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  • Results 1 to 16 of 16

    Thread: Heron problem!!

    1. #1
      dante27 is offline Junior Member
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      Heron problem!!

      Yesterday my wife and I came home to see a blue heron standing along side our pond. We quickly counted our koi and discovered that the feathered beast took a baby we raised that had grown to about 6". It broke our hearts! My wife names all our fish and she is dispondant to say the least. We netted the pond with our winter net to protect the rest of the koi, but this morning the bird was standing along side again!

      How can I keep the bird away? We have an owl perched on top of the pergula but obviously it doesn't matter. Help!

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    2. #2
      mtsklar is offline Senior Member
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      Get a dog. Preferable a herding type like and Australian Shepard that will treat the koi like sheep.

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      jeff reiter is offline Senior Member
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      your net is you strongest deterrent. there are autospray heads with motion detectors that spray the heron with water when he enters the scanning field. a dog in the backyard always works. a shade sail over the pond would help inhibit discovery, but they would still probably spot the fish. a plastic shelter on the bottom gives them a place to hide and get away. then there is always the state license for farmers that permits them to shoot.....never mind.

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      ponyboy2442 is offline Senior Member
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      Paintball gun and dogs worked for me

    5. #5
      RSFish1 is offline Junior Member
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      I always use an electric fence for a short wile when this happens. But I realize not everyone likes that idea.
      The net is a good deterent. But keep in mind that a determined heron could still try to spear the fish through the net. They will not get the meal but they could injure/kill the Koi still. Propping the net up 6-12" up off the surface will make it very difficult for the heron's long beak to reach the surface of the water and your fish.

    6. #6
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      Sorry for your loss. I had the same problem for several years. I know this will sound silly & much to simple, but it has worked for two years for me. It has worked for everyone else that I have told also. I do keep a net over my pond just in case something other than Heron try to get my fish. But the Heron will not even come close to my pond any more.
      Go to Wal-mart or Target and buy Pin Wheels in the toy dept. The shiny ones made out of foil looking material. They come in different colors. They spin with the slightest breeze and reflect light all over the area around the pond. Two things Heron do not like is fast movements and shiny objects. I placed mine about every four feet apart around my pond. The Heron will land close to the pond but will fly off when the pin wheels start moving. My little GD had two, and one day wanted to put them by the pond. That is how I saw with my own eyes that the Heron were afraid of them. So I went to Wal-mart and bought more.
      They are about a dollar each. I told my family why they are there. I didn't want folks to think it was my decorating ideas. They are easy to pull up when you have company at your pond.
      For a dollar each, give it a try and let me know. It has worked for many here that I have told.
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    7. #7
      madeyna is offline Senior Member
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      Heavy fishing line strung up high keeps them from landing. The wings hit it and they don,t know whats getting them so they stay away. Mine is strung at anywhere from 6 inches to 6 feet above the pond. He still lands on the roof and looks but no more eating. I have used electric fencing as well but somehow someone always manages to touch it (me)and get zapped. I used the kids spinning flowers a few years ago for the q tank but they always seem to manage to walk off.
      YADA X 16 proud member of the blabbermouth club Have faith and hope in your self and each other and the world will be yours TINA


    8. #8
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      I tried a fake heron and alligator. They don't work. I tried the water shooting scarecrow. It worked, but the heron tend to figure it out. I had a "friend" who tried to shot them with pellet guns, but wanted a more humane to deal with them.

      I have a half chihuahua and half wiener dog mix. He is built close to a rat terrier but a little longer. Very fast. When any bird lands in my yard he wants to go chance them. Of course I ag it on with a "get the bird" "get the bird". He was always very good at running off heron when he or I would see one through the window. After losing about 7 fish in a months time, I put in a doggy door to see if my dog would run them off during the day. Well since he can get out a lot faster through the doggy door, he can almost catch a slow moving heron. I guess that scares them enough that they just don't come back. I now see a couple here and there. I guess it is when they forget or new ones come around, but non stay long. So you don't even have to get a big dog, just one that likes to chase things.

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      dante27 is offline Junior Member
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      Thanks, my wife and I are going to try various different ideas (probably not getting a dog though). Anyone else with ideas would be appreciated

    10. #10
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      I have a 3 foot high aluminum fence with spikes () around mine (decorative), then I string the net over that. Have herons peek, but they can't lean over the fence to spear them, either. You can also buy a wrought iron version, but it doesn't last long, or one of the loopy wire things that are put around gardens.







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    11. #11
      dante27 is offline Junior Member
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      Angry

      Help! The dirty bird poked through the net and stabbed another fish but couldn't take it. The fish has two serious stab wounds. I moved it to a 75 gallon fish tank we have but how do I treat the wounds?

    12. #12
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      You might want to move this to the emergency section so people will easily see it.

    13. #13
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      Quote Originally Posted by gray cat View Post
      Sorry for your loss. I had the same problem for several years. I know this will sound silly & much to simple, but it has worked for two years for me. It has worked for everyone else that I have told also. I do keep a net over my pond just in case something other than Heron try to get my fish. But the Heron will not even come close to my pond any more.
      Go to Wal-mart or Target and buy Pin Wheels in the toy dept. The shiny ones made out of foil looking material. They come in different colors. They spin with the slightest breeze and reflect light all over the area around the pond. Two things Heron do not like is fast movements and shiny objects. I placed mine about every four feet apart around my pond. The Heron will land close to the pond but will fly off when the pin wheels start moving. My little GD had two, and one day wanted to put them by the pond. That is how I saw with my own eyes that the Heron were afraid of them. So I went to Wal-mart and bought more.
      They are about a dollar each. I told my family why they are there. I didn't want folks to think it was my decorating ideas. They are easy to pull up when you have company at your pond.
      For a dollar each, give it a try and let me know. It has worked for many here that I have told.
      wonder how the pinwheels would do attach to my lines above pond? I also have osprey hawks that are a problem.
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    14. #14
      madeyna is offline Senior Member
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      If you have good clean water in the qtank you probly won,t have to treat other than watching really close. A little iodine/bedine on the wound works. Thats only if they arent deep wounds of course. There are several very good products you can buy just for woulds that are a good idea to have around. I cann,t think of the name but there is a dip thats called something like tryoneo that I used years ago thats very good. There are also some good ointments that you put right on the wound. Don,t remember the name of that one either I got it from the vet. Hopefully someone will chime in with some names. I think wound treatment is probly on a sticky at the top.
      Last edited by madeyna; 09-10-2010 at 12:15 PM.
      YADA X 16 proud member of the blabbermouth club Have faith and hope in your self and each other and the world will be yours TINA


    15. #15
      jeff reiter is offline Senior Member
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      treat the wound with a sterilization product like betadyne or potassium permanganate. debride is an ointment to put over the wound and will be water resistant. raising the quarantine water salt level to 0.3 percent helps the koi to more easily get rid of water and puts less stress on its kidneys. raising the water temperature helps the fish's immune system to be more efficient and fight infection. koi wounds heal from outside in, so you should see the wound form a white surface as it heals, but with a deep wound, the internal tissue will take time to heal. it might be just fine in your pond and might not need isolation after trauma treatment.

    16. #16
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      Hi Grey cat, what a superb idea, one that would also work with ponds of any size. A large pond could have the foils going over the top . In the UK where there are power lines near to a lake, the same thing is added to the power lines to stop ducks and swans hitting them. They see the shiny objects and avoid them.
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