I killed our ducks....

[RichnSteph]

I put the pump in the duck pond last night to pump it out. It's messy in there without our filters and things so I have to change the water once in a while. I totally forgot to turn the pump off and this morning it was down to about 2 inches of water in there and of course the ducks promptly jumped on in. I couldn't get them out so I put the water hose in it and set the timer for two hours thinking that once the water was high enough they'd walk out on the little plank that's in there for that purpose.

Nope. My wife went out to check on them at 11:30 or so and found one dead and the other close to it. She says the water was high enough for them to get out so I don't know what happened. She thinks hypothermia. I could just scream.

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

Oh no - are/were these adult ducks or juveniles?

 

[RichnSteph]

Juveniles.

 

[enola]

I am so sorry!

There is no way I could admit all the things that I have done that accidentally lead to the deaths of chickens. The important thing is you and I learn from these mistakes and try to prevent them in the future.

Sending hugs

 

[Gigglebox]

May have been exhaustion..if they couldn't figure out how to get out and were just paddling away...how old are they? Water logged feathers could also be a contributing factor.

Very sorry for your loss

 

[RichnSteph]

They were only a few months old. They are big enough to eat though so they've gone to the freezer. Still not exactly how I wanted to have duck for dinner. The saddest part is now our little Cayuga is all alone again.

 

[Gigglebox]

Don't beat yourself up too bad! I dread the day I make a fatal error with a duck,but I'm sure it's one of those "happens to a lot of us" things.

Check craigslist for ducks, i always see them there

 

[Amykins]

We all have regrets...the day my duckling Milkshake died, her head was moving back and forth in an odd manner, a clear precursor to seizures. I should have paid more attention, I should have seen the signs and rushed her to the vet, I don't know if I'd have been able to save her, but it's so hard not to cry thinking about what may have been.

A terrible thing happened, and I know it's the worst kind of lesson to learn, but all we can do is try to prevent it from happening again. I know you must have loved your ducks. I can only hope you can get your Cayuga hen some new friends soon.

We're here for you.

 

[Miss Lydia]

 

[KellieJo]

This is the very first thread I am writing in cause I feel awful. I have been taking care of 8 ducks for the past two months. My husband has been out of town for over two weeks and I am 5 months pregnant and have a 17 month old. These are not excuses but it somewhat makes me feel better. So maybe I am making excuses. I have felt so good taking care of them as these are my first farm animals and last night I did not shut the gate properly. I thought I did but I obviously didn't. I also didn't put them in the coop because I wanted it to air out and thought they would be safe since they were fenced in. I went to feed them this morning and the gate was open, and there were definite signs of a predator attack on most of them. I cannot find any survivors. I feel so down today but don't know what to do.

I think it is great that you were able to freeze them and have the ability to eat them but I understand the sadness.