Muscovy duck murdered... need help identifying suspects.

[Rebel Rooster]

The suspect may also be a common house cat... I lost a bantam pullet to a neighbor's cat and the wounds were very simular to wat you are describing here...

 

[desertdarlene]

I'm voting for raccoons or the weasel/mink due to the location where you found the body. I am leaning against a cat because Muscovies are pretty big for the average house cat to get even at 4 months. I don't think it was a dog because dogs usually don't consume any of the carcass.

Hopefully, you can set a trap and catch the varmint.

 

[ejctm]

I'm going to post this, even though I will no doubt face the ensuing wrath...

There is an awful lot of killing talk here.

I sympathise with anyone who has lost a pet to a predator, as I know I would be devastated if it happened to me. However, I consider it to be my responsibility to ensure the safety of my animals. If a fox or a hawk took one of my birds, I would only blame myself for not being careful enough. Indeed, I accept that I take some risks in free-ranging my birds as I consider that they have a better life this way, even though they are not 100% safe. If I kept them enclosed (and at far less risk of predation) they would not live the type of happy free life that I want for them. I have tall fences and have been lucky so far.

I can see no reason for blaming a wild animal for doing what a wild animal will do, that is search for food. As humans, building farms, towns and cities, we are invading the habitat of the weasels and bears, etc. (NOT the other way round) so we should not expect them to suddenly change their behaviour just because we don't want them to come near our homes or take our domestic animals.

I would no more blame a grasshopper for jumping than a fox for taking a chicken. The best we can do is to take care of our animals as best we can, which includes trying to make sure that predators cannot get them. We just cannot go randomly killing wildlife just because it is behaving like wildlife.

I realise this is a bit of a rant, but I felt I had to respond in the same manner. I wish no offence to the OP, but I think we have to accept that we live alongside the "varmints" in this world, that we cannot and should not blame them and harm them for behaving naturally, and that in planetary husbandry terms sometimes it is us humans who are the real "varmints"

 

[foxhomechickens]

I think it was a skunk.

 

[Blooming chicks]

I can see no reason for blaming a wild animal for doing what a wild animal will do, that is search for food. As humans, building farms, towns and cities, we are invading the habitat of the weasels and bears, etc. (NOT the other way round) so we should not expect them to suddenly change their behaviour just because we don't want them to come near our homes or take our domestic animals.

I am in total agreement with you. I did nothing to the fox that took my duck, as a matter of fact, she raised 5 kits in my field that summer. She never bothered me or my livestock unless she was nursing a litter. Yes, I was upset, but I also feel that my birds need to free range for their health and happiness (and to help clean my field of pests)--sometimes there is a price for that freedom. I keep them as safe as I can but I can't cover 6 acres of pasture with aviary netting. Anyway, I'm glad you shared you opinion!​

 

[Broodica]

I am so sorry for your loss and I understand how you feel....wanting to get whatever did this to them. I have to agree with blooming and ejctm. Unfortunately, there is prey and there is predator. I just started this duck/chicken thing, and my husband is building Fort Chicken Knox out there to try and keep out all the predators that roam around here, and we have them all....We also have live traps set round. I want to be able to free-range my gang. Terrified of hawks and eagles, but I can't imagine having them cooped up in the run all the time....especially the ducks. Luckily I work from home and can keep an eye out, but the hawks/eagles are fast, and probably isn't much I could do. So we're going to bite the bullet and pray for the best.

I still hope you catch your varmint or at least manage to figure out how to protect against it.

 

[Gator113]

ejctm, Blooming chicks, Broodica,

Ejectm, you will not experience any wrath from me on this subject. I am only ruthless on political forums and discussions about our constitution. LOL

Folks, I understand what you have each said and I agree with some of it. I am not a drooling serial killer and never have been, I don't need a lesson on responsibility. I may be a rookie about raising birds, but not in life.

I do not want to offend anyones sensibilities and I respect your opinions, but apparently mine are different. If there was a way that I could rid my property of some of these threats, without killing the rascals and without simply passing the problem onto others, I would. I fully intend to diminish the predator population here and do so in short order.

Consistent with what many have suggested, the likely suspects are Raccoons and/or weasels. Rather than begin a "killing field" straight away, I have elected to start with a live trap. I set the trap under my house this evening and baited it to attract either of these critters. Once I have identified the predator to focus on, I will reduce it's population. I too am a predator, and while my responsibility is to do what I can reasonably do, to protect my birds, I have no intention of locking them up for life.

I accept that from time to time, I will lose one of my buddies because they free-range. However, when the Boogieman attacks my crew from under my own house, I see them as nothing more than another rat and will dispose of them accordingly.

Please have a nice day.......