At the start of 2017, Blackberry Run Homestead had a population of 18 Pekin ducks and approximately two dozen Mallard ducks. All of our duck people made it through a comparatively mild, yet unending winter. When spring finally arrived so did the predators. They came in seemingly unending waves. 2017 is easily the worst year for predation on our homestead. We lost many birds; chickens, turkeys and of course ducks.
Our flocks endured both ground and aerial assaults. Raccoons, hawks and worst of all, owls. Specifically a great horned owl. Throughout spring and summer the onslaught continued. Not everyday, but several times a week. Almost our entire flock of broilers were slaughtered in one night. No broilers this year. We lost at least a dozen laying hens. The Mallards were killed and scattered. There are only a few Mallard ducks left, one hen and several drakes.
We lost a third of our turkeys, one was almost full grown. I searched the entire homestead for that bird. No trace, not even one feather was found. Something carried him off no doubt. How it got him out of the fence I don't know. There are coyotes in the area, but not in our neighborhood. Or so I think.
The Pekin duck flock was the hardest hit though. Two-thirds of our ducks were killed by an owl. I tried everything to stop the murder. Nothing seemed to work until the remaining ducks were so scared they slept in the barn at night. The tactic that stopped the owl attacks was closing the barn doors at night enough to prevent a large bird from flying through. Closing the doors all the way makes the barn too hot in the summer.
However, what really got the owl to leave and not come back was me catching it in the barn at 3AM. My wife woke me because she heard the attack taking place. I charged out and found the owl flying around the rafters. The goats had opened the barn doors enough to let the owl fly in.
It took me an hour to chase that flying monster out of the barn. I guess it was scared witless by my attempts to herd it through the doors. After that night, I fixed the doors so the goats couldn't open them and prevented anymore monster invasions. The owl has not come back, however last week we lost another Pekin duck. Again, I could find no trace of it anywhere. I have been worrying for the last several years since a pack of coyotes devastated a friend's sheep flock. It was so bad he sold what he had left and got out of the sheep business.
Now the barn is locked up tight every night, but the ducks and geese can still roam around, as they usually do in the middle of the night. Hawks are still a serious problem during the day, but the nights have been quiet for now. Homesteading is a 24 hour job and you are responsible for the safety of your livestock. Employing nonlethal methods to stop predators requires ingenuity and perseverance. Battling against critters that will do whatever it takes to eat keeps me on my toes all the time. And when I slack off one of my birds usually pays the price.
