Night dangers for ducks

[DHaines]

We have a good sized coop that our ducks sleep in at night. It is pretty solid. The ducks enter the coop on their own as soon as it starts to get dark. Tonight I went out to close up the coop door (it is about 2’x2’), a bit later than normal (got distracted), and I saw a great example of why it is so important to make sure the ducks are safe in the coop before dark! This beautiful owl (possibly a great horned) was very close to the ground and flew up to that branch when I entered the fenced in run area. It looks big enough to fly away with a small runner duck, but could have seriously injured any of our ducks.

Out of curiosity, aside from the shelter of a coop, does anyone have any ideas on how to discourage this Owl from going after our ducks?

 

[ruthhope]

No suggestions on discouraging an owl. Our ducks certainly have to be safely inside a secure duck house by dusk when owls come out. During the day, they need shielding from hawks, and depending where you live, from eagles. An open grassy area is a problem for ducks. My garden has lots of shrubs and no long open vistas that might favor a hawk. Where hawks are a known problem, best to keep ducks in a covered run.

 

[sarahgray18]

Some people say that owl decoys work because they're territorial birds. However, I haven't tried this, so don't take my word for it. You could still try putting one up and see if the owl stops coming around.

As ruthhope mentioned, you could consider covering your run if you're nervous about other flighted predators. My ducks stay in a large covered run during the day since we live on open farmland and the hawks are relentless. We've had hawks come dangerously close, even with me standing right next to them while free-ranging in our backyard.

Also, I have no idea if this would work for an owl, but many farmers near us use "bird scare tape" on their crops and trees. It's a reflective/holographic tape, and many people hang it from branches. The combination of the light reflecting off of it, the movement of the tape in the wind, and the sound it makes when it moves helps deter birds from eating and coming near their crops.

 

[DHaines]

I was wondering about an owl decoy.

I wouldn't mind having it around (killing off rodents and such), except it seems to have become curious about the ducks.

Our run is not covered, but it is in the forest, with pretty good tree/branch cover over the run, and a six foot tall fence surrounding a roughly 30' x 30' area with brush, tall red pines, and some smaller hardwood trees. So, even though I see the occasional bald eagles and hawks flying around, I have yet to see them dive below the tops of the trees to where the ducks are--below about 2 or 3 layers of Bree branches (there are so many branches in the way). They seem to go for more open fields.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

It's illegal to harass birds of prey, all of which are federally protected, or to harm them in any way, without a permit. Protecting your birds proactively by doing all you can to keep them off the menu, is all you are allowed to do. Good luck!