What are good ways to keep ducklings safe from hawks?

[faith5]

Hello there! I’ve got 5 ducklings that are about 3 weeks old that love to play in the grass and soak up the spring sun. Their bed time cage is outside and safe from all different types of predators. But their day time cage isn’t as safe for them. I’ve had a hawk lurking around my home for a few days now and I am scared it will get one of my ducklings. I keep my ducklings in a pet play pin and I cover the top of the play pin with some extra wire fencing and old rugs for shade. Ever since I saw the hawk I’ve put more old rugs to cover up my ducklings. But today the hawk was more active around my neighborhood than ever before, so I decided to put my ducklings back into their bed time cage (their safest spot). My poor ducklings wanted out to play so darn bad. I feel very bad for them. I want them to be able to play around, but Im just so worried about this hawk getting to them. Is there any way I can feel more comfortable letting my ducklings out to play during the day with out worrying about the hawk? Thanks

 

[tribalacres]

A bat, shotgun, etc. There are four of us and we sit out there with them, we had about twelve Hawks circling the other day. Super scary. We just gather them and put them back in their cage. We also have emus. They tend to stay away when they are out. Our ducks are five weeks old too. I'mcurious to know others answers too. Thanks for asking...

 

[DiYMama540]

Sounds like it's time to get started on a covered run! Doesn't necessarily need to be roofing over the whole thing, some sort of fencing in top will work well to keep aerial predators out.

You could also try hanging some aluminum pans or scare tape in the area.

 

[DiYMama540]

Also... surprisingly, crows are wonderful hawk deterrents. If the crows take up residence, you won't see the Hawks around. They are one of the only birds that defend themselves from Hawks, and do a really good job at it!

My neighbor tosses out a lot of old food and what not...there are literally 20 crows sitting on her roof waiting for food every morning!! I can't complain, very rarely see a hawk here!

 

[faith5]

Also... surprisingly, crows are wonderful hawk deterrents. If the crows take up residence, you won't see the Hawks around. They are one of the only birds that defend themselves from Hawks, and do a really good job at it!

My neighbor tosses out a lot of old food and what not...there are literally 20 crows sitting on her roof waiting for food every morning!! I can't complain, very rarely see a hawk here!

Wow! So interesting! Hopefully I wake up with crows in my backyard tomorrow ahaha! I was gonna let my ducklings play in their baby pool tomorrow (I only fill it up a little bit and I watch over them) , but if that hawk is still lurking around my home i don’t know what I’ll do

 

[Texag87]

Another member said a while back that a shotgun and burn barrel take care of this problem real fast.

 

[faith5]

Haha I love BYC! Y’all are great I’ve just put them in their day time cage. I feel stress-free about the hawks getting my ducklings. I’ve secured my ducklings so much that no predator will ever be able to get to them. They are currently in a large metal dog crate surrounded with some spare wire fencing with a rug on top for shade and a big patio umbrella. They are right beside my home with my dogs (they are BIG boys that aren’t afraid of anything and are super nice to new chicks and ducklings). If y’all have any other tips for getting hawks away from ducklings/chicks I’d love to hear them!

 

[Miss Lydia]

We watched 2 crows dive bombing a red tail the other day they were literally flying into the hawk. Next day the hawk was sitting in a huge tree and those 2 crows harassed that hawk till it flew off.

 

[Matthewstee]

I use scare tape on top of my pen, so the hawks eyes are hurt when it flies by.

 

[faith5]

I use scare tape on top of my pen, so the hawks eyes are hurt when it flies by.

That’s cool, I’ve never heard about scare tape before, I might have to invest in some haha