[goosepimple]

I know swans are not poultry so forgive this on here but it is related.
 
A swan (male I think) arrived on our mill pond a couple of days ago - unusual for us, so called SSPCA who said it had probably been cleared off its birth home and was finding its own territory and is out to claim our pond.  Fine, its beautiful and HUGE, not being aggressive to the Muscovy ducks or Steinbacher Geese, so far.
 
I feed the ducks and geese and it has spied the food and is obviously enjoying the 5 star, but I'd like it to go or if a female flies over then there will be big trouble in springtime.  Not sure how I'd feed my lot without it getting to the food which is obviously something which will make it stay.  Passed it today, it hissed at me to back off (was within about 3m of it) and I realised just how big it is (as tall as my 9 year old son at least).  What to do.  It's lovely but I'm hoping it'll clear off.  Ganders are enough trouble in spring without this too. 

[deepinthewoods]

surely theres a point of symbiosis? i would love a breeding pair of swans if i had some water. how lovely.

[Shropshirelass]

Ooh that's a hard 1 if its maybe not gone in a few weeks could you maybe contact the RSPCA or a local wildlife rescue & say its harassing you & your poultry? (Be warned the RSPCA tend to be pretty hopeless at sorting things out though )

On another note I've heard it is legal to own pairs of Black (Austrailian) swans,  I'd love a pair but no time but who knows what might happen x

[goosepimple]

They can get very aggressive in spring and we have a couple of kids - the geese already want to rip their head's off in May!  The gander and the drake fought a couple of times last year in spring and I think the swan would see all of them off if he took a mind too.  I can see it can move pretty quick when it wants to.
 
I'll get some photos tomorrow, it may not stay if a lady doesn't turn up anyway.

[jaykay]

I rounded up the 22 mallards that had taken up resident here, keeping my calls and runners from the food,  and took them over the hill and far away, to be wild again, without handouts 

But I can see that a swan could fight back! Maybe see if some wildlife someone will come and get him. He might not stay, as you say.

[Anke]

I would get rid of it (legally of course - but how?) as soon as possible. You really do not want to feed it, but it will be difficult as he is so much bigger than your other waterfowl.
We had lots of swans on our local lake (where I was growing up) and it was nigh on impossible to go swimming in the summer when the swans where near by. Their wing span is quite amazing though I think. I really like to see them flying over (and hearing them!)...
Isn't there some kind of ancient law re swans and the king/queen??? Just don't think you can shoot them...

[lachlanandmarcus]

A guy was jailed for some months in 1993 for shooting swans. Noone can eat them - all belong to the Queen, except interestingly in Orkney where Norse Udal law applies...."Under Udal Law, the ancient Norse system of inheritance and law, which the Viking settlers brought to Orkney, the swan is the property of the people, rather than the Crown.

The case was proven in 1910 by a Kirkwall lawyer who, accompanied by his friend, the Procurator-Fiscal, went out to Harray Loch and shot a swan. The case went to the High Court and the Crown lost.

Nowadays, Orcadians do not shoot swans, but the principles of the old Norse Udal Law still stand.

The swan is protected across the entire Great Britain by law under the Wildlife and Countryside Act." (quotation from Wild about Britain)

[Hermit]

We cannot pick and  choose our wildlife. We must accept that we are not alone when we 'own' land.
We had a swan resting after the migrations, it moved on after a week when rested and the other swans flying overhead made it want to rejoin its own kind.  Look on the brightside it will keep your weed down . Is it ringed , it may have been released by a wildlife centre. A pond may also prove too small as they need a huge water' runway' to actually take off, it therefor may not be able to take off and be waterbound/ land bound. Can you walk it to a wider open area and shoo it to take off? We were not allowed trees on our land cause of the waterbird take offs they would block!

[goosepimple]

Thanks for the interesting posts everyone.  SSPCA say they need only 20feet in runway - our pond is 70m long so that's not a problem.  It may be resting as you say Hermit and hopefully it will fly away with some friends soon. 
 
I must look and see if it's ringed, I didn't think about that.  It's beginning to explore around a bit too.
 
Will just have to wait and see, will write myself a note to photograph it otherwise I'll forget.

[Hermit]

70m crikey , thats a lake not a pond.    Lovely.

[Daisys Mum]

 
Perhaps if you contact Berwick Swan and Wildlife trust they will be able to help their number is 01289 302882.

[jaykay]

I know! I confidently told Goosepimple that I hadn't clipped or pinioned the geese I sold her, as they had never demonstrated any inclination to fly.

As soon as she got them home, they took off - fortunately they came back. How embarrassing!

What we worked out is that where they live here with me, the land goes steeply upwards away from the back of the house into the ghyll and whilst they have a small pond where I've dammed the beck, there is hill not clear sky around. At GPs, clearly they had room to take off - and they did 

[Anke]

I know! I confidently told Goosepimple that I hadn't clipped or pinioned the geese I sold her, as they had never demonstrated any inclination to fly.

As soon as she got them home, they took off - fortunately they came back. How embarrassing!

What we worked out is that where they live here with me, the land goes steeply upwards away from the back of the house into the ghyll and whilst they have a small pond where I've dammed the beck, there is hill not clear sky around. At GPs, clearly they had room to take off - and they did 

They flew all the way from the Borders to Cumbria/lake district? That is impressive - I didn't know that geese had such a homing instinct, especially if they weren't wild and had never flown before...
But re swans: they are dangerous when fairly close and when breeding/having signets - especially to children and dogs. I really would try and make sure he doesn't set up home on your pond.

[jaykay]

No, no, they returned to GoosePimple  She might well have had them penned for a while so they learned where they lived - it was a while ago now. But as soon as they were 'free', me having reassured her they didn't fly, the first thing they did was take off. If they'd just disappeared......

[SteveHants]

I rounded up the 22 mallards that had taken up resident here, keeping my calls and runners from the food,  and took them over the hill and far away, to be wild again, without handouts 

That takes more restraint than I have - I'd have eaten them.