Hawk Killed a Runner Duck

[Wifezilla]

I lost 2 grown ducks to a hawk a few months ago. One was a buff/khaki mix and the other was a Welsh Harlequin. Both were beheaded

Our ducks now have a run they use covered in deer netting. It is disappointing that they can't freerange anymore, but I am glad I haven't lost any more birds.

 

[Dances with Ducks]

My neighbor noticed hawks circling our yard on Thanksgiving day. I pinned up a king sized sheet over their pool, but I am trying to come up with something a lot larger and which doesn't get weighted down with snow. I wonder if the kind of bird netting you use to cover fruit trees will keep out the hawks? If I could use that I could pretty much turn their pen into an aviary.

 

[Wifezilla]

The deer netting is pretty much the same thing. It was $20 for a roll and it covered a pretty large area.

 

[alandra_lee]

Yeah, we're about halfway done with a day pen (hexagonal with 8-foot wall sections). The walls are made of poultry netting, and the top will be netted over with that deer/bird netting. The wall sections can be taken apart and easily moved, so we can have the ducks foraging in different parts of the yard.

I'm worried that the deer/bird netting is not very visible, causing the hawks to make an attempt for the ducks anyway and get tangled up in the netting, so I'm going to tie on pieces of orange flagging tape. I'll post photos when I'm done.

In the meantime, we are getting 2 pekins today!