Sending My Ducks Away Today

[swampducks]

DH and I managed to catch all my pond ducks yesterday and forced them to sleep in the garage last night. Today he is taking them to his parent's farm to hang with their ducks in an enclosed run. All they'll have is a pan of water that I'm sending with them. They may be miserable but at least they won't be dead.

That will give us time to try and catch the predator that is killing them every 3 days. We now suspect a mink from the state of body I found yesterday morning (body untouched, head and neck gone or eaten). Raccoon would have been so much easier but it explains why the raccoon traps are untouched.

The only ducks staying are my last 2 muscovies. Since we removed the raft and they can't sleep on it anymore they're staying up at the house. (The other 2 vanished at night from the raft earlier this week).

I've posted my problems on the predator board, I hope this doesn't prove to be an impossible to solve problem. My ducks haven't even left yet but I miss them already.

 

[hinkjc]

I'm so sorry you have to part with your ducks for their protection. I hope you catch the beast that is taking them.

Jody

 

[hippiehen]

Best of luck catching your mink! I'm sorry you have to send your duckies away though... I went on vacation for a week last month and left mine in the care of the ranch hand... I called him every day to make sure they were ok! He did a great job... and thinks I'm absolutely crazy

Are you going to try to build some sort of protection for them when they do get back? Seems like here, when you eliminate one predator another steps in to take it's place.

 

[lilchick]

Sorry about your ducks... Old timers have told me that if head is missing it is usually an owl that has killed them...
We have some large ones here in Indiana and I lock up all except the chinese geese!
My dad had turkey hens roosting in trees and heard them at night, went out and an owl had one down on the ground!
The turkey hen was bigger than it but at night the predators have the advantage....good luck

 

[swampducks]

Quote:
99% sure it's mink

Owls don't sneak in through the undergrowth, drag them back up onto the bank and eat them there. The neck is still attached, chewed down to the bone.

The live trap left in its path/runway was tripped last night, but the wholes in the cage are too big so it crawled back out. (I told DH that would happen, and I needed the other smaller trap back!!!)

I took the too big trap away tonight and baited the weasel trap with fish. Probably won't work but I have to keep trying.

I visited my ducks yesterday. They looked very forlorn, one little rubbermaid tub to drink from and the big honkin' white turkey seems to intimidate them no end.