What predator could this be? Am I right?

[Skye'sDucks]

I'm sorry to hear about your hen.

That's what's so frustrating--there's no body so I can't go off the way my bird was eaten/killed. I could see how the wing was torn off, but otherwise nothing.

I've thought about trying to hang up some CDs around the area as a precaution, I'm doubtful of a hawk attack just because I've never seen them go after my adult birds, but I'm not putting it out of the picture yet. I've heard the hawks these last few days but I haven't even seen one in a while. Not to say they aren't there, because I know we have 3 to 4 of them in the area at least.
I have been talking to my mom about getting a trail camera, it certainly would be nice to see what goes on out there at night. I know we have possums--I just saw one the other day, but nothing has been caught in our trap yet. We went through a few weeks last year where we just kept catching possums, probably at least 4 or 5. We didn't see any after that for a long time.

 

[cmom]

If you have a game camera, put it up. Most likely the predator will be back. I had an owl kill some birds. My pens are covered with netting. I ran short so I bought some crappy netting. I put it up and an owl went right through it. I replaced the crappy netting with some good netting. The owl tried again and this time got caught in the netting. We got it out of the netting into a cage and some wildlife people came and got it. Also a possum will kill a duck or chicken.

 

[Skye'sDucks]

If you have a game camera, put it up. Most likely the predator will be back. I had an owl kill some birds. My pens are covered with netting. I ran short so I bought some crappy netting. I put it up and an owl went right through it. I replaced the crappy netting with some good netting. The owl tried again and this time got caught in the netting. We got it out of the netting into a cage and some wildlife people came and got it. Also a possum will kill a duck or chicken. View attachment 2061491View attachment 2061499View attachment 2061500

Thank you for the reply. We haven't gotten a game camera yet, since we don't have one, but I want to get one.

I had no idea that a possum would kill my ducks. I actually never updated this thread, but the other day we caught what I'm presuming was the the possum I saw. I haven't seen any other kind of predator, and I haven't seen signs either. It's frustrating because its been several days since the attack and I feel like something should have shown up, unless it has during the night and just wasn't able to get my ducks.

 

[cmom]

I had a possum kill some of my birds. I did put a trap inside the pen and caught it. I used a bird it had killed as bait.

 

[cmom]

This is a very inexpensive camera but it appears to be a decent camera. I have several cameras. I love them. I have them in several places on my property.
https://www.amazon.com/Better-Chanc...rds=game+trail+camera&qid=1579054791&sr=8-295

 

[Skye'sDucks]

This is a very inexpensive camera but it appears to be a decent camera. I have several cameras. I love them. I have them in several places on my property.
https://www.amazon.com/Better-Chanc...rds=game+trail+camera&qid=1579054791&sr=8-295

Thanks so much for the link, a camera is something I've wanted for a while but never really looked into.

Huh, I hadn't heard before about a possum killing ducks, I've never really known them to bother mine, not that I've ever really seen them much outside of our trap after we have caught them. Thanks for letting me know, I'll be more cautious in the future.

 

[cmom]

I have several cameras like this one. They were marketed under different names but take very good both day and nighttime pictures. I wanted cameras that would take good nighttime pictures because here that's when most of the predators roam.
https://www.amazon.com/Coolife-Wild...ords=game+trail+camera&qid=1585164261&sr=8-39

 

[Skye'sDucks]

Well, I don't have good news. I feel like the worst owner ever, I feel just terrible. Another duck got killed.

One thing I didn't mention, just because I know it is a poor and unpopular decision kind of, is that I don't coop my birds. We did for the first year, but when we hatched out more my parents made the decision to let them free roam day and night. Since its their property I didn't really have any say in the matter. All of them are muscovy so they can fly, and we live in an area with very few predators. This is our first actual attack. Before we only got two raccoon attacks, and we managed to trap and get rid of several of them.
I'm sorry if some of you guys don't agree with this, it's just the situation I'm in.

And now I feel so awful that I never tried to coop any of them when the first duck was killed. I am now building at least a temporary coop until we can figure out and hopefully get rid of whatever is coming back for them, and my mom and I only started discussing about potentially making a permanent coop. I can't say that'll happen yet, but we'll see.

It was almost in the exact same spot and looked just like the other attack, only both wings were there and there were a lot more feathers. The body was gone just like the other. I took pictures this time to show, so view at your own risk. I'll just attach them below.

I'm so upset and I feel like I've failed my birds, particularly the two that got killed. I'm pretty certain I know which hen got taken, although three girls didn't show this morning so I'm waiting to see who will show up. But even so, I'm 99% certain which one it was, sadly. The drake she paired with after my other got killed (they hung out together all the time) was alone this morning and she's usually with him...

Anyways, I'd love any help in any guesses by the pictures, but other than that I think my best bet to figuring it out will be to get a camera, which we should be doing soon.

The pictures below may seem graphic to some, so view only if you don't care!

 

[cmom]

That is the risk you take. Sooner or later your birds will be discovered as you now know. The predator will be back. If you have a game camera put it up then you will know what is killing your ducks. Actually it could be just about any predator. Most often they lurk looking for an opportunity to strike and usually it's when you least expect it. It could be an owl since they don't have a coop. If you don't make a secure shelter for them the rest will be taken too now that the predator knows where the birds are. Good luck...

 

[Skye'sDucks]

Thanks so much for the reply. I understand that, and now for certain they will be locked up until we can figure out the situation and hopefully figure out how to remove the predator, if at all possible. If not, hopefully we can establish a permanent coop so it doesn't take anymore.

I'm hoping today we can get a camera, or if we get it online hopefully it'll come soon.

It certainly can be anything. But it's something big enough to carry off the body. I know we have little screech owls but I'm trying to think if we have bigger owls at all. I feel like we've seen them but I'm unsure.