I'm posting this for my neighbors (who are also my in-laws). I know a lot about chickens, because I've kept them for several years. But I don't know much about ducks. My neighbors have (maybe HAD) four ducks, an Indian Runner (the only male), two female Cayuga, and one that's colored like a mallard, but very large in size. None can fly, I suppose due to their large sizes.
Anyhow, they are lake ducks. There is a run and doghouse available (they often lay their eggs in the doghouse) to them, but they are sometimes left out at night (they do shut them inside overnight MOST of the time). Tuesday night they were not shut inside the run, and yesterday it was discovered that one of the Cayuga was missing. Coincidentally, my husband and I were awaked around 4 a.m. Tuesday night/Wed. morning by duck quacking. At the time, I thought it was odd, because they'd never woken us up before, but it didn't stand out as sounding frantic or anything.
So of course now we're assuming that a predator got the duck. My husband and I walked all around helping them look (and I took my golden retriever to sniff out a possible living or dead body), but we could find no evidence of anything...no feathers...nothing. My dog did find a hidden nest over the dam side of the lake, in the tall grasses. Could a raccoon have taken on a full grown Cayuga, with no sign of feathers and such? We do have coyotes in this area, but we only ever hear them far off in the distance, and I've never lost a chicken to anything (of course my chickens are put inside every night). I didn't think a coyote would come in this close, because most of us have dogs here. Or do you think there's a possiblity that she's hiding on a nest somewhere??? I'm hoping for the latter, but believe she was probably taken by something, although the lack of feathers about anywhere has me puzzled. Thanks for any input.
* I just thought...could a large owl have carred off a duck of that size??? Without evidence of struggle/fight?
Anyhow, they are lake ducks. There is a run and doghouse available (they often lay their eggs in the doghouse) to them, but they are sometimes left out at night (they do shut them inside overnight MOST of the time). Tuesday night they were not shut inside the run, and yesterday it was discovered that one of the Cayuga was missing. Coincidentally, my husband and I were awaked around 4 a.m. Tuesday night/Wed. morning by duck quacking. At the time, I thought it was odd, because they'd never woken us up before, but it didn't stand out as sounding frantic or anything.
So of course now we're assuming that a predator got the duck. My husband and I walked all around helping them look (and I took my golden retriever to sniff out a possible living or dead body), but we could find no evidence of anything...no feathers...nothing. My dog did find a hidden nest over the dam side of the lake, in the tall grasses. Could a raccoon have taken on a full grown Cayuga, with no sign of feathers and such? We do have coyotes in this area, but we only ever hear them far off in the distance, and I've never lost a chicken to anything (of course my chickens are put inside every night). I didn't think a coyote would come in this close, because most of us have dogs here. Or do you think there's a possiblity that she's hiding on a nest somewhere??? I'm hoping for the latter, but believe she was probably taken by something, although the lack of feathers about anywhere has me puzzled. Thanks for any input.
* I just thought...could a large owl have carred off a duck of that size??? Without evidence of struggle/fight?
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