[Dizzycow]

You can get a potato to power a lightbulb. How much more of a smallholders fantasy can you get than a potato powered slug electric fence?

I agree, Penninehillbilly, a horrible job to capture, feed and water the bait. Yuck. Then there's the dealing with them. Think I'll stick to shooting the bastards.

Another bit of excellent news, however...... My two Khaki Campbells were obviously hanging out at the chicken shed this morning, because they laid their eggs there, and they were untouched by evil crows, magpies or rats. And the clever little runner who laid in the duck house yesterday did so again today, so I got THREE WHOLE DUCK EGGS! Brilliant result and I'm delighted. Problem not solved, but feel that I'm getting somewhere. There should be six laying, fingers crossed. 

[northfifeduckling]

my thought was that you should get those ducks off that pond during the day and keep them off until you find a solution how to get them to bed ( a large badminton net 2 folks can pull from each side at bedtime maybe)? until they get the meaning of bedtime!
Crows and magpies are hard to control, they are around here a lot as well now. I was thinking of searching for a good old catapult kids used to use to shoot birds in the olden days - as I can't run it would come in handy. It speaks volumes that the only duck egg (or any egg since the hens discovered the world beyond the fence) we had was in the nesting box of the duck with the hurt foot...interesting....  

[Moleskins]

Don't know if anyone's said this or not but you will probably only need to shoot one crow. They learn incredibly quickly that it's not safe in an area and go elsewhere, as I was told when I bought an air rifle to shoot Jackdaws, the guy in the shop said you'll only shoot one so it's going to be an expensive gun. Also a TV prog. the other night showed a chap who had done research on crows and had to net them to weigh, measure etc. He had to wear a mask when he went to the park where he had done the work because the crows recognised him - and that was 5, yes five years later.
Here if I shoot a jackdaw they come from nowhere and circle round shouting and then we don't see one for months.