Lost duck to predator

[ducklucky]

Isn't there some kind of powder to put on it, remember that from way back, wish I could remember what it was. Maybe you can google and research. Don't know if pine tar might work...It's a tough one. There's also a blue seal that I used when our rooster had a boo-boo on his leg and the girls were picking on him, it worked great. Got it through McMurray, but sure you can find it elsewhere. Hope Ping does okay, don't want those bugs to get way in, after all the poor thing has been through.

 

[ducklucky]

Maybe try firing a shot in the sky everytime you see it. Dogs are a great deterrent. We can't be with them 24-7. When I had my ducklings out on the screened porch, the hawks would actually fly into the screen trying to get to them. They are bold! Always have the dogs out when they are out, that seems to help. Should be coming into the time of year, at least here, when they don't have young to feed and may not be so bothersome. Scarecrow with metal pie pans hanging off? Pie pans seem to help if you hang two together so they move and make noise. The ducks were afraid of them at first but got used to them, sooooo assume the eagles will as well, but it's a fix for now.

 

[EggLuver]

Quote: That is a very bad idea. The law of gravity should rule this out immediately. You never know where that bullet will come down.

 

[LightningTFarm]

I am raising a small flock of Welsh Harlequins, my first foray into ducks. They are now 11 weeks old. I have lost four ducks so far, all to chicken snakes. I managed to kill three of the snakes, while one got away despite my whanging it repeatedly with a shovel.

I lost three ducklings the first night I put them out in the duck house! The snake was still in there when I opened the door, as it had managed to come in a small crack in the door to the outside pen, but after it ate a duckling it couldn't fit through the crack to get out. Two more were dead in a corner, I suspect from suffocating at the bottom of a pile of frantic ducklings. It couldn't move fast enough to get away from the shovel with a duckling-shaped lump in its middle, so it will never eat another duck! I fixed that crack, then about a week later I went out about sunset and all the ducks were sitting outside in the run, and I knew something was wrong. Sure enough, I opened the door to their house and a snake was lying in wait, hoping for a duck dinner. I went after it with a shovel, but it escaped. It had managed to get through the chicken wire of the run and went into the house through the duck door and just waited. A week or so after that, I came out one afternoon and again the ducks were outside, but I did a quick count and knew I was missing one. I opened the duck house and there was a snake in there just in the process of swallowing the head of my poor duckling. I dispatched it with my trusty shovel. After that I went a few weeks with no snake problems, and figured the ducks were now too big for a snake to try to eat them. I thought I didn't have to worry about chicken snakes again till they started laying, when the snakes would go after the eggs. But, just last week I went out later than usual to let the ducks out into the run, and I could hear them fussing like crazy in their house. This is very unusual, as they normally are very quiet until they hear me saying good morning. As I got to the door, I saw the tail of a snake as one was trying to get into the house through a crack at the bottom of the door. I stepped on the tail so it couldn't get any further in, and it tried for a while but finally backed out. With my feet on the snake I couldn't get to my trusty shovel, so I had to call my dad on my cell phone to come out and help me. He's 87 but really spry, and he plys mean shovel! Needless to say, I fixed the bottom of the door so not so much as a garter snake can get in there now.

Did I mention that I really hate snakes?

Before they start to lay I am going to replace the chicken wire with 1/2" hardware cloth, which should keep the snakes out. Under that is some cyclone fencing, which should keep out the larger, more determined predators like bobcats, foxes, coyotes, dogs, raccoons, etc. Lots of predators in rural East Texas. I would love to let them wander around, but yesterday I saw a pair of hawks circling overhead, so now I have that to worry about.

 

[ducklucky]

Sorry, we are very rural we have 35 acres, you could always use blanks, we have no danger of the bullets hitting anything here, but yes, you are right, you must be careful. Maybe even shooting at a target just for the noise? I am sorry for that bad advice, just assume everyone is as "out there" as we are.

 

[ducklucky]

We are continuing to have a hawk issue here. Yesterday about 5PM, had the Pekins out, was out with them, and heard the hawk crying from a neighbors farm about 1/4 mile away. Sure enough, it came buzzing overhead, think it was a red tail, but I was there. The ducks see it before I do, but I knew it was coming. Must have been a young one to send out warning cries. The poor ducks just go silent and sit there looking at the sky, so they are easy targets. They are BIG ducks, he would have had a hell of a time, just glad I was there or he would have put a hurtin' on one of them for sure. Sorry for the person in Texas, glad we at least don't have a snake problem here, how distressing to see a snake eat one of your babies. Glad you hopefully resolved the problem with reinforcement. Let everyone know how it works out.

 

[azhenhouse]

That is a very bad idea. The law of gravity should rule this out immediately. You never know where that bullet will come down.

I agree. In Arizona a young girl was killed in her back yard by a stray bullet. Not a good idea.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shannon's_law_(Arizona)

 

[azhenhouse]

Sorry, we are very rural we have 35 acres, you could always use blanks, we have no danger of the bullets hitting anything here, but yes, you are right, you must be careful.  Maybe even shooting at a target just for the noise?  I am sorry for that bad advice, just assume everyone is as "out there" as we are.

Whew! Makes since now. I can only dream of living on 35 acres in Maine. It is beautiful there.

 

[LightningTFarm]

Thanks, Ducklucky, for your condolences. It was horrifying when I found the first snake, with a duckling sized lump in it's middle. But I have to say the second one was worse, as the duckling was dead and the snake had just started on it, so only about half the head was down the snake's gullet. It was enought to slow it down, though, so I could dispatch it with my shovel. We live on 50 acres in very rural East Texas, so the number and variety of predators is never ending. If I were going to shoot at anything around here, I wouldn't use a bullet. We do have some nearby neighbors. I'd use my grandmother's double-barrel 410 shotgun. The pellets won't travel that far, but it still makes a heck of a bang!!

 

[ducklucky]

To all of you wondering what predator is lurking behind the tree, here are a couple of halfway decent sites that describe the kill methods of different animals. professorchickenspredators.webs.com and raising-chickens.org. Pretty good descriptions. Hope it helps you all solve your mysteries and you can trap appropriately and get rid of the varmints.