Predator attack. Cartman is gone. Culprit Identified!

[Mattemma]

Sorry for your loss.Hope your girl makes it. Frustrating when you can only deter predators.

 

[Wifezilla]

Abby seems to be doing really well. We are still looking for signs of infection. None so far. She is eating and drinking just fine. I haven't seen her swim yet, but she is preening. The only residual problem we have is she seems to be mad at me for putting her in a tote filled with hay to keep an eye on her after the attack. Duck raised ducks DO NOT like being picked up even if it is for their own good. My brooder babies aren't thrilled about it but take it in stride. Goobers!

 

[sourland]

You are dealing with an absolute killing machine, and it will continue to test your enclosures. Good luck and fortify.

 

[pascopol]

The best defence against predators is attack and being prepared 100% of time.

I lock all my birds for night in large kennel chain link enclosure with solid roof, AND I have two good size traps effective to catch anything from small opossum to fox, set all the time I just change bait every few days before ants and other bugs consume it ( small piece of dry bread or toast with very small chunk of salami (they can not resist the aroma of salami).

I thought 2 traps is overkill until one night I cought 2 opossums one in each trap.

I am routinely catching small possums or coons before they grow larger and develop taste for my birds. There is no more large ones around anymore, I exterminated them.

Since I protected my birds that way I did not lose single bird to predators in last 3 years.

So folks if you do not want to lose your birds you need to make some effort, and attack (trap) is the best defence beside second line of protection which is proper enclosure.

But if you rely on enclosure, only, coon or fox sooner or later will find the way to get in, and you will not even know he is working on it before it is too late.

 

[dumb_cluck]

I lost 5 ducks (my whole flock) one night in October this year. Still haven't caught the SOB. They were in a locked garage in cages and still got killed. Can't take ANY chances!

Especially if the "killer" is still loose. They WILL and DO return. I am finding out the hard way......
Sorry for your loss.......

 

[Enchanted Sunrise Farms]

So sorry for your loss! i hope Abby continues to improve and recovers.

 

[KansasKid]

Well you can't legally trap or shoot owls especially great horned owls, they are an "endagered species" (ya watever, there's like twenty of them in my mile section) I have a few (4) that like to set directly abive my aviary and have found that the holidays bring protection with our blinkin red lights that I have fixed to the duck pen.

 

[Terri O]

Owls are indeed gorgeous predators! I watched in awe one spring while the mother owl taught her fledgling owlets how to hunt with my goslings as the bait. It was a very humbling experience. I still love owls though--they cant help looking for the easiest meal they can find.
(PS) I think that opossums are opportunistic feeders and do not kill for their meals.

 

[KansasKid]

Had 4 setting hens this spring and I lost 2 hens and ther clutches within the last week of incubation to possums needless to say my steel traps aren't considered new anymore

 

[Wifezilla]

Well you can't legally trap or shoot owls especially great horned owls, they are an "endagered species"

Yes. Exactly. My predator losses were all to federally protected species. I did set the small trap in case it was a ferret or a skunk, etc... but fortunately this isn't possum country.​