Lost all my muscovy ducks =(

[axxell33]

Had a rough day today.. a coon or fox found a weak spot in my pen, dug under and got 2 of my chickens, 1 of my ducks and mangled my other two ducks pretty bad. I had 2 female Muscovys and 1 Drake. The drake was left and had a broken wing, a large laceration under his wing deep into the meat and some scrapes on his head and neck. The female I had left had a really bad tooth hole in the back of her head. This just killed me.. they were only about 3 months old and starting to get used to me. The drake ate out of my hand yesterday for the first time.

I just came in from putting them down. When I got to them this morning the flies were already swarming them and neither one of them could barely walk. As hard as it was to do it, it would have been even harder to try and dr them for a couple of weeks and lose them anyway.. all while they suffer.

I spent the day re digging and burying chicken wire all around their pen. There is no way anything can get in now. Man has it been rough day, but unfortunately this has happened to many of us.

My advice is for anyone that thinks they have everything locked down tight enough, to go back and lock it down tighter. I just feel absolutely terrible.

 

[maralynn28]

I am so sorry to hear your loss. My ducks suffered a dog attack a little over a month ago, they were pretty badly hurt but after weeks of caring for them they all survived. Then last night our favorite cayuga turned up missing...she used to sit in my 9 yr old daughter's lap and snuggle,she was such a sweetie. We have no idea what happened to her but I have a sinking feeling we won't see her again. I never thought we would get so attached...it is indeed a sad sad day. The stormy weather is even reflecting our mood.

Do you plan on replacing them eventually? I'm so sorry for your loss. I understand muscovies are special ducks.

 

[maralynn28]

I am so sorry to hear your loss. My ducks suffered a dog attack a little over a month ago, they were pretty badly hurt but after weeks of caring for them they all survived. Then last night our favorite cayuga turned up missing...she used to sit in my 9 yr old daughter's lap and snuggle,she was such a sweetie. We have no idea what happened to her but I have a sinking feeling we won't see her again. I never thought we would get so attached...it is indeed a sad sad day. The stormy weather is even reflecting our mood.

Do you plan on replacing them eventually? I'm so sorry for your loss. I understand muscovies are special ducks.

 

[chickensioux]

So sorry to hear of your losses.

 

[axxell33]

Thanks all.. it has been a terrible day.

It's one thing to slaughter an animal that has been raised for meat, but these were my pets. They just ate out of my hand yesterday for the first time. I feel just terrible.

Any recommendations on where I can order more? I would love a couple of good reputable breeders that will ship to me. I got those local.

 

[katharinad]

I'm sorry for your loss, and applaud your strong character in deciding what was right. It's late in the season for getting ducklings, it would be best to hold of with them until next spring. I know some will still ship, but they are not feather in for winter so you will need to keep them warm. You can still get some adult birds, but they will cost a lot more. Perhaps some BYC member near by can help you out. Otherwise do your home work over the winter and start new next spring. There are good breeders out there. Holderread and Metzer are two solid sources among others. Holderread is known for its quality show birds. Metzer lets you choose the sex of the ducklings, and produces strong birds. Again do your homework.

 

[pascopol]

I feel for everybody losing birds to predators. I,ve been there. I keep my birds at night in huge chain link kennel with solid roof cover. My quail cages are inside the kennel.

But remember, the attack is the best defense. I have around 2 coon traps always set, after a quiet summer of inactivity

lately I trapped 2 huge coons and later 2 smaller opossums. Coons tried to get to my birds which must have panicked there was tons of feathers around. But they settled for bait in my traps, next day I fed them to the vultures.

 

[axxell33]

Good point Katharainad.. if I can't find some young 5-6 month old muscovys I will wait until spring. I was going to keep a heat lamp in their house regardless, but I don't want to risk anything again with any young ducks.

@pascopol- I thought about getting some traps.. but with my kind of luck I would have the neighbors cat in there. I wish I lived in a more rural area.. I can't stand the city.. or anywhere near it. I was surprised no one called the cops today when I put my ducks down. I'm sure it's illegal to discharge a firearm in a residential area, but I couldn't have done it any other way. I couldn't slaughter my pets like I do my meat animals.

Coons are bad in my neighborhood.. dumped trash cans on every trash day down the whole street. On second thought, I may just give it a shot with the trap after all.

I'm also going to put an electric fence around the outside of my chain link fence. It already has chicken wire buried all the way around it after today. Hopefully there will be no more problems now..

 

[dieselgrl48]

Soooo sorry.I feel your pain truley.Been there.It's heartbreaking.It's hard making a decision on putting any down.We have had to put a couple of duck's down ourselve's.2 Were dog attack's the one was pretty bad but was cold weather luckliy and I did get that one to survive.DH had to put another down due to neighbor jack russell.Jack had a Bad day too!TG We live in No Man's land true farm country out here.And numeous other We lost some to fox etc.Over the year's of loss I have armed myself with an Arsenal of thing's and it alway's seem's no matter what something is going to find a way in whether it be by land or sky.Right now Im on sky watch grrrrrrrrrr

. Survival of the fittest!.Hope you can catch that critter! Hugggzzzz and don't give up yet.Get a live trap for sure.If it's a coon he will be easily trapped.Put some tuna, cat food or mackeral or salmon in there and You will get him if it's not a fox.Fox are hard to trap trust me.Wish you luck.

 

[FenDruadin]

So sorry to hear of your loss. Yes, it's always harder when they're pets.

Just so you know--Holderread is still selling adults this Fall, and they do ship. They're on the West coast, so it's a long trip, but they do a great job with the shipping and will arrive in nice shape. They're not the cheapest, but they are the best.

I lost many ducks to predators before finally getting our system fail-proof. I still count them each morning to be sure they're all there. Predators will test the limits on a nightly basis, and if you don't find your weaknesses first, they will. I now run electric wire around the bottom 1 foot of the pens, to stop predators from testing the perimeter. I also check the perimeter regularly for weaknesses such as deteriorating links, soft spots in the wood, etc. I do have wire both over and under the pens to prevent flying, climbing, and digging predators. Chain link for strength. And 1/2" hardware wire around the bottom 2 feet of the pens to prevent raccoons reaching through and grabbing (they will eat any part of an animal they can reach through the pen--grotesque thing to discover the next morning).

Good luck with your predator-proofing and with your decision regarding getting more ducks. They are wonderful to have, and I wish you the best.