Something attacked my ducks in my backyard - Ask Extension
I have five ducks, three of which were killed last night/early this morning with the other two survivors having trauma/missing feathers on their backs...
Knowledgebase
Something attacked my ducks in my backyard #878828
Asked July 26, 2024, 2:14 AM EDT
I have five ducks, three of which were killed last night/early this morning with the other two survivors having trauma/missing feathers on their backs and scared of anything that moves. The three that were killed werent eaten but all had the skin on their necks peeled upwards from the body to the head. I have included two pics of the dead ducks and two pics that show somewhat of tracks in sand/dirt by the animal responsible. For scale, the tracks were around two inches in diameter (fairly small) and the ducks are well over three months old (not small)
Grady County Oklahoma
Expert Response
My most likely guess is that this was a raccoon. They will often chew into the crop area. The tracks often look like little handprints, so I think that matches the picture pretty well. They are very good at getting in through fairly small holes.
Hopefully, you can tighten up the enclosure, or maybe find a way to keep the two remaining ducks confined at night. Assuming it was a raccoon (or more, as the young are often learning to hunt at this time of year), they will likely come back again.
Generally, birds can recover from missing feathers and even torn skin, so hopefully, the two remaining ducks will be okay!
Good luck!
