What in Ducky Heck is this!?

[Kusanar]

Advice being sought::

Alrighty guys; having a re-emergence of some confusion regarding safety of the girls come freedom day(s).

((This is a filler question until more updates on OG))

So I knew hawks/owls would be a predator to ducks but I was sortve thinking that the meat bird varieties were too big for them to swoop with so I was naively hoping they’d be okie dokie in the ponds come this spring when I let them out for freedom.

Past week or so I’ve noticed heavy Cooper’s Hawk activity on my property. Hubs also had an owl swoop at his head at midnight LOL.

Add to the mix coyotes, raccoons, possums, etc.

So I’m keenly aware that my rural setting is ripe with safety risks to ducks. And I have been doing a lot of research into my build on the coop. I’m pretty confident in the predator proof-ness of my coop and their run. But now I’m second guessing letting them out of coop/run to roam the ponds during the day.

Most of the aforementioned predators are only spotted at night (their nature) but raptor birds are present in the day.

I don’t want to deprive them of their ducky nature to swim on the ponds; especially since I have two glorious ponds for them (plus the acreage) to let them free range for a period during the day. But is it worth it??

Opinions?

My VERY uneducated opinion is that they will likely be fine on the water. Raptors don't swim and why would a raptor in it's right mind attack a bird that is larger than it is, when the BEST case scenario is that the raptor lands ON the bird and can take back off from there, worst case, the raptor misses or gets deflected off and goes in the water, bad situation for the raptor.

 

[pamelajean]

I too have internally struggled with this - but I don't have a glorious pond on my property. That would make it even harder to not let them out! Happy duck living how a duck should live or potentially dead duck.

For now, I keep my girls in their run when I am not home. They come out into their electrified fenced yard after I get home up until dark - or bedtime if I am busy and forget. We lost one girl to a bobcat this winter while I was at work, which made me gun shy to let them out during the day which is what I did before. If they stay on the pond most of the time, I feel like that could reduce the risk for your girls. That is just a gut feel though - I have no experience there.

 

[Miss Lydia]

It's always something we struggle with whether to let them have freedom all of the time or just when we can keep an eye out. So that is a decision only you can make. I will say I was showed a video on you tube where a falcon attacked a large Canada goose in flight and brought it down I left before it killed it. so yes raptors will kill a bird larger than them, whether in the water possibly not but on land they will attack and kill pretty swiftly. I have seen where hawks, eagle swoop down and snatch right out of the water. How much weight can a hawk carry? That I don't know.

 

[DuckyDoodles]

I appreciate all your responses so far. It seems you have the same struggles I do: Raptors typically go for prey they know they can take and a meat bird breed duck isn’t small BUT the right conditions or the infrequent pterodactyl sized hawk/raptor... well, we know what can happen.

LoL my “glorious” pond may be meh by some standards but it’s about an acre and I have ducks. 1+1 = glorious

But, as we all agree, is a run-lived life worse than a brutally slaughtered short lived life? Gah.

Do you guys who said you let them out only with supervision; do you feel your human presence deters the birds? Because I could settle my mind if I felt like they could have a little of both (at least) and it doesn’t HAVE to be one or the other?

 

[Miss Lydia]

I always feel predators whether flying or walking will think 2X about coming close if a Human is around close by. Although I have read on here too that hawks will come down and attack with them right close by. I let mine out on nice warm days so I can sit out with them then my dogs are out there too. Usually all the waterfowl stays close around. It's my chickens that go off into the woods and I have lost some that way.

It's so relaxing to sit out and watch the ducks and geese enjoying themselves.

 

[MatthewsHomestead]

I agree with @Miss Lydia .... You want them to be safe, and you want them to be happy.... You can put together a good run/enclosure for them that gives them the feeling of freedom. It's just a matter of utilizing what yard space you have available smartly. This is what my husband and I are currently attempting to design ourselves...the plans keep changing.... And we keep moving the space because we want it to be just right.... But I do experience that predatory birds will scare off if there is a human. Especially when i carry my rifle out there with me. We have a battle with red tail hawks and black snakes....

 

[MatthewsHomestead]

Have you thought about one of those floating duck houses?

 

[MatthewsHomestead]

Talk about duck cuddles! This is my babies all tuckered out from bathtime cuddling and snuggling while I catch up on threads!

 

[MatthewsHomestead]

Sweet PDZ is also sold under the name Stall Dry and is generally sold in the horse section of Tractor Supply type stores. It is a sand made of a mineral called zooilite (I may have spelled that wrong) that actually traps ammonia and won't let it offgas into the air. I was thinking with your setup, you could fill a tray that is larger than your crate with the PDZ and then press the crate down into the "sand" so that she's not on the bars but on the sand, then just lift the cage out and muck out the sand to clean. I use a kitty litter scoop to clean and it gets nearly all of the pigeon poop, I imagine her poop is much larger.

Do you think this would work well in a brooder?

 

[MatthewsHomestead]

You’ve sold me! I’m gonna catch some fishies from my pond and give them to the little turd duckies LOL.

I, of course because I have no shame, will post pics. You know the “ooooh!” happy sounds they make when they’re happy? (Of course we’ve adopted it into our natural conversations in the house; when we get excited about something we start mimicking the sounds). I’ll have to record it on video. Might have to make me a YouTube account just so I can share the “ooooh’s” with people who appreciate the tonal difference and further appreciate the unending butt wiggles LOL

Haha! Butt wiggles! I LOVE it! And I love when they do it! And how their bodies shake when they eat!