>>1557077MASSACRE!
8 ducklings in Batch 4 were eaten by raccoons last night. There was body parts strewn all over the yard for like 100 feet. 11 ducklings, of Batch 4, remain and are in good health (pic). Totally my fault of course. The raccoons have been getting trapped by the live trap then forcing their way out so hard that the trap's thick wire locking mechanism is bending allowing them to squeeze out. I thought I fixed that, but evidently not. I've been using a Connibear trap over a 5-gallon bucket and the raccoons have learned to pull the trap down enough to squeeze in through the top to get the bait.
Today will be spent making a new cage, for the ducklings to stay in at night time, and making new trap arrangements.
For perspective, 8 adult ducks would be about 40lbs of off-the-bone meat or 56 eggs per week at max.
In other duckling news, one of Batch 2's leg or foot had been injured a couple of days ago. There's no visible sign of injury or swelling so it may just be a bruised foot or slightly twisted joint. It is most likely an environmental injury from running around uneven ground or worse it is a developmental bone issue, but there's no sign of that specifically. I placed that duckling in with Batch 3 so it would not get trampled and so it can heal up.
