Attacked now afraid to get back in the water

[meechie]

I started out with six Peking ducks just 3 days old. We have a small pond on our acre property that is in a rural village. We made it in an attempt to help with the swampy area from the run off of all the homes. The ducks were very difficult to get in the coop at night so we started leaving them out on their own. They would all nest together in a covered muddy area behind my neighbors property that had trees that came down during a storm long ago.
I awoke to find one dead. He was in the yard 12 feet from the thicket and you could see the trail that lead him there. His neck was bloodied and his belly ripped open and feathers torn off right next to him. We have no idea what got him. We have seen a fox in February. We have raccoons, Opossums and cats, but we think they would have eaten him. Two weeks ago we caught a snapping turtle. We assume it was female because it was digging a nest on the bank.
Could a snapping turtle have done that to a 9 lb. duck?
Now for a month they will not go in the pond. I have tried not giving them their trough of water to see if they would go in but after hours it was a no go.
We have tried finding a possible daddy turtle but came up empty. How can I get them to go back in the water?
Sorry for the length and thank you in advance for responses.

 

[jdywntr]

A raccoon or opposum could have done that, along with a number of other predators. Turtles tend to grab a leg/foot and drown the bird so I doubt it was that.

They may well be reacting to an unsafe environment. Domestic ducks aren't meant to be able to fend for themselves. If they don't want to go into the pond, I'm sure there is a very good reason for it. Withholding water may only lead to the loss of another.

A domestic duck's best friend is a safe nighttime house. That along with feed and water should lead to happy, healthy, long lived ducks.

 

[Deleted member 94844]

Yes, they must have a safe environment and predator-proof enclosure at night. Pekins cannot fly and have no defenses. Any one of those animals could easily kill a duck, and they will continue to until you protect them.

 

[farmchick897]

How do you get the ducks into the safe house at night? They don't seem to just go to bed like chickens do and chasing them around each night to catch them doesn't seem all that easy.

 

[Going Quackers]

A raccoon or opposum could have done that, along with a number of other predators. Turtles tend to grab a leg/foot and drown the bird so I doubt it was that.

They may well be reacting to an unsafe environment. Domestic ducks aren't meant to be able to fend for themselves. If they don't want to go into the pond, I'm sure there is a very good reason for it. Withholding water may only lead to the loss of another.

A domestic duck's best friend is a safe nighttime house. That along with feed and water should lead to happy, healthy, long lived ducks.

Yes, they must have a safe environment and predator-proof enclosure at night. Pekins cannot fly and have no defenses. Any one of those animals could easily kill a duck, and they will continue to until you protect them.

I agree with these posts. The ducks have learned this body of water is clearly unsafe and frankly i would not force them into it, they may know more than you do about it's dangers. Sorry for your loss but i think you need a complete re-do on their housing and set up, predators are now waiting (& aware)for this duck dinner to return and the ducks know it.

 

[Going Quackers]

How do you get the ducks into the safe house at night? They don't seem to just go to bed like chickens do and chasing them around each night to catch them doesn't seem all that easy.

How is you set-up? your right they can be pesty but routine, routine, routine cannot stress that enough. I purposely keep all pools, feed and so forth at the barn area, it's barely from it, also i have taught them and in turn they teach any newbies the "routine" does it always go wonderfully? nah, some nights they'd prefer to chase night crawlers but i would prefer to keep them alive lol

 

[Deleted member 94844]

Yes. Once you establish a routine they will instinctively do it on their own. I have a long birch stick for herding that the ducks are trained to. If they are in an area I don't want them in or refuse to get out of their pond I just grab this stick and walk toward them with it... they automatically go in the direction I want. Never even touched them with it, they just know that this stick means MOVE IT! You could try confining them to a smaller area with temporary fencing for a few days, corralling them into the coop with less effort until they are used to it. If you put some night crawlers in their coop as a reward that might help. Once they do it automatically take the fencing away. It is important that they are let out and brought in consistently at the same time, at night this is a set time before dusk. I set a "duck" alarm on my iPhone if I'm not out in the yard. Also, be sure that their coop is extra secure now that the local preds are alerted to their presence. Half-inch hardware cloth on any openings and no gaps. Hope this helps!