Will / do Pilgrim Geese eat Coy. UPDATE!!!!

[GrumpyOldMan]

Title says it all. My daughters Coy have despaired. We live in residential neighborhood. Six foot wooden fenced yard. Have a bathtub sunk in the ground with a fountain feeding / recalculating water. Gees have their own pool’s and ther is no sign of them getting IN the pond. Could be a cat but I thought I had take care of that problem. Haven’t seen a coon in years and I haven’t seen any Egrets around. We can’t find any tracks / sign and none of the ornamentation in or around the pond is messed up. Long story short, I was just wondering if geese would eat pond fish / Coy? I didn’t / don’t thick they do / will. Am I correct?

 

[Terri O]

I dont think geese eat fish. Arent they veggie eaters? I think only ducks eat fish. My Mom's koi disappeared due to a great blue heron...right in the middle of a suburban area next to a big city! You might need a motion camera! Good luck! Terri O

 

[GrumpyOldMan]

I haven’t done any research on the subject, (that’s why I asked here). From what I remember from my hunting days (long time ago) geese and “most” ducks aren’t fish eaters. Things like Mergansers eat fish so the meat tasted fishy and aren’t very good eating. I don’t believe the geese did it but I’m curious to know if they would.

I just finished putting a hardware-cloth cover over the pond so the fisheeeees should be safe now. When you have animals the work never ends. I’m getting to old for this.

 

[jojo@rolling acres farm]

No, it's not the geese. My guess is a racoon - just because you haven't seen one doesn't mean you don't have them. Last year a young man in a nearby town took two weeks off from work and trapped a 30 mile strip from one town to another. In two weeks he had trapped 800 coon. They're everywhere. They LOVE fish.

 

[bel]

Its most likely a racoon, but possibly a bird like a heron, most koi ponds are easy pickings for predators because they are shallow and dont have a lot of places for fish to hide or get away.
Heres a link with some info on protecting fish ponds:
http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?c=16+1917&aid=2957

 

[GrumpyOldMan]

Wife called me at work in a panic.

She just saw a snake go in the pond. She wanted to know what kind it was. What does it look like I ask? I don’t know she says it’s black and slimy.

Now I have to figure out how I’m going to catch the darn thing.

She said she saw it come from the rocks (large pieces of granite) under the fountain and go under the wire into the pond. When she went back to get a better ID it was gone.

 

[Arwen]

Quote:
If it's wide and black, chances are good it's a cottonmouth aka water moccasin and poisonous. However, the common water snake looks a lot like a cottonmouth. Diamond-shaped head means it is most likely venomous. Water snakes have a nasty disposition too.

I'm from Louisiana originally.

But I think you've found your fish thief as well. Monsieur Le Serpente` adore fish.

 

[GrumpyOldMan]

After discussing it today I’ve come to the conclusion it’s a big, bad, scary Guarder snake

if there was a snake at all. My daughter swears my wife is seeing things

and there really was no snake. Turns out the snake crawling in the pond then disappearing happened during a heave rain storm. Daughter says she went and stood over the pond in the rain and there was no snake and she can’t believe it got out before she got out there to look for it. The drama goes on.

 

[marathonmultiplesmom]

jojo@rolling acres farm :

No, it's not the geese. My guess is a racoon - just because you haven't seen one doesn't mean you don't have them. Last year a young man in a nearby town took two weeks off from work and trapped a 30 mile strip from one town to another. In two weeks he had trapped 800 coon. They're everywhere. They LOVE fish.

omg waa-waa-wwwhhhhaattt??!??

800? wow! I find that story both amusing, inspiring & impressive!​

 

[Wifezilla]

geese and “most” ducks aren’t fish eaters.

Yeah right. Ducks will knock you down and beat you up to get to a fish. I raise rosy minnows in my pond just for the ducks. A friend lost all his koi. Turned out it was a family of skunks that got them.​