Owl and Hawk Deterant? Your thoughts please.

[Many Thunders]

Howdy,

I am a newbie to the forum, but I promise to bring good content and humor. I started raising ducks (see I told you I was funny), and I have lost 3 to owls. Two in one night!!

I have an idea for deterring owls and hawks, and I wanted to see if anyone has tried it. My quackers are somewhat free range, and their open pen is a buffet table for the owls. I am not sure why the hawks have not come around, perhaps we have too much activity. Anyway here is my idea...

CROW DECOYS!! Crows are natural enemies to owl and hawks alike. So why not post a few crow decoys around my coop and favorite duck hangouts?

Do you think it will work?? I plan on trying it anyway, but I wanted to see if anyone had thought of it before.

Thanks, (sounds like quack)
Many Thunders

 

[Patricia Jane]

Howdy Many Thunders,

. I can't really say if the decoys will work or not. I have not tried them but I have heard of people putting decoy owls up to keep critters out but haven't seem to work. Give it a try. Is there any way you can make their pen more secure? I have owls and hawks but we do have an abundant of crows around and they keep them at bay pretty well. Sorry I have no answer for you. Good luck

 

[carrlr]

I think it's worth a try.

 

[Capvin]

Owls will not be detered in the least by a crow decoy.

 

[Many Thunders]

Capvin -

Why or why not? We see crows chasing owls all the time. Is it because you think they can tell the difference between a real and a fake? If that is the case, perhaps I should paint my ducks black.

Many Thunders

 

[RedDrgn]

If you have larger owls (e.g. great horned), no crow or decoy crow is going to deter them. Not to mention that even those owls that may think twice about a crow will not do so for long once they realize the crow never moves. Long term, you're going to need to put the ducks somewhere the owls can't get into.

 

[Chicken.Lytle]

Feed the crows! Give them a reason to stick around.

I have found them to be unreliable allies -- not always there when needed.

 

[njduck]

depending on how much you want to spend or what kind of appearance you want i have found 2 options that work really well. put up some posts on each side of the run. then place strings from pole to another across the pen. then hang either the foil pie pans or the decorative spinning shinny wind catchers? so when any breeze blows they spin. now you have obstructions in the air that the owls can't see string. I use 100lb test fishing line. you also have something that reflects light, shines and moves. this will deter most attacks but not all.

 

[7L Farm]

I have some fake crows & owls around my garden they were in my barn so I put them up. Probably doesn't

help but they look good.LOL

 

[hinkjc]

Since crows do not fly at night and owls do, I am doubtful crow decoys will be a threat to them. I have found lighting deters owls at night the best. We had numerous owl attacks on our pheasants and turkeys. We strung up Christmas lights near where they sleep and the attacks stopped. All of our birds are in covered heavy netting pens, however owls will flush them and grab the heads, causing injury and sometimes losses. For our smaller pens we strung up wire metal strands over the netting to deter owls as well. Since these have been up, we have had no further attacks.

Hawks will attack during daylight and do not like crows. We encourage crows to stay here, which helps to keep hawks at bay. You can also hang shiney stuff (aluminum pie pans, old CDs) which reflect the sun and tend to intimidate hawks. Hawks are less likely to attack covered pens, but I have seen them do it. Typically the chickens will run in the coop and the hawk does not get any, so I find covered enclosures very helpful to prevent hawk incidents.