jnrm24 Posted March 31, 2010 Share Posted March 31, 2010 (edited) I'm hoping someone with ducks can help - I have a cube full of chickens and a wild duck problem. Every time I feed my chickens the pesky wild ducks gobble all the food. 10 chickens are no match for 40 ducks. They hoover the food up - I run around like a mad thing but they've perfected a pincer movement. It also means I can't leave layers pellets out - I've tried the grub, I've tried one of those screw things - the chickens delicately peck the pellets out, the cockerel whacks it so that a few layers pellets fall out at a time, the ducks worry it and gobble the lot as it spills out. I tried feeding the chickens in the garden right outside the front door but the ducks got even more tame and fly into the garden. I've even come home twice to 30 ducks jam packed onto our little pond (probably eating our goldfish). So, I've to be careful not to attract them into the garden any more. All I need is an idea for some sort of feeder/container for layers pellets that the chickens can eat out of but the ducks can't. Please help my hungry chickens Edited March 31, 2010 by Guest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chucky1 Posted March 31, 2010 Share Posted March 31, 2010 Hi jnrm. Welcome to the forum. Your post made me smile because we have 20 chickens and 8 ducks - guess what the chickens mug and duff up the ducks - even the drake I couldn't follow your links I'm afraid. One possible answer which may not suit your situation is to feed the chucks inside the run or WIR. Maybe let us know a bit more about your situation. Wherabouts, number, type of chickens, housing etc. Best of luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted April 1, 2010 Share Posted April 1, 2010 HI I have a lot of wild ducks but my cube + 5 chickens have a run attached and most of the time the chickens are in the run, but I let the chickens free range when I am at home(so it could be 1 - 5 hours depending! The wild ducks do not go into the run even though I leave the door open. However I do feed the wild ducks as I dont mind them at all, but it does end up £££ , although it goes in peaks depending on the time of year. Not sure if this helps but I can only see that feeding the chickens in an enclosure and letting them out may solve the problem. Where there is food the ducks will come down to eat it. I recently am bombarded with rooks etc eating the pellets too! regards indie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jnrm24 Posted April 2, 2010 Author Share Posted April 2, 2010 Thanks Chucky and Indie. We only shut our chickens away at night; the rest of the time they have the run of the garden and field. Before the ducks, whenever I was going to be out all day I could leave enough layers pellets out in any feeder. But now I know that the ducks will gobble the lot and I'll come home to hungry hens. The ducks fill the cube run when the food is in there. I really don't want to have to shut them away even though it is rare for me to be away for a whole day. Last summer one duck hatched a clutch of eggs in our field, and two ducks shared a double nest. When those ducklings hatched one mother would lead the line of ducklings, with the other mother at the rear. I've never heard of anything like that before; have you? Through the winter we fed the ducks and pheasants to keep them going through the bad weather. So it's probably our own fault that they're so tame. I really need a container that the chickens can get their beaks into but the ducks can't get their bills into. So if anyone has any ideas I'd be very grateful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chucky1 Posted April 2, 2010 Share Posted April 2, 2010 Hi again. Are you primarily concerned with the cost or that your chucks have no food for the day? If its the former I'd keep your eyes peeled for a feeder with narrow dividers that the ducks would have trouble getting into. They would need to be heavy enough tosave them being turned over or suspended from a high point. If its the latter, one of these might solve your problem: It dispenses some pellets every time the paddle underneath is tapped - both our chickens and ducks operate it. http://www.parklandproducts.co.uk/page6.php This is a previous thread discussing types of feeders http://club.omlet.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=52883 Good luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lewis Posted April 2, 2010 Share Posted April 2, 2010 Try a Go grub - they're taller and have a smaller hole at the top that the chickens have to put their heads inside to get the feed. You could always try putting it higher and have a perch for the chickens to stand on to eat from it - our ducks won't eat from the Go grub, and don't perch either Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted April 2, 2010 Share Posted April 2, 2010 Try a Go grub - they're taller and have a smaller hole at the top that the chickens have to put their heads inside to get the feed. You could always try putting it higher and have a perch for the chickens to stand on to eat from it - our ducks won't eat from the Go grub, and don't perch either Good idea above, as I know my chickens will hop up onto the bin to feed etc whereas the ducks will stay on the floor. But you are right its because you feed them all! But so do I as I like them all coming into the garden, I think the advice above sounds a good option? let us know if you try it. I know in the spring/summer I can end up buying an extra 25kg sack of pellets a week for all the wild life good luck indie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jnrm24 Posted April 5, 2010 Author Share Posted April 5, 2010 Many thanks to you all. It's funny, I'd been watching the chickens perched on our fence and the ducks on the wall and was trying to figure out how to get a feeder near the fence. It never occurred to me to put a perch in the run and the food higher up! To start with I'm using an old garden kneeler and I'm trying the original grub. If that doesn't work I'll try a wider perch - but not wide enough for the ducks. If that doesn't work I'll try a go grub. Again, many thanks for all your ideas. With your help I'll hopefully manage without having to spend anything! Jane Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lewis Posted April 5, 2010 Share Posted April 5, 2010 Good luck ... let us know if you manage to defeat them Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jnrm24 Posted April 9, 2010 Author Share Posted April 9, 2010 Hello All, The story so far - the chickens weren't keen on perching inside the run; only 2 of them tried it. So I moved the grub outside and they're all managing to some extent to perch on the fence and eat from it. If I put the grub the right distance away for the girls the big boss cockerel is too big to get at it. The ducks are getting whatever falls out which is fine by me, my purse and my chickens rumbly tumblys. I'm going to put a wanted post to see if anyone nearby (DL12 County Durham) has a go grub for me to buy/borrow and try. Or if anyone further afield has one to sell. If not then I'll contact Omlet as I couldn't see them for sale separately. Many thanks for all your help and advice. Ps - Another good thing is that our resident very shy moorhens can get to the food now - we fed them last year and they had 3 little ones! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
