I REALLY can’t catch a break here! Or a breath 😭

[rumbleBee_STi]

Sorry for the play-by-play story, but the way I found her, & how she looked at me has haunted me & stuck in my brain.

Something got one of my khaki Campbell ducks the other day. my dog kept barking, I walked onto the porch to see if something was out there. I seen 3 of my ducks (1 khaki , 2 jumbo pekin) standing under their tarp cover, I waited for my other khaki to come into view, but never did. I let my ducks free range all day until night time, never had a problem until DECEMBER. So I put on my boots & went outside to look around. Didn’t see her anywhere. When I yell “duck ducks” they will come running, usually. So I yelled duck duck. Nothing. Took my dogs out of their run & out into the yard to help find her. They ran straight up the hill behind my chicken runs & along the fence line. I followed behind looking & listening. I got far back enough to where I seen a brown body lying under a tree limb. In between my sobbing & yelling NO I ran to her & seen that she was still alive, barely. She was laying on her stomach, with her neck stretched out onto the cold, snowy ground. I scooped her up & ran back to the house with her, got her inside & laid her into the hospital tub I had available. Ran back outside & put the other ducks away for the time being. By the time I got back inside, I watched her take her last breath. I checked her wounds, above her right wing was shredded, meat, bone, blood, her wing might’ve been pulled out of place ... I’m not sure. She had some blood on her neck, one puncture wound. Her neck was very limp, she wasn’t trying to move at all. My suspicion is a hawk... maybe a broad winged, or red tail. Does this sound like a hawks doing? I found where it attacked her first outside. Just blood. No footprints. Only her feathers. In the back where I found her, there’s a couple drops of blood trailing straight to where she was laying.

This is my first year keeping chickens & ducks. I first got them all back in March/April of this year. December has been awful, our first attacks, losses. I’ve lost 3 birds so far this month. 2 to predators, 1 for unknown causes. I know it’s apart of keeping chickens & ducks... but I never thought of how traumatizing it would be. I never found the body of my first loss (leghorn), finding my poor duck laying in the cold snow, scared, hurt & dying. I’m a very empathetic person (unfortunately).

RIP Duck Duck The picture with red circle is where I found her.

 

[FortCluck]

Whatever it was it is going to come back... The winter months are probably the hardest hit months with predators because they don’t have reliable sources of food during the wintertime so they go looking.

I would set up traps and start reinforcing where your ducks are.

I’m sorry for your loss

 

[Weeg]

Thank you. Your words alone help, relating & sympathizing. That is so awful We are definitely planning to set traps, the one we have now isn’t big enough & we would rather not use a live trap but we are going to do what we can. I don’t think I’ve ever cried so much in a months time.

What kind of trap are you setting? Are you planning on killing it? I advice against that. We are surrounded by predators up here, it is just part of living with poultry, you don't need to kill them to keep them safe, it is unnecessary. @Sulky Bantam @Duck mommy 2019

I have had many losses as well, once, 3 birds were sitting on a hill. I when inside for 2 minutes, came back out, my drake was quacking and one of my female ducks was missing. I ran across the yard to get help, which took less them 10 seconds. I look back. Only the drake is left. I never found the other birds. I am so sorry for you loss, these things are so hard!

 

[Folly's place]

I'm so sorry for your loss!
As others have said, keep your survivors in their safe coop and run for about two weeks, to discourage any hawk who might be involved. Raptors are all protected in the USA, but will get discouraged and move on elsewhere if there's no longer food available.
Electric fencing is great for keeping many ground predators away, and good netting over a run will keep raptors out.
Free ranging is great, except when it isn't, and will always be a risk. Loosing only one bird is hard, loosing then whole flock at once can happen too.
Again, I'm sorry.
Mary

 

[Folly's place]

Also, live traps are safest, as long as you are willing and able to shoot any actual predator that you catch. Kill traps might take out pets or non-target animals, never good.
Here we do loose an occasional smaller bird to a hawk, and then the flock is locked in for ten to twenty days, until that bird moves on,. Our worst losses to predators, since having that predator safe coop, have been to a sick daytime fox, once, our own dog who escaped, once, and a rat invasion of our coop, once. All awful events!
Mary

 

[FortCluck]

Thank you. I know, I’m scared of that. I seen a hawk/falcon fly over the exact area I found her later on that day so that’s why I thought it was hawk or possible falcon.

