Duck slaughtered & remainder vanished :(

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Hi, I wonder could anyone shed light on this please: I have a number of hens & a rooster & recently got 2 ducks & a drake. Magnificent birds, all of them. I've just found one duck in the (electrified) enclosure with it's head completley gone (lying near the inside of the fence) & the other duck & drake are no where to be found. I live in a really foresty area but have no overhanging branches into the enclosure. I have a very large (1 000m square) electric enclosure, nothing can enter or exit (or can they????). The fence is the poultry electrified fencing & I keep it really well clear of vegetation & strim around the fence religiously & it's plugged into the house electrics so the charge is good & constant. I've had my Marans in this enclosure for over 2 yrs now & never had any problems. Plus the hens all seemed really calm, nothing out the ordinary when I went in there to see them, this morning. I have a sensor light to alert me of any night time activity but last night had spent the night away from the house. But I was there late y/day evening & fed everyone & all seemed quite normal & very quiet. What animal could possibly have entered & exited this enclosure & HOW?! And what animal eats the head of a duck & leaves the body?! Has anyone any idea what's happened please? I'M devastated. We only had our ducks 2 wks & they had such a great place with a pond & their own duck house. I got them for my kiddies who are going to be gutted later on when they discover what's happend. They were tame & everything was wonderful. Please could someone shed some light on this, many thanks, Kim.
 
So sorry to hear what has happened to your lovely ducks. Just from reading posts on this forum I would guess it is a fox, as they commonly bite the heads off :-)03 and it is surprising how high they can jump.
A customer I speak to at work has told me that her daughter in law has given up keeping chooks as a fox kept jumping over an electric fence within which she kept them in a field near her house.
Be very vigilant now as it could happen again. :(
 
Thanks so much for that, I NEVER expected to read that a fox can clear that elec. poultry fence. Last night kiddies & I spent 3 hrs scrouing every inch of the enclosure, found feathers (remains) of one duck & another decapitaed duck kinda tucked into a grassy patch. Plus we found droppings, like that of a small dog, which was made up of a lot of vegetable matter & fine white hair (hare / rabit?). The preditor obviously wasn't in a hurry but couldn't get his prey out, so he hung about & had one of the ducks far down the back of the enclosure. But I still cannot believe he got in & out of there :( Last night I locked my hens & rooster up for the night & I never slept, I was SO worried! Tonight after work it's operation PROTECT WHO EVER'S LEFT! I'm increasing the height of the electric fence, buying a gun (only joking!). I already have a sensor light installed but I'm putting in a little radio near the coop & leaving it on some talk station! (Yeah, I heard somewhere that it can deter foxes!). I'm desperate here people! I feel having animals makes us responsible for their wellbeing & I have let down 3 beautiful & happy little ducks & I'm really, really sad. I can't let it happen to my Marans now. I am being taken away to Galway this w/end for my b/day & now I dread going, I will be quietly fretting about my animals instead of having a good w/end away with the kiddies & my man :( Anyway, I'm not beat yet, I will try secure this enclosure further & BELIEVE I won't have any more intruders!
 
Few questions regarding your electric fencing, are you using poultry netting? Have you got a good quality fence tester and what is it reading? If you have netting how long is it?

What type of energiser do you use? Capacity? What earthing system are you using?

We have a large electrified area and have never had a fox enter, however, our neighbours have a similar system yet have had the fox breach several times.

Electrified systems are probably the most effective deterrent around, however, they can fail and this largely is due to human error. If they have failed once they fox will be back as he will see the fence as a minor barrier and not something to fear, so what you have to do is make sure it is working, boost the voltage, and get the fox to get one hell of a shock!
 
Oh it's horrible reading that 'he'll be back', but thank you for replying guys, I appreciate your input. I have since increased the height of the electric fence to a min of 6'. (It's that proper poultry electric fence, plugged into mains so no risk of battery losing charge). I used those white strands of electric fencing to increase the height, putting up strands nice & tight along the entire fence, to deter anything jumping in. I made a few other adjustments too & I'm really sure that nothing can get in now! I never bought a fence tester as every day I do a few checks along the fence with a piece of grass (& I get shocked everytime! The things we do for our animals hey!). So I know fine well the current is good & STRONG! When you ask about an 'energiser' is this the source of the electricity? Well it's plugged into the mains in the house, so it's permanent - unless ESB cut their supplies for some strange reason (which has never happened). The earth is a long metal pole bought with the whole system & I had it all checked over by a guy who knows his stuff after installation. It cost over €300 in total to put up, so it wasn't a cheapy & for over 2 yrs it worked so well. Please tell me how to INCREASE VOLTAGE, I don't like the idea (must buy a tester!!!) but if what you say about the fox returning for easy prey, I need to get that voltage up to sizzling stats!!! No, I'm only joking, I have kids & cats & a dog & there's always a risk of them getting zapped so I don't wano fry anything but yes, plse tell me how to up the charge!? Thank you!!!
 
Kim, firstly you do need a tester, they are essential. It will measure the voltage power going through the fence and anything else, minimum is 3,000 volts however I keep mine at around 6,000v plus.
Adding height doesn't really help, unless you use an "earthing" strand, basically four paws of the ground and the fox won't get a shock unless one of the upper strands is earthed. Saying that, your fence will look different and that might in itself be a deterrent.

How many nets does your energiser recommend? Often they will say a number of nets/or km of wire that the energiser will effectively manage under normal loading conditions eg; not wet or uneven ground. If you have a lot of nets one earthing stake may not be enough. Also, if the weather is dry you may need to water the stake to increase conductivity.

Also where are you based? I notice you mention euros, was wondering where you are?
 
Hmmm, thanks for all that, I have a lot of homework to do so! I will be getting a tester later today, thank you. (I was taken away for one night over the w/end & was VERY relieved to find all in good & peaceful order on our return y/day evening!). I am hoping that further work on this fence will REALLY prove effective & I'll never have another intruder again! Yes, increasing the height was purely a deterant, in case the fence had been jumped, surely now it's not possible?! I understand about the earthing factor but have been hoping that the upper strands would deter any attempts at jumping over the wire. I have to consult my local supplier (Agri strore) about this poultry fence re the earth / distance / number of nets & I still have the p/work at the house & will thoroughly read up on this. I will also enquire on the net. I am based in the Midlands, in Ireland. Thanks a million for all your input! I do so want to get more ducks, I miss them dreadfully :(
 
I know this is a bit of an old post, but I just watched a huge fox jump OVER my 4 foot electric fence with a hen in it's mouth, don't believe what the manufacturers tell you, 4 feet is not high enough....very depressed now
 
Hi Alec and welcome to the Forum- just sorry it's at such a terrible time for you. Its good to unearth old threads (no pun intended!) and I wonder what happened to Kim's setup in the end.
 
I am really sorry to hear that.... :( What voltage is your fence currently running on.. I know in this very dry spell we have had I was actually watering our earth stake to maintain a good conduction.

An idea that may help is to ensure the fox has a shock is to late at night place bait just inside and outside the fence to attract the fox to the live fence, they usually explore an electric fence (and the smell of your bait) at muzzle height first and this ensures they get a nasty shock, hopefully they will respect the fence in future. Had an akita at full power try and barge through our fence, he ended up getting a 9,000v shock, he was absolutely fine, if a bit confused over where the beast was that had shocked him!

Whilst it is very rare for a fox to jump a fence it does happen :(
 
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