I'm going to be absolutly sick!- 4 young ducks missing

[Ducklove334]

I just went outside, I just lost our momma hen to our own dog last night, and my 6 young free-range ducks were ALL there last night.

I went out to find my two call duck/mallard mix hens sitting under their favorite tree. not the other four!, Templeton,Sparrow,Elliot and my little disabled crested pekin Nikki are GONE!, they are no where, no feathers anywhere..i'm going to be sick...first a chicken and now four of my favorite ducks!

I'm beginning to re-think free-ranging, but theres not enough room in the pen now...

I am going to go look around the woods for feathers.

Sparrow and Elliot could fly, Templeton probably could have gotten away, but poor Nikki wouldn't have had a chance, she didn't walk good and could keep up with the flock

I'm almost done with the whole bird thing..

 

[calicokat]

I'm so sorry to hear about your birds. I hope you figure out what the predator is so you can keep the remaining ones safe!

 

[AHappychick]

do they sleep with out a pen, or do you mean they disapeared while free ranging during the day? At night I think it the most dangerous time, so many hours and so many hungry creatures. If it was at night I say lock them up, they dont need nearly as much space if it is just a place to sleep and they get to freerange during the days

 

[Ducklove334]

these guys are all young 3 months-9 weeks, they lived in the chick room with the older chicks, but then when we got the itty bitty chicks, I went ahead and moved the older chicks to the adult coop, and started letting the ducks run around instead of putting them in the adult duck pen to keep them from being mated todeath and terrorized.

they'd been sleeping in the "baby fence" for several weeks and been fine.

they were all fine yesterday evening, then this morning, the four were gone.

called our neighbor who lets her big hound x shepard mix dog run all over, but she "said" she didn't see anything.

 

[~*Sweet Cheeks*~]

Could your dog had gotten to them last night?

I'm sure you know you need to protect all your birds by locking them up at night.

If you ended up getting too many little ones without the ability to house all of them as they grow, maybe you should sell or give some away rather then continue to lose them to your dog or other preditors.

Good luck with the ones you have.

 

[Ducklove334]

our dog is tied up on the opposite side of the yard when the chickens are put up, the ducks never went that close to him, the closest they'd go was the back door of the house, wich is still a good 15 feet out of reach for the dog, and certainly not all four.

I had a depressing dream last night where Templeton,Sparrow, and my muscovy who isn't even missing cause she's in the pen, came back LOL