Sallygarden Smallholding - The Forum For Sustainable Living

Hi everyone, just joined. I had to when I saw those ducks called Rosie and Jim - because ours are too! (must be a lot of ducks with those names in fact).

Can anyone help with ideas to stop, or reduce, rooks and jackdaws taking our duck food?

We keep 3 Welsh Harlequin ducks and have to feed them out in the open. We have to leave food out, because we are not in all day. We used to have a big garden, but had to move to a very small one, so there isnt enough forage for the darlings, and I am certainly not going to let them eat my carefully protected small veg patch.

At first it was just jackdaws and I didnt mind cos they didnt seem to take too much. But the rooks! they gobble loads. Now, I am all for feeding the local birds, but these organic GM-free layers pellets are just too expensive.

We have also had visits from a rat, it doesnt live in our patch but seems to tour round the street, have tried poison but it is too smart to be interested (and duck food probably tastes better). I am reluctant to feed the ducks inside the duckshed in case the rat gnaws its way in, which happened in our previous garden.

I guess it's spring and all these examples of urban wildlife are feeding babies, so maybe they are stealing more than usual. I dont remember it being such a problem last year.

I am really looking forward to your ideas....
thanks all, from Helen

Hi Helen,

Welcome.

We have a problem with the crows etc. consuming more than their fair share of the chicken food.

Could you build an enclosure for the ducks and cover it with fine mesh that way the ducks could still be out but the wild birds can't get access. We have our chickens and ducks in a large enclosure over 6 feet high and we criss crossed wire over the top and hang all sorts of things like old C.D's, ribbons, wind chimesetc, anything that makes it difficult for the wild birds to fly down into the enclosure (my husband says it looks like a mini Tibet out there!!) We have also picked up road kill crows and hung them up, it does act as a deterant but may not look so good in an urban garden.

As for the rats, I guess when you have food out you always run the risk of rats, do you have a cat? I f you do use poison crush it up first carefully and put it down an old drainpipe that way only the rats will get access to it.

Good luck with the ducks

Morag

Hello Helen,
With regard to your Rat problem, traping would be a better solution to poisening. Rats will hoard anything mobile and edible. We are lucky to be able to let our chickens free range. Murphys law, one of them will find the Rats stach. I use springer number four traps (also called fen traps) Traditional break back traps i find are inhumane and dont do the job. The springer works on a scisor action, killing instantly. Rats like to move under cover and around edges. This will minimise angles predatours can use. So the traps are placed in tunnels made of loose bricks with a slate on top for inspection. Each trap is inspected Morning and evening and emptyed if nesesary. Use rubber gloves for this as one in every two rats carrys Weils desiese! Not pleasant!!!!!
Hope this helps
Diz