benbaikal Posted January 20, 2008 Report Share Posted January 20, 2008 been to the stables where i do a bit of ratting this morning owner comes out could you tell me what killed these his two pet ducks from his carp pond at the bottom of his field had been got at. one had 4 inch of its neck stripped to the bone and broken and the other had its neck and head completely missing. no other part of the ducks had been chewed or eaten. it look like the culprit had waited for the ducks to come off there island to the feeder and then got one next to the pond and the other one most have bolted about fourty feet up the field and then got killed. he has seen foxes and mink in the fields but his wife will not let me loose on them but there attitude has now changed, but he his telling me it is lads with dogs due to the small amount of damage to the ducks. ive not got any pictures sorry if you could any ideas as ive said before it as gone for the necks not the bodies many thanks ben Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ferret Master Posted January 20, 2008 Report Share Posted January 20, 2008 In a fox attack a couple of years back I had one duck partially eaten, another with its head bitten off and hidden (later found) and another where the neck had been eaten to the bone. Hope you get the murderous little ginger. FM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tulkyuk Posted January 20, 2008 Report Share Posted January 20, 2008 Could be amink or otter Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
auto culto Posted January 20, 2008 Report Share Posted January 20, 2008 (edited) More than likely a fox as its very normal for them to just take the heads off for the fun of it. A mate of mine had nearly 20 chickens killed like that and not one bird showed any other damage. He wont be forgetting to turn on the electric fence again after that episode. Edited January 20, 2008 by auto culto Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benbaikal Posted January 20, 2008 Author Report Share Posted January 20, 2008 thanks for the replies lads Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Suffolk shooter Posted January 20, 2008 Report Share Posted January 20, 2008 I would say it is more likely to be an otter due to the stripping of one duck, with the rest of the body not being harmed. Although Fox will take the heads off for fun, they don't generally strip! Mink would have just been a bite to the back of the neck, so I think you can rule these out. Look for spraints around the pond and these will tell you what you have at least prowling round if not actually responsible for the deaths. You mention Carp being in the pond, have you ever found any of these on the bank with flesh stripped from them normally from tail to head? SS Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rossandjet Posted January 20, 2008 Report Share Posted January 20, 2008 A fox I recon, a while back on our shoot, foxes killed about 90 out of 110 penned ducklings by biting off their heads. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cranfield Posted January 20, 2008 Report Share Posted January 20, 2008 I would guess a mink, unless you have otters in the area. A fox will kill for fun and just take the heads off, but usually after they have killed and taken(or eaten) a couple. It sounds as though no other ducks were missing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ronan nee Posted January 20, 2008 Report Share Posted January 20, 2008 I would guess a mink, unless you have otters in the area.A fox will kill for fun and just take the heads off, but usually after they have killed and taken(or eaten) a couple. It sounds as though no other ducks were missing. I would agree with Cranners, sounds very much like a mink regards ronan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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