Predatory birds??

[katharinad]

The great horned owls we have are huge. Saw two female chicks sitting on a lower branch about 6 feet away from me last spring and they were both about 3 feet tall. They appear much larger then the bald eagles around here. My dogs went nutso and they didn't even care. I wish I had my nice camera back then, because the old one didn't work. They tell us here not to leave <30 pound dogs run around loose, because the owls will kill them. I believe that. Have only seen the bald eagles in the air and not from up close. Anyway we have 5 breeding pairs of great horned owls on my property. I worry more about them then anything else. I even put up a temporary aviary for my ducks when they were young.

 

[RamblinLizard]

Well thanks for the information you have(and happy birthday Kat) and I am not to rule out owls I have seen one in my backyard before, but it was no great horned owl. I live in a rural area and have never seen a bald eagle perched in the tree that low to the ground before. When I've seen him flying before he would sit and circle around my house and neighbors houses for like 20 minutes I know he saw something he liked (my neighbors also have small yappy dogs so I thought he might be looking at them as well.) I definitely think after seeing this massive bird of prey in my little backyard that my ducks have been targeted as easy meals.

I don't have a duck run I can just cover, they have the entire backyard fenced in for them and landscaped for them. To put up a cover across that would be a lot of new fencing, work and expense that i just don't think I can do right now especially cuz I have my first little "duckling" about to pop out in a couple months. I guess I was hoping there'd be a quick fix like an eagle-b-gone spray to deter this bird as I'm not looking forward to witnessing the circle of life in my backyard. Maybe they will be good indoor ducks and by next spring my eagle enemy will have forgotten about them. Wish me luck!

 

[deerman]

Bald Eagles are Fish eagles, but sure they would take ducks. Lakes and large bodys of water are there hunting ground,

greathorn owl may weight as much , smaller wing , but one of the biggest killer of ducks. If I had both would think the owl would kill alot more ducks. Setting Ducks at night for owls, at least the ducks can see the eagle attack.

 

[desertdarlene]

I think it's a good idea to keep them out of sight for a while to see if this eagle will move on. It might just be passing through.

 

[rainplace]

Bald eagles eat ducks, cats, smaller dogs and I even saw one take a raccoon carcass up into a nearby tree. I had a serious issue with them early spring before my trees leafed out. They grabbed ducks and on the last day they were around they grabbed one of my cats... Hooli. He was a monster sized cat.

 

[tomingreeneco]

You might try Guinea Fowl. We have a problem with hawks around here and the Guinea do a good job at warning the other birds about a problem. Also, try luring Blue Jays into your yard with peanuts in the shell (non-salted). They also do a good job at warning the other birds about danger from above. As a last resort the eagles could always have an accident.

 

[K4zn4v3]

I keep my ducks in a fully enclosed pen at night and when I let them out I perch the door open so if they get scared they can always go back in. The best way to keep predatory birds from your ducks is shiny objects. For some reason shiny object confuse they. You can hang pie plates from branches with string. Also, if there is a certain spot in the yard they like to hang out than take a roll or two of aluminum foil and wrap it around a couple of trees. If you live on a farm or a big property the best protection would be a small mammal like a goat. If you get the goat real young you can keep him with the ducks so that way he is use to them and by the time he is older he knows no to hurt them.

 

[K4zn4v3]

Quote:
The bald eagle is a national symbol and a bird protected under the United States Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act. Harming a bald eagle is a thrid degree felony, if caught killing or even trapping one you are looking at a fine of up too $100,000 and could face up to a year in federal prison. The last person to kill a bald eagle spent 9 months of their life in prison. So killing the eagle would not be a good idea.

 

[KansasKid]

Well as a last resort i'm sure there is someway you can contact someone who could humanely remove and move it to a different location.

 

[rainplace]

Quote:
No, they don't do that.

Shiny objects suggested by K4zn4v3 is a good idea. If you're on a farm, making sure there are shelters littered around the place is a good idea. I've found that my ducks will stick close to where ever I set up watering stations for them. I have one set up inside of some corral panels, another at the pump house... and so on. If I put food in these places occasionally they stick close and don't wander very far.

Whereas ducks always have butts in the air, geese always have an eye to the sky. Geese are wonderful for keeping your ducks safe from aerial predators.

I hadn't thought of blue jays, but I do know that ravens and crows will not permit sky predators to hunt nearby. Now that breeding season is over, the crows are congregating in huge numbers again. Having a flock of them on or near your property is a huge bonus! Not only do they alert, they pester and dive-bomb aerial predators mercilessly until they move on.

Hopefully this helps.