Vandalism and Freeing Animals Illegally

[The Moonshiner]

I also believe you're jumping to the wrong conclusion.
It seems unlikely that someone would come open the gate and then stand around until the ducks made their way out then shut the gate and leave.
At that time of night I could open my gate and it would take hours if at all that they would get up and find the open gate and leave.
The only scenario involving a human I could see was someone going in the yard and catching them and leaving with them.
If I was to jump to conclusions I would say something like foxes hopped your fence grabbed them and left. Foxes hardly ever leave clues behind and one or two of them will snag a bird take it a safe distance then repeat several times.

 

[ShannonR]

I mean WHAT THE HELL people, who does this kind of crap? I’m very sorry this had to happen to your birds @RainForestBird and I’m sorry that this world has come to this! It’s so sad somebody would even think of doing something like this, it’s bad they tress passed but to have gone to this much effort to destroy your home then some sick moron really needs to be told off, I hope and pray they come back safe and sound but the probability of that happening I can’t say is very high.
So sorry that you had to be put through this!

"Well meaning" animal rescuers do this crap. Sometimes, an overwhelming desire to do good and to feel important devolves into harming other people, or their animals. This can include violence, theft or killing of animals (they'll be in a better place now), or anything leading up to these extremes.

To use an extremely mild example, I once had a next door neighbor who had a pair of bunnies. She just couldn't stand to keep those bunnies locked up (their enclosure was full on chicken coop size even, lol) so she let them loose to roam. I saw one of them eating my garden and sort of rolled my eyes about the crazy bunny hugger situation. But then when she came to me a couple of days later asking if I had seen them, I realized something was wrong. We couldn't find them anywhere once she realized her idea wasn't that smart. Neither bunny survived this woman's fervent good intentions for her rabbits, unfortunately.

 

[ShannonR]

I also believe you're jumping to the wrong conclusion.
It seems unlikely that someone would come open the gate and then stand around until the ducks made their way out then shut the gate and leave.
At that time of night I could open my gate and it would take hours if at all that they would get up and find the open gate and leave.
The only scenario involving a human I could see was someone going in the yard and catching them and leaving with them.
If I was to jump to conclusions I would say something like foxes hopped your fence grabbed them and left. Foxes hardly ever leave clues behind and one or two of them will snag a bird take it a safe distance then repeat several times.

My first thought as well... I'm all for ruling out the predator possibility before assuming the worst. It's just so hard to tell without a game cam or something.

 

[No More Empty Nest]

I live in the city . A wooded parkway with paths abuts my backyard. I padlock my nest box door and the door to my run. Too many people could have access even though we have a chain link fence around the yard with a padlocked gate to the parkway. City people become wary, lol. Harder to have that much security on a farm though, I'd imagine.

 

[The Moonshiner]

Sure there's simular situations that involve humans but that's few and far between.
Poulty go missing without any signs all the time and by far its most likely due to a predator over a human.
I think the OP is choosing the most unlikely culprit.

 

[ShannonR]

I live in the city . A wooded parkway with paths abuts my backyard. I padlock my nest box door and the door to my run. Too many people could have access even though we have a chain link fence around the yard with a padlocked gate to the parkway. City people become wary, lol. Harder to have that much security on a farm though, I'd imagine.

Padlocks are sometimes necessary. I have had to do the same in a city. I kept the gates all padlocked, boy was it a pain to have to unlock and lock them back up constantly! But it worked...

 

[Miss Lydia]

How high can a fox climb or jump then grab a duck and do the same to get out? then come back numerous times till all the ducks are wiped out? Just wondering we have foxes and have never had one climb or jump our no climb horse fencing with barb wire around the top.

 

[RainForestBird]

I really don't think that foxes could take all 5 ducks without my livestock guardian dogs not even noticing. They react violently to mammals like raccoons, coyotes, bobcats, bears, etc., but not deer or birds. The neighbor on the side with the gate also had a dog that barks a lot when it hears things. Almost everyone here has dogs that bark at the slightest coyote sound. There are coyotes but they could not get over my tall cement block fence. Also, I went all along the fenceline and there was no sign of digging or any holes that an animal could have gotten through. Of course, kids are on Christmas break and with nothing to do they may have decided to cause trouble. There are also a lot of people (with teenagers) visiting from out of town for the holidays. People come here from all over the place because they think its warmer (not!).

 

[SillyChicken]

no, not fox, I've had fox issues before. They would leave a mess, dead birds, feathers, blood. My guess, since birds don't "roam" at night. They were boxed off by one or more people.

 

[aart]

I really don't think that foxes could take all 5 ducks without my livestock guardian dogs not even noticing. They react violently to mammals like raccoons, coyotes, bobcats, bears, etc., but not deer or birds. The neighbor on the side with the gate also had a dog that barks a lot when it hears things. Almost everyone here has dogs that bark at the slightest coyote sound. There are coyotes but they could not get over my tall cement block fence. Also, I went all along the fenceline and there was no sign of digging or any holes that an animal could have gotten through. Of course, kids are on Christmas break and with nothing to do they may have decided to cause trouble. There are also a lot of people (with teenagers) visiting from out of town for the holidays. People come here from all over the place because they think its warmer (not!).

Wouldn't these dogs have barked at a strange human skulking around?