Predator attack. Cartman is gone. Culprit Identified!

[Wifezilla]

Not sure what it was. The pen netting is torn down and Cartman (Welsh Harlequin drake) had his neck broken. Wendy (WH hen) also had a neck injury. Some blood and some wheezing. Possibly punctured through. She is resting in a straw filled tote in the back room. If she makes it through the night I think she will be ok. At first I though she was a gonner, but she slowly perked up once I brought her inside.

In suburbia it is easy to get complacent about predators. But there is no telling what is lurking in the alleyways at night. Still not sure what I am dealing with. I have a small have-a-heart trap so I will set that and see if I catch anything. There is also a small secure pen inside the run so they will get locked up at night. We should have been doing that all along, but with 7 ducks it was a bit crowded. Well crowded is better than attacked.... grrrrrrr.

 

[duckyfromoz]

So sorry. I too live in suburbia - but out here we dont have as many " city dwelling" predators like you guys do. There are foxes about- but the creek they live by is on the other side of a busy highway - and I have never seen one on my side of the road. There is always a first time- and I dont want that first time to involve my birds. Six foot fences and gates covered in wire have keep most things out of my yard - but most of the ducks are still locked up at night just for my peace of mind.

I hope Wendy heals quickly and doesnt grieve too long over her lost mate. Watch her for signs of infection at the wounds- you never know what kind of bacteria could have been transferred from the attackers mouth and saliva.

 

[jerseygirl1]

I'm so sorry!

 

[bigoakhunter]

Sorry about the attack. It is always hard to lose birds, but worse to a predator. Go with the smaller lockdown area....

 

[CityChicker]

Oh no, Linda! I am so sorry to hear that. I remember you had an attack last year or the year before? Is this the first one since then? So sad. Around here, the city seems to be worse than the country. We have been seeing foxes pretty regular up at our farm, but not nearly as frequent as in town. Yours doesn't really sound like a fox though, unless you caught it in the middle of that act. They will usually kill multiple birds and actually eat them (a few people swear they actually kill for sport and can take out a whole flock in one evening).

I would bet it is a skunk. Flying predators I don't think would get through overhead netting. Raccoons are possible too, but again it is usually a bloodier scene with fully eaten birds. I think I remember that with the last attack you had birds with just the heads eaten? If so, that again can point to a skunk. I don't think we have any of the other critters around here that are frequent culprits other BYC'ers have had issues with.

Now, was this one of Tweak's sons or from the other girl I think you said you got a drake from? Does it leave you with no drakes? You might be able to still find some on CL, so that you will have fertile eggs and ducklings next year. Again, I'm sorry to hear about the attack.

 

[mommyofthreewithchicks]

I am so sorry for your loss

And I hope you catch the bugger!

 

[Wifezilla]

We heard the attack. It woke us up. I was outside in seconds since our bedroom is at the back of the house and is closest to the duck pen. Whatever it was heard me and scrambled over the wood fence. I could hear it, but not see it. I think if it had been a skunk I would also have smelled it too, but skunks have lived in the alley behind us before. I am thinking fox because we see those a lot. Often trotting across the street near the railroad tracks with a rabbit dangling out of their mouths. We have never seen raccoons, but the do live around here.

Our injured hen made it through the night. I put her back out in the pen and she is moving around. Slowly, but she is moving. She hasn't eat yet even with a bribe. We will keep a close eye on her. And it was actually Abby that got injured, not Wendy. They are mother and daughter and look so much a like I can't tell them apart unless they are next to each other.

My previous predator issue was 2 years ago and that was a hawk. A HUGE hawk that still flies over from time to time and stops to drink out of our pond and see if the "fluffy snacks" are outside the netting. I walked outside and interrupted it one day this spring. I just about had a heart attack because it more like the size of an eagle. I still can't believe with that big wing span it could fly so easily between the trees, shrubs and power lines. We stopped free ranging the ducks without supervision after that and added the netting to the top of the pen.

I have 2 people that wanted hatching eggs so I am shipping out boxes today. At least Cartman will live on through his ducklings.

I still have a drake, TJ (Tweak's son). This does throw a bit of a wrench in to my breeding plans, but nothing I can't deal with. The main hens I want to breed are Shelley, Prairie Dawn and Lexus. I will have to take Lexus out of the breeding pool though. We are pretty sure Lexus is TJ's mom. Plus TJ has more gold traits and I wanted to breed for silver phase. Maybe I will just buy a drake from Holderread's. Not sure, but I do like having the option to use TJ. He really has some great traits. He is my best forager.

 

[Javamama]

Oh no! I'm so sorry Wife.

 

[easttxchick]

So sorry for the loss of Cartman and hoping Abby makes a full recovery.
Hope you get the dirty low-down predator that got your boy.

 

[cdnley]

Thats terrible. I lost 2 ducks to a fox this fall. The broken neck thing sounds different than a fox attack. Sorry if this is TMI but a fox will usually remove the head instantly, yikes. Perhaps a racoon or cat. My husband had 2 Pekin ducks as a child and they were killed by someones pet cat if you can believe it...these ducks were full grown too. It jumped into the cage and that was it for them, so sad. There are predators everywhere and I hope you catch it!