Missing Duck!

[anniele27]

In my little flock i have 9 pekin,3 rouen,3 indian runners, and 3 embden geese. We put them in their pen every night and let them out every morning. This has been going on for about 3 months no problems, besides two weeks ago when i was gone for a few days and they refused to go up for my mother but when i returned they gladly went in their pen again the next day.

About a week ago we let the ducks out in the morning and they were all there but that night when we went to put them up we were missing our one ruoen female! There were no signs of struggle or anything around the beach and none of the other ducks seemed even slightly injured or upset. we live on a 7 acre lake and during the day the ducks swim around in a tight group, so i assume if there was an attack the other ducks would show signs of it. She was not the smallest nor the largest duck and could fly fairly well compared to the much larger pekins. Once we found her laying eggs in the pen and refusing to get up from them but that only happened once and she never had that problem again.

I guess my question is, has anyone experienced something like this before? She just seemed to disappear out of thin air! it is possible that maybe she went off to lay somewhere where we wouldn't take her eggs away? Its been getting into the 20's at night and tomorrow and sunday its supposed to get even colder, I'm worried for her!

 

[sourland]

If there are no signs of predation, she may very well be setting on a hidden nest.

 

[anniele27]

If there are no signs of predation, she may very well be setting on a hidden nest.

Thank you I sure hope that's what it is! Do you think she'll eventually give up and come back?

 

[sourland]

If this is the case she should show up once a day quacking and complaining and wanting to be fed.

 

[enriquec]

I wish you the best of luck. I had a very similar experience. Disappeared out of nowhere, while I was around. No signs indicting anything. Could have been magic or aliens.

The two theories I'm going with, are water or air attack. Weird thing is ducks were all acting normal, not afraid.

I found out my lake has multiple gators. Everyone that lives here is under the impression we usually have zero gators, and sometimes one gets in. I've also seen on rare occasion HUGE birds of prey. And thanks to YouTube, I know they can take down mammals much larger than I ever would have thought.

I know how you feel. It's horrible. Hopeful it shows up. If not, you just don't know.. And it sucks

P.S. It's crazy the out of thin air. Logically, I'm still confused. It's like, how has one disappeared only and everything was exactly the same before, and the same now. Doesn't make sense. Sounds very similar to your situation.

 

[Miss Lydia]

In my little flock i have 9 pekin,3 rouen,3 indian runners, and 3 embden geese. We put them in their pen every night and let them out every morning. This has been going on for about 3 months no problems, besides two weeks ago when i was gone for a few days and they refused to go up for my mother but when i returned they gladly went in their pen again the next day.

About a week ago we let the ducks out in the morning and they were all there but that night when we went to put them up we were missing our one ruoen female! There were no signs of struggle or anything around the beach and none of the other ducks seemed even slightly injured or upset. we live on a 7 acre lake and during the day the ducks swim around in a tight group, so i assume if there was an attack the other ducks would show signs of it. She was not the smallest nor the largest duck and could fly fairly well compared to the much larger pekins. Once we found her laying eggs in the pen and refusing to get up from them but that only happened once and she never had that problem again.

I guess my question is, has anyone experienced something like this before? She just seemed to disappear out of thin air! it is possible that maybe she went off to lay somewhere where we wouldn't take her eggs away? Its been getting into the 20's at night and tomorrow and sunday its supposed to get even colder, I'm worried for her!

Either a fox.coyote or domestic dog, do you have wolves? or even a bob cat could snatch a duck and run off with it. Rouens are large ducks so probably one of the larger preds. to be able to take it with out feathers laying around. Or she may have found a place to brood, if so she is very much in danger. Preds are everywhere. Wish I could help more but it's just guessing game when you don't find any signs. Even an Eagle could probably swoop in and snatch a duck off the water. We have some pretty big one around here. I hope she comes waddling home soon and not the latter.

 

[anniele27]

thanks for you theories guys! I live in the middle of the suburbs in southern IL so no bobcats or large prey birds around really! The worst prey animal we have is raccoons, occasionally i have seen a fox in the woodsy part of town. I'm just surprised that this would happen in the daytime! I think I'm just gonna keep my fingers crossed that she found a safe place to brood and will come back really soon!!

And Enriquec I'm sorry to hear you went through the same thing! It is really confusing to have her just disappear with no signs of anything!

 

[EggsnQuackers]

We had 6 ducks and a couple chickens vanish this spring. It was a fox. I know this because I saw him take one from the front yard, while I was outside with my dogs, in the middle of the afternoon. There haven't been fox in the neighborhood for many years. I was quite shocked.
So, hope she's broody somewhere but keep a close eye on the rest of your birds.

 

[Miss Lydia]

We had 6 ducks and a couple chickens vanish this spring. It was a fox. I know this because I saw him take one from the front yard, while I was outside with my dogs, in the middle of the afternoon. There haven't been fox in the neighborhood for many years. I was quite shocked.
So, hope she's broody somewhere but keep a close eye on the rest of your birds.

People think because they live in the suburbs they don't have foxes ,coyotes etc, large birds of prey, but that's a misconception they are there they just don't see them. Very sorry for your loss.

 

[EggsnQuackers]

That wasn't really my point. We live in the country but I grew up in the suburbs with all kinds of wildlife around. The shocking thing, to me, was to see a fox out in broad daylight within 100 feet of my dogs and myself in a place (I say neighborhood for lack of a better word) where no fox have been seen for the past 5 years. The OP was saying the time of the disappearance was shocking to her and I was agreeing. Everyone tells you to becareful at dusk and dawn, no one says anything about midday attacks. Before I saw the fox we were a little concerned someone (a person) might be stealing our birds one by one...