We were planning on ordering some electric fencing from Premier1 but with the USPS shipping delays, why bother. I have extra bird netting I was planning to put up as well, even though it’s not 100% guaranteed to save anyone from anything but might help slow predators down. Ugh. I’m ready for spring/summer already.

I’d order the electric fencing now then at least it’ll be shipped soon. I haven’t had any delays from USPS shipping but look on amazon and see if they sell that fencing there. It’ll come in 2 days if you have prime.

 

[Weeg]

I am so sorry for your loss. It is so hard. You need to keep your ducks locked up for a while, to discourage your predator from coming. Only let hem free range if you can come out with your dogs to protect them. Is you coop and run predator proof? Keep them away form the predators. Killing the predator will only open up territory for another one to move in. Plus, if your suspicions are right and it is a hawk, you can't shoot them anyway. I am so sorry for your loss! Hugs and more hugs! Avery

 

[ChunkyBirb]

I’m so sorry. Losing a beloved ducky is the worst. I would order that electric fence ASAP. Traps, game cams, maybe even leaving your dogs out (if they won’t attack your ducks) would be good ideas. If you suspect it is a hawk, listen for hawks. Red tails make what most people would think is an eagle sound, but it is not. You can look up some videos of it. Again I’m so sorry for your loss

 

[hayley3]

Sorry for the play-by-play story, but the way I found her, & how she looked at me has haunted me & stuck in my brain.

Something got one of my khaki Campbell ducks the other day. my dog kept barking, I walked onto the porch to see if something was out there. I seen 3 of my ducks (1 khaki , 2 jumbo pekin) standing under their tarp cover, I waited for my other khaki to come into view, but never did. I let my ducks free range all day until night time, never had a problem until DECEMBER. So I put on my boots & went outside to look around. Didn’t see her anywhere. When I yell “duck ducks” they will come running, usually. So I yelled duck duck. Nothing. Took my dogs out of their run & out into the yard to help find her. They ran straight up the hill behind my chicken runs & along the fence line. I followed behind looking & listening. I got far back enough to where I seen a brown body lying under a tree limb. In between my sobbing & yelling NO I ran to her & seen that she was still alive, barely. She was laying on her stomach, with her neck stretched out onto the cold, snowy ground. I scooped her up & ran back to the house with her, got her inside & laid her into the hospital tub I had available. Ran back outside & put the other ducks away for the time being. By the time I got back inside, I watched her take her last breath. I checked her wounds, above her right wing was shredded, meat, bone, blood, her wing might’ve been pulled out of place ... I’m not sure. She had some blood on her neck, one puncture wound. Her neck was very limp, she wasn’t trying to move at all. My suspicion is a hawk... maybe a broad winged, or red tail. Does this sound like a hawks doing? I found where it attacked her first outside. Just blood. No footprints. Only her feathers. In the back where I found her, there’s a couple drops of blood trailing straight to where she was laying.

This is my first year keeping chickens & ducks. I first got them all back in March/April of this year. December has been awful, our first attacks, losses. I’ve lost 3 birds so far this month. 2 to predators, 1 for unknown causes. I know it’s apart of keeping chickens & ducks... but I never thought of how traumatizing it would be. I never found the body of my first loss (leghorn), finding my poor duck laying in the cold snow, scared, hurt & dying. I’m a very empathetic person (unfortunately).

RIP Duck Duck The picture with red circle is where I found her.
View attachment 2466329
View attachment 2466336

It's very traumatizing to find your birds dead or injured.
For me it is guilt too for not being there for them.
I had a fox take off with my duck, and the fox had to travel a long way across an open pasture to get to her, which is odd behavior for a fox because they like to move in cover....anyway he came right up to my front door and took her. I yelled and chased after and he dropped her but she was already gone. It's painful, and I hope I have learned a lesson from every death, so that I don't make the same mistake twice.
Yesterday the neighbor's lab came up to my Premiere Electric fence, I have an audio monitor outside, I heard my goose in her panic tone, I ran out and the dog was running away, as it had touched the fence with its nose. Electric fences are the way to go..gives you such peace of mind.

 

[JNC]

I am so sorry for your loss. It almost made me tear up. I lost a khaki Campbell too earlier this year. I know how hard it can be. I found her the same way you did. Except one of legs was stretched out too and bleeding. She died of a dog attack though. For now all I can say is keep a close eye. I would set up a trap if you have one. Hopefully you can get more answers. Sorry I’m not much help I don’t know how to deal with this sort of stuff but I will pray for your flock.