Ducks attacking wild birds?

[BillyCocoaJaffa]

Hi,
I have a drake and two ducks free ranging in my garden. They’ve never been too keen on wild birds, but seem to be getting very aggressive. Last week one of my ducks was quacking hysterically at some pigeons sat on our roof, and another day she was upset and I found a dead sparrow fledgling on the lawn. It looked like it had been chewed! Today I saw my drake chase off a pigeon and this afternoon found a load of grey feathers on the lawn, looks like he caught it. Would a drake attack and kill a wild bird? Hopefully they will learn to stay out of our garden, but I am a little concerned with bird flu still on the go.

 

[FoodFreedomNow]

What kind of ducks do you have?

I could see Muscovy eating small birds (they eat small rodents and amphibians). Apparently, Mallards have been observed eating birds in the wild, too.

 

[BillyCocoaJaffa]

What kind of ducks do you have?

I could see Muscovy eating small birds (they eat small rodents and amphibians). Apparently, Mallards have been observed eating birds in the wild, too.

They are khaki campell / cayuga cross, so they can only fly a few feet. I had seen the news article about wild mallards eating small birds, apparently behaviour never observed before! I find that hard to believe

 

[FoodFreedomNow]

Could there be some territorial behavior driving the attacks? And/or breeding season hormones?

The Mallards eating wild birds is weird, since they're not evolved to eat them (lacking tearing teeth, etc.).

 

[BillyCocoaJaffa]

Could there be some territorial behavior driving the attacks? And/or breeding season hormones?

The Mallards eating wild birds is weird, since they're not evolved to eat them (lacking tearing teeth, etc.).

It might be hormones, our drake is a sweety but he does sometimes pretend to chase us as we are walking away. He likes to look tough in front of his girls! I have seen them try to eat frogs and newts, so I suppose a small bird is not much bigger, if they can catch it

 

[DuneDucks]

One of my ducks just killed a little bird that stopped by their pond for a drink. Looked out the window to see my big girl Lilo holding something under the water as she wildly shook her head. Rushed out thinking she found a piece of trash or something, but quickly realized a small pair of legs hung out of her mouth. Made me chase her around a little bit before she dropped it. Definitely seemed like she was trying to eat the poor little thing.

 

[Canadian Wind]

Ducks can and will eat other small animals, including mice and birds. We feed the ducks any mice that the cats catch in the house for some extra protein.

It's not fun for us to watch, but it's their instincts.

 

[DuneDucks]

Ducks can and will eat other small animals, including mice and birds. We feed the ducks any mice that the cats catch in the house for some extra protein.

If I had seen her catch the bird I might have let her eat it. Looked like it was probably just a young bird that made a mistake and got grabbed, its flight feathers were still coming in, but I didn't want her eating a bird that was sick or anything.

I hadn't really considered throwing the mice my cat catches out to them.

It's not fun for us to watch, but it's their instincts.

I think it's healthy to have a certain morbid curiosity about these sorts of things. There's a lot of nature documentaries and stuff that get pretty brutal. Like you said just part of respecting their instincts and nature in general.

 

[raingarden]

It sounds like a fledgling that was not quite ready to be out and about on it's own yet.

Our ducks feud with the doves trying to steal their feed. They're obsessed with it and often get a few dove feathers. I once saw a peafowl grab a dove by the neck and fling it about eight feet..

 

[Luv Ducks]

If I had seen her catch the bird I might have let her eat it. Looked like it was probably just a young bird that made a mistake and got grabbed, its flight feathers were still coming in, but I didn't want her eating a bird that was sick or anything.

I hadn't really considered throwing the mice my cat catches out to them.



I think it's healthy to have a certain morbid curiosity about these sorts of things. There's a lot of nature documentaries and stuff that get pretty brutal. Like you said just part of respecting their instincts and nature in general.

I used to have shrews that would get into my duck pen. I had heard that they were poisonous and worried about my ducks eating them. I never see them anymore so I am not sure if the neighbors cat took care of the problem or if they were a meal for my ducks.