How to break ducks from hanging out at neighbor's house?

[Mary Of Exeter]

Okay, so my muscovies are free range like my chickens. I feed my birds twice a day to keep the feed cost down. But you know ducks - they eat and poop constantly. Which is the problem - they poop....everywhere. They wandered to my neighbor's yard, which was never a big deal until they started feeding them bread and all sorts of treats. BAD IDEA. We told them not to! So now the ducks decided they would hang out up there waiting for the goodies. I guess the "grass" is always greener on the other side of the fence

Hanging around the grass - no big deal. Standing around on the concret to warm their feet - big deal. Yesterday they finally chased my ducks back where they belonged so they could wash the "masterpiece" off their sidewalk.
Another big problem with them going up there, is that their daughter moved back in and brought a pit bull with her. It already has a track record for killing and eating chickens. They don't keep it chained or locked up in any way so I'm very wary of it. Their last pitbull killed one of our chickens (that we saw - we doubt it was the only one), and had to put an end to that.

So, other than keeping my ducks locked up for the rest of eternity, is there any way to teach them NOT to go over there? We do have a fence but there's a giant section missing so that my dad can get his equipment into their pasture (tillers, tractors, etc to help the neighbors out). Dad's not gonna patch that up...so they will continue to have access to the neighbor's yard.

Should I keep them locked up for a certain amount of time and feed them really well so maybe they will stick around? They do hang out here a lot (also making masterpieces of our concrete and porch) of course.

I'm sure they'll stop feeding the birds now, which should give the ducks no reason to return. Would it help if they chase them off everytime they come near?

 

[ChickiKat]

Yah, I would say that if they quit feeding them they will not come back, and maybe others forms of deterring them like maybe turning the hose on them......

 

[Oregon Blues]

The only thing that keeps them in is a fence.

I suggest a gate so that your dad can drive into the fields.

Other options are to keep them penned up, or to build them a nice big covered run, or to fence the section of yard that doesn't include the hole in the fence that your dad drives through.

You've got another problem that apparently you don't see yet. That chicken killing dog will come right through the hole in the fence into your yard and kill all your poultry.

You can't train your ducks to recognize a boundary. They need a fence that they can't get over or under. The neighbor isn't going to train or control the dog.

The ball's in your court. If you want to have birds, you will have to protect them. If you don't care all that much, the neighbor's dog is going to eat well for awhile--- or maybe you could just give the ducks away before they all get killed.

 

[Oregon Blues]

Adding one more thing: if your ducks are in their yard and their dog kills your ducks while your ducks are in their yard, you have absolutely nothing to complain about.

It's not the same as if the dog comes into your yard to kill your livestock. You know the dog runs loose, you know the dog chases chickens, you know he is coming, so the time to protect your birds is now, not after the massacre.

Actually, after your livestock has spent so much time running loose in their yard, pooping in their yard, you hardly have room to complain if their dog wanders around in your yard.

 

[zzGypsy]

Quote:
x2 to this and your earlier post.

also, turning the hose on them likely won't work. ducks LIKE water. if you turn the hose on mine, they just stand upright, tuck their necks back and look like penguins... while standing in the full assault of hose water. highly entertaining, but won't get them off the porch.

ditto on the gate, it's up to you to keep them contained.

 

[DB_Tex]

Yeah, you have to pen them to protect them.

In my neck of the woods you have a legal right to shoot and kill a roaming dog that is harassing your animals regardless of who it does or does not belong to and that is true of most places, but if your birds roam loose you have no expectation of safety to your animals, and no standing.

What you can do is make a secure mobile "run" you can move around your property so your birds can free range. You can do this with an electric fence and a dog house for them to hide in. I've got a lightweight pen I build out of PvC pipe and hardware cloth on all sides (sides, top, bottom, and a door) that we use when we want our ducks to be contained somewhere outside their regular enclosure. It's enough to discourage my typical predators (but not enough to discourage a loose horse that wants to steal duck food, as I have learned.)

 

[FenDruadin]

Quote:
x2 on everything Oregon Blues said EXCEPT this. If the neighbors are feeding your ducks, then they have no room to complain if the ducks like hanging out in your yard. They still have a responsibility to keep their dog contained inside their yard unless you invite him over.

There is NO excuse for wandering dogs, especially large dogs of varieties known for aggression. Whether the dog is aggressive or not, it is simply not fair to the any of the neighbors, some of whom may wish to have their young children playing in their yards, others of whom may have cats or smaller dogs they'd like to not have attacked in their own yards.

But, while calling animal control every time the dog is loose will eventually solve THAT problem, it won't protect your livestock in the mean time.

I suggest a non-confrontational heart-to-heart with the neighbors. Ask them to help you figure out how to keep their sidewalk clean AND keep your livestock safe. Offer to make changes--such as a low fence that the ducks can't pass through plus wing-clipping to prevent them flying, in exchange for them offering to tie or otherwise contain their dog. Etc. Try to work something friendly out with them. That is nearly always the best policy for all involved, and works best when done proactively--not after your livestock has been harmed.

Good luck!

 

[kidcody]

A friend of friend who has a pond had the same problem the flock of ducks and geese would walk across a 15 acres field to eat there neighbors perfect green lawn. Firecrackers stopped them from going to the neighbors green lawn. Ever time they would show up on there lawn the owners would let off firecrackers. After two times of letting off the firecrackers they never returned. The animals were never in any harm, it was the loud noise they didn't like. Good luck!

 

[ChickInDelight]

Take the best of the advice.

Talk to neighbors proactively. Explain junkfood is bad, and they don't really want those ducks on their sidewalk. Have them frighten the ducks back home every time they see them.

Naturally, they won't want the Pitt Bull to see them chasing ducks.

The dog is separate issue.

Free-ranging is a much higher quality life than penning. Once an animal has known freedom, they don't take confinement so well.

Good luck!