Snapping turtle

[Duckfarmer1]

Hi...I joined because I read info on here about ducks ad thought this was also for ducks...if not..just say so...anyway...we have 20 ducks and 2 geese. Awhile ago one duck went missing in the afternoon...we searched but figured it was a coyote. Then after dinner one night we came home to one that was tore up on her bottom side...through the muscle. We cleaned here up. And world for an hour...but she was fading fast...we raise these ducks for my hobby...not to eat...but can’t really afford to take it to the vet. We put het down. Then. Last Friday m baby goose was in the pond...the older ducks haven’t used our pond in weeks...the goose was hurt bad...her foot and ankle were shredded....I wrapped her and I did what I could until my husband got home. I did not want to lose another one..so we decided to amputate her leg from the knee down...is was her only shot..she’s doing great! But..the real question is....now none of the ducks use the pond. We realized we have snapping turtles. We caught a hug on Sunday. The shell was ten inches! We almost caught another turtle looks close to eight inches...and we threw back in that was inches because we that it was too small to cause harm...boy were we wrong. Please help me...how do I tell the ducks that we are making it are safe for them to swim.

 

[Folly's place]

Welcome! So sorry, but snappers will grab anything they can, and domestic birds are at risk.
I'd keep them out of that pond, sadly, and give them a plastic pond in the yard.
We have a farm pond here, and MANY wild Canada geese, who seem to manage just fine. The one time I got a couple of Peking ducks, one of them had a severely damaged leg one day, which did heal up, but that ended my duck experiment, and no domestic ducks will manage here.
Trying to eliminate all snappers will be uncertain, at best.
I don't know if they are protected where you live, but check with your DNR for information and advice.
It might be possible to fence off part of your pond and land to have a safe area for your birds.
Mary

 

[ButtonquailGirl14]

Welcome to BYC! So sorry about your ducks! What is your setup like? Maybe we can help you predator proof.

 

[mowin]

How large is your pond? The do make a turtle trap. Ex Client of mine has one. Her dog took a nasty bite to it's nose from a rather large snapper. He was just a pup, and the snapper was dragging him into the pond. Luckily she was close by and saved the pup.

 

[Isaac 0]

I use a live trap for snappers and it works pretty good but if you want to go a cheaper route a lot of people just throw a anchored line out there with a good sized hook at the end and a milk jug floater to indicate whether you caught it.

 

[Chickassan]

I agree with @Folly's place.
It will take a very, very long time to remove all the turtles if you even can remove them all.
They bury up in the mud and can go weeks even months without eating a darn thing so older wiser ones will be a pain to trap.

 

[cmom]

Welcome! So sorry, but snappers will grab anything they can, and domestic birds are at risk.
I'd keep them out of that pond, sadly, and give them a plastic pond in the yard.
We have a farm pond here, and MANY wild Canada geese, who seem to manage just fine. The one time I got a couple of Peking ducks, one of them had a severely damaged leg one day, which did heal up, but that ended my duck experiment, and no domestic ducks will manage here.
Trying to eliminate all snappers will be uncertain, at best.
I don't know if they are protected where you live, but check with your DNR for information and advice.
It might be possible to fence off part of your pond and land to have a safe area for your birds.
Mary

I agree too.