happy, healthy, and totally spoiled!
suzy4027
Chirping
YES! Panthers! I just figured it was the Panther, puma, cougar, mountain lion? name game. Lol. They all look the same to me. Scary! I'm really not a weeny, I just play one on the threads.
Still don't want to come face to face with one, no matter what the heck it's called.
Sounds like your ducks are in for a good life!
As far as the golfing? I think gators in the ponds are why "Mulligans" were invented!
Sounds like your ducks are in for a good life!
As far as the golfing? I think gators in the ponds are why "Mulligans" were invented!
Okay I'll fall for it what are Mulligans? lolYES! Panthers! I just figured it was the Panther, puma, cougar, mountain lion? name game. Lol. They all look the same to me. Scary! I'm really not a weeny, I just play one on the threads.Still don't want to come face to face with one, no matter what the heck it's called.
Sounds like your ducks are in for a good life!
As far as the golfing? I think gators in the ponds are why "Mulligans" were invented!
Mulligans are "do-overs" where the player gets to try the shot again from where he just shot from.
I didn't know, either. I guess I should have since my dad has been a golf player and fanatic ever since before I was born.
So I have to ask...Do you still have only one husband or have you added on so "they" can get some more work done?
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