Help with mystery behind dead duck?

[Tweeza]

We came home to a dead duck and I'm now wondering if one of the other ducks could be the culprit? The only wounds we could see were the ones on the back of her neck. All the feathers were pulled off the back of the neck and the flesh was chewed a little bit. There was no blood anywhere.

While the ducks (all hens) were swimming today I noticed one duck was dominating another one for a long time. She was grabbing her on the back of the neck (where the other one had wounds) and even holding her head under water. Could this hen have killed the other one? Maybe not on purpose but just a freak accident?

We thought it might have been one of the dogs but now I'm just not sure. Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Le Canard de Barbarie]

With little information to go on, it might be that a dog grabbed it by the skin between the back and neck, and shook it. Those incisors would cause a hole in the skin with very little bleeding, but where you can see the neck and crop quite clearly.

 

[Tweeza]

The only damage was to the back of the neck. All the feathers were removed from there. Could not find damage anywhere else.

 

[goosedragon]

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Did the duck feel lighter than you would expect? Mink and other weasels sometimes act like vampires and just drain and drink the blood and leave the rest to come back for if needed for food.

 

[becky3086]

Are you sure they are all hen? Sounds like a drake mating a hen to me. Anyway, I agree, sounds like a dog. One of mine is good at getting anything that comes where his chain will reach.

 

[Tweeza]

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It felt like a normal weight.

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At 5 months they all look exactly the same except for a little variation in their bills.

At first we thought maybe it'd flew into something and broke it's neck. Then we noticed the missing feathers and the damage just to the back side of the neck. The wound didn't go around to the front.

 

[Wifezilla]

My female ducks play the domination game in the pool all the time. Never long enough to do any damage though.

Was the duck just laying on the ground or was it dead in the pool?

If it was in the pool, it could have been drowned by the other ducks. If it was on the ground I would suspect and overly playful dog.