HELP! What is killing my babies?

[mk67026]

So far over the I've had something rip apart and eat a bunch of baby ducks and geese!

All I find is scattered bits of fuzz and occasionally a foot chewed neatly off at the hock (usually laying out in the pen, but otherwise it's been dragged into the darkest corner of the shed). Other times, there isn't even a trace left; they just vanish completely. Once I found a baby duck that had been killed right under its mother and was consumed right next to her nest. This same mother duck had something swiping eggs right out from under her while she was setting, too...never heard a ruckus, so whatever it is, it's quiet.

My pen is fairly "predator-proofed"- or I THOUGHT it was- I've never had a problem with anything getting into "Fort Knox"! It's got double-layer wire all the way around, plus covered on top with sturdy mesh (to keep hawks & owls out). I also run livetraps constantly outside the pen for controlling possums/skunks/coons/feral cats.

I have not seen any other signs of any kind of varmint- no holes, no tracks, no pathways, nada. The only thing I can think of is either a small weasel or rats. My neighbors have a bunch of trash and junk laying around, so rats (in my mind) would be my number one suspect.

I've put all five remaining babies into a 1/2x1/2" wire mesh cage, locked my adult birds OUT of the pen, and baited the pen & shed with rodent poison bars. I've got a huge fenced yard, so I'm not worried about the adults- just the babies. I've also got smaller rabbit-sized livetraps, but the mesh is 1x1 so a rat would probably be able to escape. I may go get some good jaw traps tomorrow and set them around the pen.

This has been very discouraging- I lost all my Tolouse & Pilgrim goslings (I paid good money for those rascals, and I can't afford to replace them).

Any thoughts?

 

[chickenchickenbulkbulk]

I had this happen to mine. It was a coon. They can pull the babies through the chicken wire. I have had fox get mine while they were out and then I had a coons that killed a lot of my babies..now would you believe I have snakes taking eggs from the setting hens. I have done everything to keep mine from harms way..it is just so upsetting. The eggs were due to hatch today. I am just sick about all of this. I hope you get what ever it is and figure out what is going on. Good Luck

 

[Kennyog]

It's a coon.

 

[mk67026]

I doubt it was a coon, though- like I said, the pen and shed are both "tight" (the pen is 15x25, the shed is 12x14). The vast majority of the scattered pieces & parts I found inside the shed, dragged into the very furthest, darkest corner. The remnants of the very last gosling (one foot and part of the backbone that I found this evening) had been dragged into an impossibly small space behind a barrel in the corner of the shed. That's why I'm thinking it's got to be a rat...there simply is no way on earth a coon could squeak through all that wire and be able to physically drag babies off into such a small space and dine on 'em.

 

[miss_jayne]

i vote weasel. it can fit through holes the size of a nickel! they are crazy. if i am not mistaken, they stack things for later too.

 

[notapandabear13]

sorry for all your losses!

my suggestion is to dig up the ground 6 inches and lay mesh down, then rebury to prevent hole diggers. then take ply wood and put it 2-4 feet up the sides of the coop. OR take the screen used to screen doors (found at home depot) and do the same thing. this is see thru and breathable and NOTHING but tiny tiny bugs can fit thru a milimeter sized hole. make sure you secure it with 1x1 along its entire border. GOOD LUCK! hope you dont loose any more!