Ed solved the mystery. Uno wasn't stolen. An owl or hawk got her (most likely an owl). He went to put the ducks to bed and found Bebe without her head Then when he was trying to find signs of paw marks or where a predator could have gotten in, He found Uno's headless body on a path we checked several times yesterday. Apparently it fell out of a tree. So now I only have 4 ducks. I had a customer lined up to buy eggs and everything! No more free ranging all day and playing in the pond. Now I have to keep them penned. I can expand their range by enclosing my herb garden, but this just SUCKS!!!!!!!!!!
Apparently it fell out of a tree. Or got dragged out of the woods? Sometimes a predator will eat part and stash the rest for later. Something else might have found the stash and dragged it a ways, leaving it in the path. Heads missing sounds like raccoon to me, not hawk. And while an owl might eat just the head, it's not likely to be hunting by daylight. If it happened at dusk it might have been an owl--in which case, simply putting them "to bed" earlier might solve the problem. Mine go to bed between 3 and 5 pm, well before dark. Anyway, I'm so sorry about your babies. Losing to predators always sucks.
No...no woods. We are in a suburban neighborhood with a 6' privacy fence all around our back yard. Skunks have been in the area, but we can't see a spot where it could have gotten in. Air attack makes more sense and it did happen around dusk.
Oh Wifezilla I'm so sorry. That's a terrible shock If its a hawk I think you can prevent this with netting, if it's a raccoon like we deal with, electric fencing can teach them not to come in your yard. Raccoons aren't always apparent even to the people who live nearest to them, they keep themselves hidden. My neighbor who is up before dawn is the only one who sees them around here, but once I found out I eventually began to find evidence of there being in our yard. And then there came the time I caught one red handed with a couple of eggs!! But they do come out just before dark so I really wonder if that's what you are dealing with. Poor babies!!
oh i am soo sad to hear about your ducks... I know how precious uno was to you guys. I am sad as if they were my ducks because we watched them grow up here on byc. Is there any way you can section off a part of the backyard with some avian netting so they ca still use their pond?
Oh, no! I'm so, so sorry to hear about your lost babies. It can happen even under the best of circumstances. I hope you find out fast what is doing it. The way you describe it, it does sound like it might be a winged predator. I can't imagine a raccoon or something leaving the whole body behind and just taking the head. Of course, you just never know. Are you able to put out some traps? Again, I'm so sorry. We have had a fox still coming around too. We thought we had lucked out cause Tony saw one dead by the road and wouldn't you know it- the next night ANOTHER one was coming around. Some nights, it is out and about before the sun is even down! So frustrating.
Thanks everyone. You all did see my little goobers grow up and I appreciate the hugs. Is there any way you can section off a part of the backyard with some avian netting so they ca still use their pond? No, the pond is not in an area I can cover without a major investment in building materials. I can, however, give them my herb garden. All the plants in there are easy enough to relocate. The herbs are very hardy. The herb garden has a huge grapevine covering 1/4 of it. There is also a clothes line that goes from a pole to the grape arbor. I can easily cover that. I need to go to the hardware store and see if they still have bird netting in stock. I also need to get them a kiddie pool. This is SO the wrong time of year for that! Oh well, off the craigslist!
I don't know if a raptor would have stolen those eight eggs. Where would they have been lying? The raccoon I saw in my yard was easily able to carry off two eggs at one time over a six foot privacy fence without dropping them. And I think a raccoon could carry off a dead duck anywhere it wanted to. Just by carring it in it's mouth it could scale the fence or tree or whatever. They are extremely strong and agile. Maybe a post on the preditors and pest forum can help you find out for sure what you need to protect them from. And the camera might catch it too. I'm so sorry
