Ask the Swan Specialist
Date: 25 September 2009
Hi Kimberly:
If he is tame enough to eat from your hands, then you might try getting him to come up to your house or barn. If you do not have a barn but you have a garage, see if he might come into your garage. Now, having said this, you will need to ensure that a car cannot run over him, there are no gas or other chemical emissions in the garage, etc. But, if he gets cold at least he knows that he has a safe place to go and you can protect him from predators by closing the garage door at night. Let him understand that he gets to go outside in the daytime. To do this, start enticing him into the garage with the door open. Then, close the door, feed him and immediately let him out. Do this until he knows that he has a freedom to come and go at will but he does get plenty of treats (bread and food) when he comes inside.
Also, try to keep feeding him along the banks of the pond. If he understands that food is readily available on the edge of the pond, he may stay around the perimeter and not wander out into the middle of the pond where he can become stranded if ice forms. Even then, he still may wander into the middle of the pond.
Above all, he must have an ample food supply to get him through the winter months. Supply him with cracked corn, layer pellets and above all lettuce since greenery will become vary scarce during the winter months. We hope this information is of benefit. The Regal Swan
Messages In This Thread
- Mute Swan Surving NE winters -- Kimberly Bensch -- 24 September 2009
- Re: Mute Swan Surving NE winters -- The Regal Swan -- 25 September 2009
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