Who is the culprit?

[Lloydapt]

Hey there guys. I’m sorry that I don’t have chickens to ask about, I instead have a few ducks. Any information on solving this case would be helpful, thanks!

I (had) 6 ducklings that we’re about a month old. We raised them from when they were only 2 weeks old, and just 2 days ago we stuck them outside in a pen to let them live in nature. I’ve never owned ducks before, so I realize it was probably wrong to put them outside so late in their lives, but they began to stink too bad and we’re getting too big for their cage.

We used some dog pen panels and made a very sizeable area outside in the back yard ( it’s probably around 12 ft x 12 ft ) and it has some extra thick plastic around the base to keep critters from slipping through the holes.

The third night they were outside is when issues started to happen. First, 2 ducks disappeared. No loose feathers, no tracks, nothing. Just gone.

The forth night we decided to herd the ducks into their little kennel ( a large dog cage with a tarp to protect from weather). I thought this would surely prevent any predator from getting them as the bars are only not even with an inch of space between them.

When I got up this morning to see that my plan had worked, I was horrified. One of the 4 ducks in the cage had been decapitated and strung through the bars, with its feet on the outside and guts and head on the inside of the cage. My thing is, what predator could have possibly strewn the duck (the duck in which by no means could fit through the bars without a LOT of force)? I have never seen anything like this. Even though raccoons do have the help of hands, I wouldn’t think a raccoon would be strong enough to squeeze a large duck through an impossible space. And from the looks of the remains, the head was bitten off and not torn even though half of the body was through the bars and half of the body was inside the cage.

There are now only 3 ducks left. I don’t know what to do to prevent the animal if the cage did not work.

What could have done this? And what would be the best next step?

 

[Trish1974]

Some raccoons are strong enough to do that. I would guess either raccoon or weasel/mink.

 

[keesmom]

Raccoon is the most likely possibility.

 

[Howard E]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/coons-believe-it.1170361/

A raccoon is absolutely capable of doing that.........

You could start trapping and killing them (if you trap it you kill it....no exceptions). Or....better choice is to place them in housing that no coon or other varmint can get in.

Depending on how the overall pen is setup (photos would help), you may be able to surround that with an electric fence and keep your varmint at arm's length that way.

 

[Ridgerunner]

It sure sounds like A raccoon. A big one can tear hardware cloth and can reach through some fairly small holes. But yeah, it could be something else. A game cam might be helpful in identifying it for sure. You may find you have a lot more than just one to worry about.

My immediate suggestion is to lock the ducks inside something inside that cage that keeps them away from the edges where something could reach in to get them. That is my highest priority, protect them from something reaching in. For various reasons your best protection is to lock them away from the predator.

Further down my list is to think of a way to eliminate the critter. That's not always as easy as some people make it sound. A good barrier is usually a better way to go, that's why it is my top priority.

Some people will tell you to just go shoot it. They don't care what your circumstances are, just start blasting away. I grew up hunting and have shot several critters while out here in the country. I can hit what I aim at. But I'm not going to start blasting away in suburbia, I have no desire to hit an innocent person with a straight shot or a ricochet. I don't generally shoot out here after dark. The chances of hitting a cow or horse in the background is a risk I don't want to take. It can be very challenging to see open sights in the dark. In what I consider the right circumstances I do use a gun, it can be a good answer. But many of us will never have the right circumstances. A lot of people are not familiar enough with a gun to be safe using one.

You can get a trap and catch that raccoon. You need to get the right size trap. There are a lot of different baits that work. But one issue with this is what are you going to do with it when you catch it? It's probably illegal to relocate it, plus there are issues with giving someone else the problem. It can be a challenge to kill it and dispose of the body. Your animal control may provide a trap an may take the critter, either dead or alive. But them they may not. If you trap it you need to have a plan on what to do next.

Another problem with shooting or trapping it is how do you know you got the right one. If you have one raccoon there is a really good chance you have more than one. More than once I've trapped raccoons on successive nights. Other critters too. Did I get the one that was causing the problem the first night, second, or even third. Even if you do get the right one, how do you know a different one is not coming back the next night or next month.

I'm all in favor in eliminating these predators that are hunting you land, even preemptively before they cause trouble, but I consider that a secondary defense. My primary defense is going to be barriers they cannot breech.

 

[Lloydapt]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/at...1/?temp_hash=51478da6e685082fba6cc9cc9323743d

Here is a picture of the pen when we got it up the first day, and still had all the ducks. It is very roomy for their size and the kennel is big too. (Sorry if the image quality is bad, I’m uploading from my phone!) It isn’t exactly a fancy coop or anything but we aren’t in a position to spend hundreds of dollars on ducklings that were given to us on short notice.

I think until I get a trap I will move the ducks inside for the night, and look for something to keep them away from the edges of the cage. Thank you all for much for the suggestions!

I live at the end of a dead end road in the country so we will have no trouble killing the raccoons around here if we catch them, but it will have to be a commitment me and my partner make. Personally I would rather jump to making more barriers.

As you can hopefully see in the picture, we have an extra lining of fence at the bottom so the culprit, if not a raccoon, is definitely something that can climb. We originally were going to buy extra fence to put along the top, would that be a reliable fix to the issue? The reason we don’t have it up now is because we ran out of money by the time we bought the amount just for the base of the pen. But I would be willing to invest in a roof if it meant keeping the predators from getting my ducklings. It is very upsetting to worry about checking on them in the morning!

 

[Ridgerunner]

Thanks for the photo, that helps. Several critters can climb that, including fox and bobcat, so I would not totally discount those. Both of those are likely to carry the carcass away more than a raccoon. Still it is hard to say for sure what it was.