Khaki Campbell Ducks

[sqqqsme]

Last year I got two lovely little female Khaki Campbell ducks. All this time they have been getting along great with my chicken flock. Now this week, I think it was my rooster, both of my ducks have been killed. I don't understand. I'm just sick over it. I don't know what I could have done to prevent it. And now I'm concerned about ever having ducks again even though I really want them.

 

[nuthatched]

I 'msorry to hear that.
Why do you think your rooster killed your ducks? How's your coop secured?

 

[nao57]

This is very strange behavior. Are you sure it was the rooster?

When you looked at the rooster was there any blood on his claws or beak?

This seems weird. I'm not saying it couldn't happen though. But normally they can mix, though male ducks with female chickens is problematic.

You might look at, was there too much food competition? Was there too little space? Were they fighting over food? (If there was enough food you also need to look at if it had enough nutrition; if it didn't it can make them hungrier, and then do weird things).

An example of above; I found out the laying mash sold by mills is trash. It doesn't have hardly anything in it; so what was happening before I fixed it was the poultry were literally eating all the grass in the yard. They had shut down egg production also; which also was an indicator that they weren't getting enough; and that makes them edgy.

You can look at other signs in the yard. Like forcing or digging around the fence. Check the entire fence perimeter. Look for dog tracks. By far the biggest predator of poultry isn't foxes, or coyotes; its actually stray dogs, or neighborhood dogs. Some dogs when they smell ducks they just can't help themselves.

You could try putting a motion detector in the yard. But it would need to be positioned in such a way as to not go off from your own animals and only from other animals trying to get through a gate area. (And they might not be coming in through the gate.)

Well... I do think we can try to help you through it. but it might take some feedback and going back and forth.

You might also look at the strength of your coop or holding pen. We could look at all kinds of things like that.