Goslings keep disappearing!

[DianneSweeney]

We have a large pond behind our home with a mama and papa goose. They recently hatched about 8 babies. They were so cute to see them floating across the pond. Looked like a cartoon. The sad problem is that as the days have passed the babies have slowly disappeared. We are now down to only 1 baby! We are wondering what is getting them. Could it be a snake, coyotes or what? Also is there anyway to protect them?

Thank you!

 

[mondotomhead]

We have a large pond behind our home with a mama and papa goose. They recently hatched about 8 babies. They were so cute to see them floating across the pond. Looked like a cartoon. The sad problem is that as the days have passed the babies have slowly disappeared. We are now down to only 1 baby! We are wondering what is getting them. Could it be a snake, coyotes or what? Also is there anyway to protect them?

Thank you!

It could be a snapping turtle.

 

[Miss Lydia]

It could be a snapping turtle.

I agree snappers are the worst for getting ducklings and goslings and even taking pieces of feet off or completely off. I'd start looking for these snappers quickly.

 

[CelticOaksFarm]

Here ducks and geese on open water will fall prey to turtle, coons, gators, cyotes, bob cats, dogs ect. Most waterfowl sleep on land at night. Only way to protect is to lock them in a safe house at night.

 

[DuckLover3]

One way to catch Snappers: you can buy a big hook, attach it to a rope that you tie around a tree, and catch a fish. Keep the dead fish in the sun for a few days until it gets really stinky and rotten, and then put it on the hook. Wait a few days, and come back. Normally there will be a big dead snapper on the end of the hook when you come to check it.

 

[DuckLover3]

Of course, if you don't want to kill them, only relocate them, I'm sure there are other ways, but I think this is the easiest if you don't mind killing snappers.

 

[desertdarlene]

I don't know where you live, so it might not be a snapping turtle. We don't have them where I live. But, we do lose a lot of wild ducklings (and goslings where they do hatch) each year. There are so many things that can happen to them. For one, they can simply die from not being warm enough, not resting enough or not eating enough, especially in the first week. Also, herons, coons, coyotes, foxes, weasels, badgers, stray dogs, stray cats, eagles, hawks, large fish, and even rodents can eat baby waterfowl. It can just about be anything. If they're wild, there's not a whole lot you can do about it except discourage predators. If they're domestic, perhaps you can make a safe place to stay at night.

It's actually pretty normal for waterfowl to hatch out a large number of chicks and only end up raising one or two depending on the parenting style of the mother. Exceptional mothers may raise more, poor mothers may raise less or none.