So update to this….
Consulted with rehabber and raccoon was handled without killing it. But another one got into my pen last night and killed one of my ducks.
And it was brutal. Last few were just taken off or eaten and left relatively clean. This one’s foot was bitten off, head ripped off...
Had some tragedy recently where a raccoon broke into my pen and took 2 of my birds and killed a 3rd. One that was killed and eaten in the pen was my first duck Peep so I was heartbroken
But, as the line from Jurassic park goes, life finds a way. One of my ducks that was sitting on a clutch of...
I will bait with some marshmallow then
I have a double layer of fencing at the tear site, reinforced with some wood planks now. This weekend after I get paid I will get some more HC and double up all the way around to be on the safe side
Set the trap near where the entry point was and caught this lil critter this morning
Seems to be a female opossum.
Found some light colored fur at the fencing tear which matches hers so am thinking she is the culprit
Think I found where whatever it was got in.
About 4 feet up the side of the pen there is a tear in the fencing in one area big enough for a cat or small raccoon to get into. And from there a few steps through some, at the moment thanks to rain, watery mud to the area the ducks sleep at night...
pen is fully enclosed and the top is covered. I’m going to go out this afternoon and go over the pen in detail to see if I missed anything this morning.
The pen is about 900 sq feet. All covered In Hardware cloth and fencing buried and skirted out along the bottom to deter diggers. And the top...
Lost a duck to a predator last night. My first duck Peep :( found her still inside the pen and can not find any entry ways in and found no tracks but her stomach and all her innards were devoured.
No gaps in the hardware cloth, no holes dug in, and didn’t find any tracks in the mud near the...
A couple months ago I went out to feed my ducks at night and put them to bed, and found a small lil puffball walking around. One of my ducks hid an egg and hatched it. I believe he’s a cross between one of my runners and one of my muscovies.
I let him stay with the ducks outside as everyone was...
So here in north AL we have had a lot of rain so far and to say the duck pen is a muddy mess is an understatement
Drainage is normally good but the retention pond in my yard the pen drains into is also flooded over so water is just backing up into the pen
Normally I wouldn’t mind too much as...
So over this last week a vine has consumed my duck pen. It went from a couple strands I pulled off the side to covering half my pen in just a couple days
A Plant ID app I downloaded identified it as Virginia creeper.
Going to try to pull it off as much as I can today and tomorrow but is it...
I would give my ducks some type of treat each night. Peas, lettuce, blueberries, ect
But only in their coop area and only at night just before sunset. After a while I just have to go outside just before sunset and they are all in the coop area waiting for me
Maybe cut or mash them into small enough pieces if they are larger berries, til they are big enough for them, but my ducks LOVE blueberries. I’ve given most of my ducklings I have raised blueberries and never had any issues other than them getting mad when I didn’t have blueberries for them
It’s possible and that was part of why I put her in the dog crate. To separate her. It sending missing a lot of feathers on her neck so not sure?
Will keep her isolated for a couple days and see how she recovers
My sweet girl Arya has been losing weight I noticed yesterday. She was just sitting in the back corner of the coop. I went and checked her out and she was thinner than normal and very dirty
As I went to pick her up. She of course tried to scurry away and she was very wobbly and was using her...