If ducks have a creek or pond will they be safe from skunks and coons?

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tberggren

tberggren

Crowing
15 Years
Jan 20, 2008
462
77
301
Ithaca NY
I had a really bad time with skunks getting my chickens, eventually gave the survivors away.
So I was wondering if ducks would be safe if they could get into the creek if a skunk or coon came around at night.
Any thoughts??
 
Water is a natural get away for waterfowl....they can escape from most things if they can get to it and it is large enough for them to swim away. A creek will not work, the coon will only come across it...you will see raccoons in water all the time washing off food and what not. A pond is better so the ducks can cross it and not be taken by the coons or anything else. I had a dog one time that literally swam across the pond in hot pursuit of the goose, but I saw the dog and called it back.
 
I have mink in my area, and my ducks are not safe on our pond or in the creek. I do not let them into the creek area, but I do let them into the pond area. I always have a live trap set near the pond when the ducks are not on it and seem to be trapping/killing one mink every 3 to 4 months. Before I knew what was happening I lost three ducks on the pond. It was the last duck that I actually saw the mink killing the duck and realized that my ducks weren't just wandering away. Mink are great swimmers and efficient killers.
 
Out of our trio we lost our drake to a coon as he refused to go back to the coop at night. Although the creek is fenced off the coon managed to drop over the fence and get the drake in the midlde of the creek during the night.
 
The thing is is that ducks usually have to sleep on the shore during night time leaving it an easy oppurtunity for the predator to sneak up and attack.The only way 2 of my muscovies survived(I just got them and they ran away)was that they found a patch of grass and weeds in the middle of the pond and slept there every night for the whole summer,then when the frogs and insects disappeared jym(the male)came back and I think the female died by a fox when she was resting on the land.
 
Quote:
I'd be saving up for a coat!

lau.gif
my thoughts exactly!
 

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