First predator incident :(

[Duckworth]

I’m sorry! We went through a raccoon attack a few months ago and lost one of our girls, while the rest were injured. I hope your more seriously injured duck is able to recover. Ours did, though the vet bills were pretty high. I moved mine indoors into the bathtub “hospital” while they recovered and until I could add more security to their pen.

It’s so heartbreaking to see our ducks killed or injured.

 

[DuckyDonna]

yes, electric fence might be good but you need to see what @Magnolia Ducks has to say about that before jumping off that curb. Also looks like you've got no cover from overhead. That's a problem!

 

[Magnolia Ducks]

I very much doubt bobcat or coyote as those guys grab and go. You will just find duck gone and no trace. Only two predators I know of leave injured ducks behind, raccoon and domestic dog. I hAve never had raccoon in the day. Not to say it won't happen, just hasnt happened to me. Both coyote and bobcat leave no trace. Bobcat will cache. I found what was left of my Pekin Princess cached. If ducks were damaged or killed and not eaten, it is most likely domestic dog. A wild predator other than a raccoon or Fox would not leave without a meal. I am sorry I know this and sorry for your ducks.

 

[Magnolia Ducks]

Also, I have electric netting not fence but I wouldn't recommend it. One Drake one gander two ducks and two.littles taken from the netting.

 

[Csparling]

We have a small barn coop and We built an outdoor run that is enclosed with chicken netting. We actually do have the chicken wire over head too so nothing can climb in it. This incident happened after I let them out this morning to roam around the yard. So far they are “OK”. I cleaned up the wounds and called the vet. Not much more to do but watch and see how they do. If they make it through the night then I think we might be out of immediate danger. I hope.

 

[Csparling]

I very much doubt bobcat or coyote as those guys grab and go. You will just find duck gone and no trace. Only two predators I know of leave injured ducks behind, raccoon and domestic dog. I hAve never had raccoon in the day. Not to say it won't happen, just hasnt happened to me. Both coyote and bobcat leave no trace. Bobcat will cache. I found what was left of my Pekin Princess cached. If ducks were damaged or killed and not eaten, it is most likely domestic dog. A wild predator other than a raccoon or Fox would not leave without a meal. I am sorry I know this and sorry for your ducks.

 

[Csparling]

I’m leaning towards raccoon myself. I figured if it was a bigger animal like a coyote or bobcat, they wouldn’t have limped away from an attack like they did. Had to have been something smaller that couldn’t physically carry it away. I’m wondering if there is any over the counter pain meds you can give a duck?? I know certain things you can give to animals for small injuries and arthritis.

 

[Csparling]

I had good luck with electric fence:
10,000 volt
nine wire
four inches apart

I think my clumsy/dumba** would probably find a way to run into it

 

[guineapeeps]

I very much doubt bobcat or coyote as those guys grab and go. You will just find duck gone and no trace. Only two predators I know of leave injured ducks behind, raccoon and domestic dog. I hAve never had raccoon in the day. Not to say it won't happen, just hasnt happened to me. Both coyote and bobcat leave no trace. Bobcat will cache. I found what was left of my Pekin Princess cached. If ducks were damaged or killed and not eaten, it is most likely domestic dog. A wild predator other than a raccoon or Fox would not leave without a meal. I am sorry I know this and sorry for your ducks.

I agree with your predator assessment. When I lived in Iowa, we had fox, coyote, and raccoon come into the yard and pick off my guineas in broad daylight....the Fox were the worst and would come into the yard even if i was standing out there! The coyote and the fox were mostly grab and go, but the raccoons, were not nearly as sneaky or fast. I started keeping a radio tuned into talk radio in my yard and it seemed to cut back on the amount of predators coming onto the property in the middle of the day.

 

[guineapeeps]

I’m leaning towards raccoon myself. I figured if it was a bigger animal like a coyote or bobcat, they wouldn’t have limped away from an attack like they did. Had to have been something smaller that couldn’t physically carry it away. I’m wondering if there is any over the counter pain meds you can give a duck?? I know certain things you can give to animals for small injuries and arthritis.

I’ve heard that you can use aspirin for pain relief for chickens. Here is the dosing I found along with a good article on first aid. Never used aspirin with my birds before so hopefully someone else can weigh in on it? Let us know how your ducks are doing and if you catch anything!

https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...essential-supplies-and-how-to-use-them.64830/