Could a Muscovy have killed my Gander?

[Mowglimommychick]

Today I was heartbroken to find my Sebastopol male goose (gander) dead in my yard. He was only about a year old. The only clues I have are:
1) he was found near a hole in the fence
2) there was no sign of trauma or injury except a tuft of feathers plucked out at his tail and a few feathers sprinkled around - no blood
3) Our Muscovy drake was seen near where he was found but we don't know if he was just checking out the body or what

My 2 theories are
1) Maybe a fox or something tried to grab him to try to pull him in the hole. There were no feathers in the hole or on the other side of the fence. Just where we found him in our yard. The butt feather patch missing would not have killed him, but possibly his neck was broken and I couldn't tell.
2) Same scenario except he died of fright literally
3) The Muscovy drake killed him - again would have to be something like a broken neck

Is it possibly my muscovy drake killed him over the females? I knew the drakes and ganders can fight, but I never thought it was a to the death thing. If this was my Muscovy, he gets kicked out of the flock for killing my most loved and expensive bird - but if he isn't responsible then I don't want to wrongly accuse him.

What do y'all think?

 

[nao57]

Well, there's a few things you can check for.

First, check the area for foot prints of animals, both waterfowl and other tracks. Unfortunately by now it will be hard to look at these because your yard is an act in motion with both you and the critters there.

You could gently take hold of the muscovy drake and feel him over for damage, all over his body. Be thorough and look for hidden damage and things that are sore or tender. It might not stand out but he may be sore in certain spots like not wanting you to touch him in a few places. This may possibly tell you if he and the gander got into it. But its not going to be a for sure tell right away.

You can do the same thing with the ganders body and gently feel over all of it. Look for dislocated joints etc. If you think the muscovy drake broke his neck then you'll be looking for something feeling out of place, like a dislocation more than an actual wound. (Again it might not be a 100% smoking gun.)

Its odd that whatever did this did not retrieve the body. A predator would have taken the lunch.

But if something had grabbed his neck when he was off guard...possible. Very possible.

How big is the hole you were talking about?

And is there a way for a predator to get in the yard?

Might be a good time to do an overall check of your entire yard's fence lines and perimeter for security and checking for damage and other openings that may have been missed. (For example, last week I found a new hole in the fence we have just caused by erosion moving a block out of place that was covering a hole in the fence,...caused only by erosion from a sprinkler.

 

[cmom]

I suspect a predator. If you have a game camera, put it up because most likely the predator has been lurking looking for an opportunity and it appears it found one. Usually when a predator makes a kill it will be back. Good luck...

 

[nao57]

I suspect a predator. If you have a game camera, put it up because most likely the predator has been lurking looking for an opportunity and it appears it found one. Usually when a predator makes a kill it will be back. Good luck...

I like the camera idea! Very nice.

Harbor freight sells a cheap security camera. But I don't know if it checks out, just that I'd seen an ad in their stuff for it.

 

[cmom]

Awhile back a BYC member bought this camera and posted some pictures from it. They were decent pictures. I have several cameras and have tried a few different ones. I do have my favorites and am always looking for a sale.
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Tasco-8MP-Tan-Game-Camera-Low-Glow/55614224

This camera is identical to my favorite cameras. Here the predators roam at night so I wanted good nighttime pictures.
https://www.amazon.com/ZIMOCE-Activ...7&sprefix=game+Trail+Cameras,aps,257&sr=8-170

 

[cmom]

I do use my cameras in video mode, from one of my favorite cameras. These are my outer coops.