Khaki Campbell Appears to Have Drowned..

[Shroppy]

So.. we went away overnight for 24 hours.. 22 ducks in their 300 sq foot pen, and as soon as we gte back, we let them out for forage and swim. We have an acre of spring-fed pond that is up to 20 feet deep in places. We have three catfish, 3 large grass carp and a bunch of Koi.. all the ducks doing what they normally do.. rushing headlong like crazy things to the water.. hubby is down by the pond clearing one of the flower beds. Doesn't see or hear anything unusual. I am in the kitchen, 20 yards up from the pond and suddenly hear a non-stop blackbird alarm call and the two Guineas creating a racket.. not sure if that would be of significance. I go and check, scanning the pond and count the numbers. The ducks are all on the south side of the pond.. and I am missing a Campbell.. I scan the pond and on the north side, I see her.. running around, she is up against the bank on the north side. and is floating with her head stretched out underwater. I drag her to shore.. no breath, no heartbeat.. she is dead Not long though.. no rigor, and she is still warm. Holler for hubby and we start checking for signs of injury.. nothing. Nothing in her beak.. no signs of any pond weed entanglement.. her neck is not broken. No mucus, no signs of fractures. She WAS passing a normal stool as she died. Hubby is autopsying her for clues. All we have found so far is one tiny puncture wound in the skin of her left breast..but even that could come from feather removal. No sign of bruising either. Feeling I've let this baby down somehow.. and want to make sure that I don't lose another one.. any ideas as to the possible cause of her demise would be appreciated..

 

[TLWR]

Could have drown during mating?

 

[Miss Lydia]

Snake bite? Very sorry for your loss.

 

[Amiga]

With the racket, it does sound like something grabbed her. Could a hawk have come at her?

 

[Shroppy]

Hi folks - we autopsied her. Inspected her skin from end to end after plucking. There was one tiny little mark which could also have come from plucking. No bruising anywhere. No broken bones.

Every organ was in wonderful condition.. no hemorrhages, no sign of parasitic infestation anywhere. Except for the lungs.. pale and oedematous, so she HAD drowned and yes we DO suspect a snapper. Hubby had walked down towards the poolside pation and firepit area when he heard a REALLY loud sploosh as something BIG hit the water with lots of waves just a few yards away. He could see where it had been laid on the bank, as all the grass was flattened. This is one of the two areas where the ducks enter the water. Today, we have the trap set with duck entrails, and are keeping the ducks in their run for now.

 

[Shroppy]

I hadn't thought about the possibility she was being mated - BUT the only drakes we have are much smaller ducks and they have never showed any inclination to mate with the Khakis or Cayugas, in the year that we have had these ducks, no matter how much the girls try to get them interested. We did notice VERY determined efforts by one of the Khakis to get one of the smaller drakes interested earlier in the day so we certainly can't rule out that possibility.. thank you!

 

[Shroppy]

We still suspect a Snapping Turtle. We trappe a massive one two years ago.. We have male ducks but they are way smaller than our Khaki Campbells, and they have never tried to mate them although the Khakis do "present" to the males.. this is a vid of a turtle drowning a duck. The turtle has the duck by the beak before puling it under to drown it. https://www.flickr.com/photos/swamper/3808544213/in/set-72157621878926387

 

[Miss Lydia]

We still suspect a Snapping Turtle. We trappe a massive one two years ago.. We have male ducks but they are way smaller than our Khaki Campbells, and they have never tried to mate them although the Khakis do "present" to the males.. this is a vid of a turtle drowning a duck. The turtle has the duck by the beak before puling it under to drown it. https://www.flickr.com/photos/swamper/3808544213/in/set-72157621878926387

I hope you get that snapper. I have seen some horrific wounds from them. So sorry you had to lose one to know you have them.

 

[Shroppy]

It was a HUGE snapping turtle..

We let the ducks out, supervised... I had been watching.. hubby came out briefly.. then went back in to prepare our remaining onions for dehydration. I was suddenly aware of a neck sticking out the water at 45 degrees about 4 feet from a lone Khaki.. she wasn't even aware. I started screaming -LOUDLY- for hubby but he was in the kitchen. I could see him but with the windows shut he couldn't hear me. I ran back to the house screaming his name at the top of my voice. I can only think that my VERY loud cries scared that turtle off. I BANGED on the windows. It is VERY heavy double glazing. He came running out and ran to the pond.. we counted our 13 remaining Khakis, two Cayugas and the other 6..

We watched and watched. No signs of this snapper. We DID spot another, much smaller turtle.. so, ducks are now in their run (75 ft x 15 ft with bird netting over the whole thing) with big bowls of water to paddle in.. until we get this pond clear. It IS illegal, I think, to kill these turtles, and we will probably have to get a permit to relocate them, but that was one hell of a scare.. and with one dead duck already, I do not want any more!

 

[DucksAndGardens]

Nah you can trap that turtle anytime you want.

http://www.wvcommerce.org/app_media...esources/reptilesandamphibiansregulations.pdf

Up to 10 from Jan- May and July - December.

My grandfather used to eat them.

Common Snappers have no special protections. If it's an alligator snapper then you will have to call Fish and Wildlife. Fish and Wildlife won't come out and relocate snappers. They will just tell you to kill it.