Rats? Anyone have duck death from rats?

[learycow]

I found a welsh hen dead today. The body was near the corner of my coop, outside in the snow.
ALL the meat was eaten from her neck and her breasts. The feathers all plucked in those areas, but not eaten.

Not much of a struggle, only a few drips of blood near where her body was found but more blood there of course.

I DOUBT it was the local fox as he would've carried the body off. Plus there were NO TRACKS in the fresh snow around her.

I have had rats that eat eggs and feed but never this.

Anyone have any thoughts or ideas? I have a TomCat trap out now, that way my dogs and other birds can't get to the poison. But open to other ideas and suggestions. I cut my breeding flocks WAY back this year and I'm afraid all my years of breeding will be lost quickly if they keep getting my birds

 

[newshound]

Can you describe the bite marks? I know this sounds gross, but did you get a picture of the damage? You can normally tell if a rat was the culprit by teeth marks. Rats CAN take down an adult duck (especially if it's more than one of them) but I highly doubt it unless there was something seriously wrong with it. I think a game camera is in order.

I know this is old, hope you see it. My ducks have a covered run and their house is inside. I have had rats before, part of the run is chain link. Yesterday, during the day, my duck put her head through the fence probably to get greens. She was killed, the head was gone, neck was just bones. The rest of her was still stuck inside the coop. She was also gutted. Could this be rats? The only other predator is hawks and cats. Something, after it killed her and ate the neck, also went inside to eat. It had to have been able to fit through chain link. My other ducks are terrified and staying far away and out of the coop.

 

[newshound]

Mink and weasel can get through chain link
Very sorry for your loss. I’d wrap entire chain link in hardware cloth. Predators come back once they have had an easy kill.

Thank you. We had put more hardware cloth all around anout 2 ft high and 2 ft out. We thought that would work but either something was already inside or it climbed and got another duck, I feel awful, we worked 4 hrs to help them. I took the last two out, they are in the sunroom right now. The first day they were out 2 eggs appeared out in the open with the ends eaten off. They had brought them out of a tunnel! I still don't know if rat or weasel. My chickens are right next door, I am locking them up overnight now.

 

[Amiga]

Oh, no.

Well, I think I would check in at the predator forum, my first thought is something else killed her and if a rat was involved, it went after the corpse. That said, I recall stories of rats going after confined birds (I recall it was an ailing guinea hen).

 

[subhanalah]

I'm thinking owl. Did you look for talon marks on the body?

 

[Going Quackers]

any mink?(or weasel) i am sorry that would have been distressing.

 

[subhanalah]

Was there snow ON her? If it didn't snow after the incident, it was likely a bird of prey...I'm really thinking owl. Did you look for wing sign or just footprints?

 

[veronicasmom]

I would guess more mink than rat. Minks attack the neck area. Believe me, I saw it first hand when a mink got one of my rabbits (he was ok, was there to save him luckily). Mink are horribly hard to trap, and WILL return. Read that they kill just to kill. Don't want to scare you, but they are awful creatures. Normally they kill early am or dusk.
Sorry for your loss, that is very sad.
Be careful that any cats cannot get to the bait also.

 

[learycow]

There was a fresh snow when I put the birds out. The only prints I found were webbed duck/goose prints.

I didn't see any wing marks. The only birds of prey I've seen around are red tailed hawks. But I've never had one get a duck. My coop in in the woods too, not out in the open. Not sure if that makes a difference.

I was thinking rat because I've seen it. And there were tracks in the snow a few days ago that went from under one coop to the other, much bigger than mouse prints.

And it happened during the day. I let them out (free range) around 12 noon and went back around 3:30. It doesn't get dark until about 5-5:30 so not sure if that matters.

I hope it's not a mink! I've never seen those or weasels around. Just the fox (which I don't think it was as birds usually disappear if the fox gets them). It was just so odd that only the breast on both sides and all of the meat/skin on the entire neck. Nothing else was touched

 

[subhanalah]

Can you describe the bite marks? I know this sounds gross, but did you get a picture of the damage? You can normally tell if a rat was the culprit by teeth marks. Rats CAN take down an adult duck (especially if it's more than one of them) but I highly doubt it unless there was something seriously wrong with it. I think a game camera is in order.