We are constantly getting this question. 2 month old baby swans CANNOT PROTECT themselves. The birds are too young and too small and are easy targets for predators as well as larger and older swans. You may very well have 4 dead cygnets by morning. Breeders of swans should know better than to give young birds for placement on ponds. We recommend that cygnets approximately 6-7 months of age and that have been chased from the pond by their parents be used for introduction to ponds.

The best solution is to gather the 4 new birds and either return them to the breeder until they are older, or build a pen safe from predators (both water and land predators, i.e., coyotes, turtles, hawks, etc.). The pen should be half in the water and half on land with poultry fencing lining the bottom and under the fence to prevent turtles or other predators from entering the pen. The top of the pen must also be reinforced so that predators cannot climb over the top and enter or fly into the pen.

A Blitz dog feeder with poultry layer pellets and cracked corn should be installed in the water inside the pen to keep ants and other pests/predators from getting to the food.

If possible and you can watch the young birds and keep them from being preyed upon by predators, the pen should be built in the same pond as with the other birds so they all have a chance to get to know each other before being introduced directly onto the pond.
You should keep the cygnets in the pen until they are approximately 6-7 months of age, therefore, the pen needs to be approximately 8 feet wide and 12 feet long.

You may also want to have all birds sexed as of 9-12 months of age to see your ratio of males to females. Too many males or too many females without mates are going to cause aggressive territorialism/behavior later on which may require you to find a new home for some of the birds.

We hope this information is of benefit to you. The Regal Swan