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Describe the scene. Were they obviously injured, or just peacefully dead? Could it have been some other form of predation? I'm not saying that it couldn't have happened that way....but I've never had it happen in my flock.
What do you think Evy?
drakes killing ducklings?
I have a trio of Magpie ducks. 1 female & 2 drakes. Unfortunately she hatched 9 ducklings, things were going great until day 4 when I went out in the am to feed and noticed something had killed all the ducklings. Has anyone had this happen?
Describe the scene. Were they obviously injured, or just peacefully dead? Could it have been some other form of predation? I'm not saying that it couldn't have happened that way....but I've never had it happen in my flock.
What do you think Evy?
Two drakes to 1 duck is bad to begin with. I'd bet a drake either killed them or they got trampled in a breeding frenzy.
Anyone know why this thing sometimes repeats the last word typed ?
That makes sense....Originally Posted by Evy
I've heard of roosters killing chicks, a drake doing the same thing isn't a stretch.
Dear Lady, It probably wants to hang on your every word! Seriously it has never done it with me.
"thank you" for all the responses. I guess it will always be a mystery. 4 of the ducklings could not be found anywhere, the others were laying scattered about obviously attacked and mangled but not eaten completely. We DID find a large momma coon and 2 babies in the area. Now my female has started nesting again (the first nesting that went bad happened in early May), and has made a nest up against the house. I believe we are going to try to capture these as soon as they hatch for protection as our home is surround by our 18 acre woods. The drakes will NOT let anyone near her and if she leaves the nest to go into the pond or to the coop to feed
they are right beside her. Obviously these ducks were not sexed when we purchased them. I would never have 2 drakes to one hen.
It was the coons.....I'm facing the same issue right now. Got a family of them that has absolutely wiped out my flock.
The drakes may kill them, but they certainly will not eat them....
I lost a nest of 12 mallard eggs to a skunk. I went to check on the nest and saw it leaving. Not an egg left. It had reached through the 2" chain link mesh and taken all the eggs. The next night the skunk came into the yard and took several eggs out from under a setting duck where she had hid it out at the end of a hay stack under the tarp. She gave up her nest after that. Thankfully the skunk preferred the eggs to her. My live stock guardian dog is back on duty at night following those two incidents. I found where the ducks were getting out of their pen and repaired the fence. The remaining setting duck is setting in the duck barn. So now they can not get out at night and risk Titus playing with one to death.
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