Ducklings being killed at night in pen

[Mreeves]

My ducklings are 4 weeks old. I had 2 Campbell khakis , one Indian runner and a white pekin. I have the ducklings in a round pen and at night I put them inside a large dog kennel with hay and water to keep them safe from predators. This last Monday I found one of the khakis dead in the kennel. Then this morning I found my Indian runner dead. Any ideas what could be going on? I don’t think it is a snake because the other ducks are fine and the ducklings have looked healthy when I put them up at night. Could the other ducklings be killing each other? The duckling was are covered in ants that I washed off when I found it so I could look for marks. Duckling was found dead in the kennel this morning and the other two ducks in the kennel are fine.

 

[LaFleche]

Raccoons can still reach inside the dog kennels to grab and bite/kill them. Opossums too.

 

[Briosafarm]

I'm so sorry. I see some hardware cloth in your pics, but it appears as if a raccoon or possum could just reach up under the gaps into the kennel and I can't see what you have as far as the door and door latch area. To make that kennel safe you would need to cover every square inch with hardware cloth...top, bottom, all sides, then securely tie or wire it down along the edges every couple of inches. You'd need to cover the door opening and latch area every night, tying down the hardware cloth every couple of inches and then cut it open in the morning so you could open the door. They are literally "sitting ducks" in that setup. Not trying to be funny or mean; many of us lost chickens or ducks when we first started, before we learned the hard way and from advice on here, about how to build predator proof housing. Please bring the other two inside at night until you can get something safe built or you will lose the last two the same way.

 

[416bigbore]

So Sorry for your loss, how sad.

 

[cmom]

So sorry for your loss. The predator will be back. My recommendation is to put up a camera if you have one and then you will know what is lurking and can form a plan on how to deal with it. Good luck...

 

[SusanMc]

Sorry for your loss, as was wisely said many of us lost birds before we knew any better. My lesson was taught by a weasel, I’ll have to be vigilant this fall when they return.

 

[Briosafarm]

Sorry for your loss, as was wisely said many of us lost birds before we knew any better. My lesson was taught by a weasel, I’ll have to be vigilant this fall when they return.

My "teacher" was raccoons. I don't blame wild animals for being what they are (coyotes for example) but I admit I no longer enjoy seeing raccoons on our game cam or think they're cute; they just look like murder to me now.