A fox tried to take my Abbey

[Kleonaptra]

I have been letting everyone stay out late foraging. My partner heard some quacking I went to check and I couldnt see anything. I thought it was just the drakes getting at the girls because I left the gate open. I went to get my shoes to start putting them away and heard the door slam and my partner started yelling. A fox was literally right at our back door and it had Abbey by the neck. My partner chased it off. They must have known it was around because my australorp Shiela had put herself to bed and usually she would play hide and seek with me. Im so angry at myself I let this happen.

I cant find any wounds, Abbey looks fine. He's having trouble holding his head up and his voice is really strained I think its just some bruising. Ive put him in my 'duck ambulance' a big plastic tub with a blanket and put him inside so I can keep an eye on him. Its very warm right now so I dont think he needs a heat source. He's got food and water but I dont expect him to be interested yet. He didnt even mind me holding him he was so frightened. I wanted to bring in his friend Que (who was utterly hysterical) but then I would have to bring Stormy too and I just dont have enough room. Im just restraining myself right now because I know he just needs some quiet time to get through the shock and I will fuss over him too much if I go in there.

 

[Amiga]

Losing a duck is heart-wrenching for me. So far, we have not lost any to predators, but I know they are around, watching, waiting for me to make a mistake.

At the same time, I feel that the fox is simply trying to make ends meet, to feed the kits. But I tell them, and the hawks and the others - not with my flock, you don't!

 

[Amiga]

Are we talking about the same thing? Airways are the tubes we breathe through. Air sacs are waterfowl parts that help keep them afloat.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1897730

http://s113.photobucket.com/user/crowinghillsfarm/media/Air_sacs.jpg.html

 

[Amiga]

And, perhaps the bruised tissue is swollen, or he has some inflammation from his system being out of balance due to trauma. Maybe some probiotics? You are right, keep an eye on him.

 

[Kleonaptra]

Whew, I do lose track. Apologies.

Might Leelu have an infection, though? I have lost two ducks to egg yolk peritonitis - very sneaky infection.

Hmm you got me worried now.


Here is Abbey



Looking brilliant. Im so happy with him. Occasionally he looks a bit lumpy at the base of his neck but I still feel its just local swelling. In the second pic thats my problem drake Thorne giving him the what-for, Abbey's answer seems to be, "I'll stomp you little dude"

Here is Leelu yesterday

She's hiding from the others in the grass

And today



She looks so strained around the face. Now, a couple of things - about 2 weeks ago I started locking the drakes out during the day because they were pestering the ladies too much. Leelu used to get out and bear the brunt of their attentions, hence the shorn feathers on the back of her head. I also had neglected the pond changing over the last 2 weeks because it was raining so much and everyone was swimming in puddles. Today I cleaned everything out and put in fresh water and she had a long bath and preen in the sun. Since the other day when I caught her and gave her a warm bath she has not gone off moping by herself and has ate and drank with much enthusiasm. They are due for worming and the big ladies are looking a bit rough around the edges too. This tiny duck has problems with laying. I have only seen a total of 4 to 6 eggs from her - the first 2 I incubated, another 2 in the shed and 2 tiny little quail sized ones she left in her favourite spots. Her eggs are tiny and very narrow, almost fully elliptical. They are so narrow and pointy I doubted anything could hatch from them. Stormy is her only baby.

Heres a pic of my flock
gathered at the back door waiting for my daughter to throw out her crusts! You can see the big girls are looking a bit dull but not as bad as Leelu.

 

[Kleonaptra]

I ended up bringing in Stormy and Que. They are all in my bathtub. I couldnt stand the thought of him being alone, he's never been without them. Que practically flung herself on top of him, she was so overjoyed. They are sitting quietly together muttering.

 

[Amiga]

You did the right thing getting all three together. Now, everyone else is safe from the fox? Make sure everyone is secure.

If you have some poultry electrolytes, I would put that in the water to help - I would expect he'd be in shock.

Some ducks get over that quickly, some take a day or three. A nice lukewarm bath for everybody would probably do them all some good, and you could watch Abbey's movements closely, see if there's anything you missed.

We all make mistakes from time to time. We are just people, and we can get lulled into a false sense of security, or we can forget, or be distracted, or just not understand everything that is going on. I never saw a sign of fishers until early last year, there were tracks in the snow, just a few feet from our deck. Now I have added that predator to the list to watch out for.

 

[Kleonaptra]

You did the right thing getting all three together. Now, everyone else is safe from the fox? Make sure everyone is secure.

If you have some poultry electrolytes, I would put that in the water to help - I would expect he'd be in shock.

Some ducks get over that quickly, some take a day or three. A nice lukewarm bath for everybody would probably do them all some good, and you could watch Abbey's movements closely, see if there's anything you missed.

We all make mistakes from time to time. We are just people, and we can get lulled into a false sense of security, or we can forget, or be distracted, or just not understand everything that is going on. I never saw a sign of fishers until early last year, there were tracks in the snow, just a few feet from our deck. Now I have added that predator to the list to watch out for.

Normally if I leave them out after dark I pay close attention. This time, the windows were closed from the storm so I couldnt hear and the TV was up loud, just a really bad combination of things. Even though my Talli was taken by a fox just days after we moved in here, I had lapsed back into that 'they wont come close to the house' thing. He was less than 4ft from our back door!

He's carrying his neck in a big 'S' bend to support his head with his back. Normally he'd carry it up high. He has only had very few small sips of water and food today, he doesnt want to stretch his neck at all, and I think his throat is sore and swollen. He's out in the pen today.



(That brown duck in the foreground is his mum!)

As you can see he CAN extend it, but the preening he did was very gingerly and slowly. I think there is some swelling around the base of his neck at the body - I think my partner interrupted the fox right at that 'kill shake' moment. Every now and then he flexes his wings as if to stretch up and do the stretch flap, but doesnt get any further than a little wing flex. I think there is a good deal of bruising.

I cant bring them into the bathroom again, my kids are just too noisy for a sick duck. My laundry has a broken window and Im worried about mr fox returning to claim his prey so Im going to nail some boards over it. I was reluctant to do this before as its a rented house but hey, worst come to worse I can always pry them off if I have to! Its more important he has a nice stress free place to go to bed. I dont know, I might let him go to bed in the big shed with everyone else, Im just not sure yet how strong he will feel. He's very miserable.

 

[lovinmyducks]

I found my female duck Boots dead Friday after work. She had been attacked and her whole chest eaten. We have a 6 foot fence around the yard and I can't believe it happened. The only thing I can't think is it was a hawk or eagle? I'm so heartbroken. Now my other duck is alone and I worry something will happen to him. I feel so bad I couldn't protect her.

 

[Kleonaptra]

I found my female duck Boots dead Friday after work. She had been attacked and her whole chest eaten. We have a 6 foot fence around the yard and I can't believe it happened. The only thing I can't think is it was a hawk or eagle? I'm so heartbroken. Now my other duck is alone and I worry something will happen to him. I feel so bad I couldn't protect her.

Yes that does sound like an aerial predator. We have been under constant attacks from predator birds, my ducks have learned to take cover as soon as the magpie larks warn us. I feed the local crows eggs and they generally chase off any hawks and I was so worried about attacks from above I forgot about foxes!

Its something Ive just learned all over again - better that they be uncomfortable and alive then allowed free access everywhere and get attacked. Really, I should know so much better.

Im so sorry about Boots. Sounds like you need a couple more ducks they really hate to be alone.