Last night I went to bed and started to feel terrified. It was a really spooky, windy night. But I wasn’t terrified about the weather – I was worried about the ducks.
Our original intention with our backyard flock of ducks was to lock them up every night in their duck house. Unfortunately, after a week of that they became completely frantic whenever they would see us – quacking and fearing for their lives. So we stopped. Then we were locking them up in their shared run every night instead. But we missed a night here and there, and lately we’ve gotten altogether complacent about it.
So last night when I was laying in bed terrified, I was thinking about the ducks out there sleeping in the fenced backyard. I kept hearing my friend Denise’s farm stories run through my mind and her warning that eventually a predator will find them. I decided we really needed to lock them up again in their coop, but I would worry about that tomorrow. I told myself that I needed to just relax and go to bed. So I drifted off to sleep and dreamed about u-picking strawberries with Justin Timberlake.
This morning our neighbor knocked on our door at 6:30am to let us know two of our ducks were in his backyard, which was fine, but he just wanted to let us know where to collect them later. He mentioned he only saw one in our yard. Immediately I sprang up out of bed, threw on pants, and rushed into the backyard.
This is all that remains of Bertie. I never wanted to write a post like this. And it’s so clear that it’s all my fault. I wasn’t careful with our flock and now they had to live through a night of terror. They are even more skittish this morning.
Where do we go from here? The raccoon will be back tonight, possibly even before dusk. I hate that I rewarded a predator with food when we have neighbors on two sides with backyard chickens. I’m so worried about how determined it will be.
The ducks will be locked up tonight in their house. The chickens will have their run door closed. And the shared run will be locked up. But we have decisions to make now. When we leave town, does someone come over every morning and evening to open the duck house? Is the shared run predator proof? Do we want to really want another pile of feathers to tell us the answer to that?
Ugh. I failed them.
Sorry to hear about your duck π The first month we had our hens outside last spring we heard a raccoon (or two) attacking our neighbors chickens, and since then have been religious about locking them up at night. Which makes going out of town frankly a pain… luckily friends have helped with eggs as payment, but these folks have been very helpful too: justushens.com. Sharon and her partner have been fabulous and the peace of mind has been worth it while we’re away, just thought I’d pass that along as a possibility (not sure they do ducks but I’d think they would?)
I’ve learned the hard way to always listen to “feelings”- there is usually a reason. I’m sorry you had to learn this lesson. Definitely make sure the ducks and chickens are locked up where the raccoons can’t get them for a good while, and I’d warn my neighbors, too.
Oh no, so sad π I remember growing up in rural Nebraska, we had chickens and constantly had to be vigilant against all manner of threats, weasels, bobcats, and worst of all, badgers…yikes. I distinctly remember whenever a badger would threaten, my dad would put bear traps around the coop…very scary. I hope you avoid any more losses and the poor duckies calm down.
That is terrible, and I know that horrible feeling. We had our hens in a “temporary” run while we were putting up a new fence. Their run was barely held together and we kept saying we’d beef it up. I came home one day and two neighborhood dogs had killed the entire flock in one go, except one buff that made it back in the coop. Even if you are planning to butcher them (which we were), you still feel like up until that point they are your charges and deserve better.
My husband and I are friends with another couple, and we both have chickens. Luckily, we live only a few blocks apart, but when we chicken-sit we go over every night and every morning, and they do the same for us. We both have dogs though, so it is necessary.
Here in Texas, the threat is generally coyotes, but we have our fair share of raccoon attacks, as well–unlike with coyotes, I’m not sure that there’s much of anything that repels a raccoon.
I’ve heard (a close friend keeps meat birds) that giving the birds some sort of treat or reward in their house at the end of the day works to keep them from being so scared of the space, or you when you’re trying to get them in it–whether it’s a bit of feed or kitchen scraps, luring them in seems like a way to avoid the “fearing for their lives” bit.
Also: I’m not sure how well it transfers to poultry, but when a horse/cattle herd suffer an attack like that, it can take a few days, but they calm down to their more “baseline” level. I always find it amazing, how animals can metabolize anxiety that fast!
And I’m so sorry for your loss. Whether pet or livestock, losing animals is really hard.
I just had 3 ducks killed by a raccoon and I feel your pain.
Oh Andrea… I am so, so sorry. You have reminded me that I should count myself fortunate that our attack left me three ducks still. What a painful experience it is to lose animals.
Thanks for the other comments as well. The ducks are getting into a routine now of going in their duck house and getting more used to us. Lessons learned the hard way are never fun.
I lost my best friend last night as we went out of town for 2 days we left him out and pow ….. he was my beautiful best friend winston.. he was also a duck I am pretty sure it was a raccoon he got him and ate half of him at our back door his fav. spot to hang out and wait for me to come outside and walk around with him…. π cage your ducks at night !!!!!!!! I hate this feeling
Sorry you lost a duck friend! After the attack, we locked them in their duck house every evening at dusk and let them out at dawn. We finished our predator-proof duck enclosure just a few weeks ago and rest easier at night knowing they are safe.
I know this is a terrible subject to discuss, but I also strongly suggest you switch your runs and pens to smaller-meshed fencing. The raccoons that sneak into my m-i-l’s yard at night actually…so sorry, I’ll try to say this nicely…pull the chickens ‘through’ the fence to eat the eggs the girls haven’t laid yet. Chain link quickly became a death sentence for those poor sweet birds. And it was horribly traumatic for my poor m-i-l to find her little friends so…altered. π
We used that strong metal “hardcloth” now, which is basically a strong metal mesh pattern. Chickwire has always seemed really flimsy to me. Thanks for sharing your sad story. Glad our birds are more safely protected now, but it was a hard lesson to learn.
Thank you so much for this post. I feel like I could have written this exact blog as this happened to us this morning, waking up to 4 of our 8 ducks killed. I’m glad to know there are others who care for their ducks as much as we do, and unfortunately, we learned the hard way too, to keep them locked up at night. The raccoon got my favorite duck too, Crema, who looks just like your Bertie.
Lyndsey, I am SO sorry you experienced this as well. Such a hard lesson to learn this way. Keep in mind they will come back, religiously, every night once they have been successful.
One of my stepson’s 3 ducks was killed today by a raccoon. Unfortunately, my husband saw it but was unable to stop it from happening. We now have 2 traumatized ducks and several traumatized people. I am sick to my stomach. The ducks were still out per usual as it was still light out. We have 3 cats, a dog, two rabbits and (now) 2 ducks. We’ve never seen even a trace of raccoon this close to the house and the fact that it was still daytime makes me very nervous.
I know how it feels. A raccoon killed my dog