Ducks got attacked last night

[Tilly6]

Great news, I have seen every injured duck eat and drink on their own. One of them even laid an egg, unfortunately in the swimming tub. The traps were empty again last night and hopefully the game camera will show no threats as well. I’m finally feeling like they can all pull through.

 

[NanaKat]

Following your story an pleased to see your progress.

Been there too with bobcats and coyotes as well as owl, skunk, raccoon and possum over the past 25 years. No matter how secure a cage or coop, a hungry predator will do damage either to the structure or the birds.
I have chickens and ducks and have seen injuries heal with good care.

 

[Tilly6]

Following your story an pleased to see your progress.

Been there too with bobcats and coyotes as well as owl, skunk, raccoon and possum over the past 25 years. No matter how secure a cage or coop, a hungry predator will do damage either to the structure or the birds.
I have chickens and ducks and have seen injuries heal with good care.

We are definitely going to be revamping the doors and doing whatever else we can to make the enclosure more secure. We were getting pretty complacent after 3 years of zero problems.

 

[50-45-1]

The muscrat did not harm your ducks as they are vegitarian, so likely he was coming to investigate your feed.
I think the first photo at night time is an opossum, and they will kill your ducks.
Another note, the muskrat is the main prey of the mink. If your mink is gone the muscrat and rat population likely will increase.

 

[HeatherlovesherBirds]

How are your ducks doing? Was thinking of you and your ducks.

 

[Tilly6]

Look at the tiny fairy egg we found today. This was laid by one of the uninjured girls.

The injured girls are looking a bit better every day. They are definitely getting harder to catch to give them their medicine, which is a good sign. I have had chicken legs out in the traps every night with zero activity on the trail cam. Mink are solitary and their territories don’t overlap so that’s good. The mink we caught was a young male. The bad news is that on the other side of the lake, which is more wooded and farther from the main road, they killed a coyote this Spring. I didn’t really think we had to worry much about them, being so close to town.

 

[Tilly6]

The muscrat did not harm your ducks as they are vegitarian, so likely he was coming to investigate your feed.
I think the first photo at night time is an opossum, and they will kill your ducks.
Another note, the muskrat is the main prey of the mink. If your mink is gone the muscrat and rat population likely will increase.

Yeah, I’m pretty sure the dog caught it so far up in our yard after it was stealing an easy meal of duck food, usually they stay outside of our fence and closer to the water.

 

[Tilly6]

Anyone know if river otters are going to be a problem? The next door neighbor said he had an otter on his patio the other day. They wouldn’t have direct access to the duck pen, there is a chain link fence around our yard to negotiate first. Not that it would be hard for them, there’s a gate near the water that is a little bent after a fall from a ladder while picking apples. That is where the muskrat and mink came in.

 

[Fishkeeper]

Possibly, yeah. I know they eat fish and snakes, and I rather suspect they'd poke around a chicken coop. Definitely don't trap those, I'm pretty sure they're very protected. Better to make your pen critter-proof.

 

[Tilly6]

Possibly, yeah. I know they eat fish and snakes, and I rather suspect they'd poke around a chicken coop. Definitely don't trap those, I'm pretty sure they're very protected. Better to make your pen critter-proof.

It didn’t sound very likely they’d be a problem, but you never know. I don’t think the otters live on our lake, there are just too many people. It was probably just passing through. I’ve got out live traps so if they were trapped we’d just let them go. We still have zero activity around the pen or traps. I think the geese would probably notice something the size of an otter and chase it off. They run after the dog and they see him every day.