Dead duck

[Loopeend]

But you saw the weasel grab hold of one of your ducks this evening right? Chickens may have peck the eyes they are cannibals.

That's what I meant with non-predatory birds but scavengers birds...But did not want to say :'(

I do not about every breed of chickens; but yeah.. they do that more then ducks.. they have the bills for it.. =/ (and ducks do not)

You can get dead-pecking less by providing a lot of room, actvities and a (big) safe social circle with the right amount of hens etc... but you will never get rid of it. They stay unique individual characters. And some will always keep doing that. And noone knows why. They have more deep things going on then we can grasp.

It's not a pleasent site to find a beloved animal like that; extra eaten by other beloved pets.

But there is clearly another killer on the loose; I hope you will manage to keep that one away to never see it again

 

[Jpat]

 

[Afroggie4u]

But you saw the weasel grab hold of one of your ducks this evening right? Chickens may have peck the eyes they are cannibals.

Yes I saw the weasel grab one tonight, that's when I hit it with the LED bulb.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Good luck, and post again when you catch it. Question for the group: since weasels are typically nocturnal and sighting one is so rare, is there any chance this one could be sick? Er ... rabid, possibly?

 

[Afroggie4u]

Good luck, and post again when you catch it. Question for the group: since weasels are typically nocturnal and sighting one is so rare, is there any chance this one could be sick? Er ... rabid, possibly?

I'm sure I'm not the best to answer you but this one didn't act rabid, it was just dark when I went out to lock up the ducks/chickens and I turned a light on when I was looking down at the floor. Hope he was rabid, since he did attack 2 of my ducks. Curious on others thoughts.

 

[Afroggie4u]

I'm sure I'm not the best to answer you but this one didn't act rabid, it was just dark when I went out to lock up the ducks/chickens and I turned a light on when I was looking down at the floor. Hope he was rabid, since he did attack 2 of my ducks. Curious on others thoughts.

*Wasn't* not was

 

[Villainess]

I set a live trap out tonight with fish in it. Yes I was surprised I saw him too. He was bold and came right in the coop while I was there and grabbed one of my ducks. Only thing I had in my hand to hit it was a solar light bulb and I hit him hard but not hard enough. Lol

Oh my, your encounter with the weasel attacking your birds is very, very close to my own, but with a mink, from just last month!

I have a mixed flock that all bed down in the coop at night as well—chickens, ducks, and a guinea. My husband heard the guinea squawking around 3AM or so, and went outside to investigate (once he left the house and was heading to the coop he could also hear one of my ducks screaming in pain ) He opened the door and when he did, my Pekin literally rolled out the door and onto the ramp, with the mink still attached to his neck!

My husband had nothing in his hands but his Maglite, so he beat the crap out of that mink with his light until the mink released Mr. Quackers. The mink ran back into the coop....much to his own detriment. Wherever the mink had come in from, he could not find his way back out, and by then my husband had ran back to the house for his .22. He was able to dispatch of the mink while he was trapped in the coop, meanwhile I had herded all the birds out of it.

I lost one of my ducks too, a male Rouen named Dewie (I have 3 Rouen, Huey, Dewie and Louie...), but thankfully Mr. Quackers survived. The wounds to his neck were pretty deep and serious, but we worked with each other to nurse him back to health while he lived on my kitchen floor for a while. A month later and he’s back to his old self

I would definitely find out anything you can about capturing and dispatching that weasel before it goes for another round. Weasels are very active during the winter, and since they don’t store body fat like other animals that are active during winter do, they need a constant food source for energy. It now knows there is food to be had in your coop, so it will want to hit again. And given your wooded surroundings...there’s going to be more than just the one.

Good luck in stopping this weasel and protecting your birds. I’m sorry about the loss of your duck

 

[Afroggie4u]

Oh my, your encounter with the weasel attacking your birds is very, very close to my own, but with a mink, from just last month!

I have a mixed flock that all bed down in the coop at night as well—chickens, ducks, and a guinea. My husband heard the guinea squawking around 3AM or so, and went outside to investigate (once he left the house and was heading to the coop he could also hear one of my ducks screaming in pain ) He opened the door and when he did, my Pekin literally rolled out the door and onto the ramp, with the mink still attached to his neck!

My husband had nothing in his hands but his Maglite, so he beat the crap out of that mink with his light until the mink released Mr. Quackers. The mink ran back into the coop....much to his own detriment. Wherever the mink had come in from, he could not find his way back out, and by then my husband had ran back to the house for his .22. He was able to dispatch of the mink while he was trapped in the coop, meanwhile I had herded all the birds out of it.

I lost one of my ducks too, a male Rouen named Dewie (I have 3 Rouen, Huey, Dewie and Louie...), but thankfully Mr. Quackers survived. The wounds to his neck were pretty deep and serious, but we worked with each other to nurse him back to health while he lived on my kitchen floor for a while. A month later and he’s back to his old self

I would definitely find out anything you can about capturing and dispatching that weasel before it goes for another round. Weasels are very active during the winter, and since they don’t store body fat like other animals that are active during winter do, they need a constant food source for energy. It now knows there is food to be had in your coop, so it will want to hit again. And given your wooded surroundings...there’s going to be more than just the one.

Good luck in stopping this weasel and protecting your birds. I’m sorry about the loss of your duck

Thank you, and glad I'm not alone in what I saw. Don't have a .22 but I'm not beyond sitting out there with the shotgun if the trap or fixing cracks in the coop doesn't work. First time I've had an issue with losing anything to a predator inside the coop/run.

 

[Miss Lydia]

How are your birds this morning?

 

[Afroggie4u]

How are your birds this morning?

Everyone is good, no losses, going to the hardware store this morning for wire fence to put around the entire base of the coop and fixing all small gaps. Nothing in the trap though.