A Disaster of My Own Making...

[OldGuy43]

I admit it. I screwed up, but things were going so well... Famous last words.

I had just finished cutting greens when I noticed our Short Haired German Pointer carrying something around in her mouth. Yep, it was one of the ducklings.

Not really mad at her. The duckling may have jumped out and she just picked it up. Than again, she may have caught it. I just don't know.

Anyway, here's what I should have done right out of the box.



Yet another blunder on my part. We live and learn.

 

[Tahai]

oh no! I'm assuming the duckling died?

 

[OldGuy43]

oh no! I'm assuming the duckling died?

Yes. Ellie the dog had given us no concern up until today. She seemed to be interested in mothering them.

 

[Miss Lydia]

so sorry to hear that, I have to watch my dogs very close when we have chicks and ducklings, it's just a natural prey drive but it's so sad when it happens.

Yes. Ellie the dog had given us no concern up until today. She seemed to be interested in mothering them.

 

[Going Quackers]

Oh I'm sorry, perhaps she was just being playful it wouldn't take much from a dogs mouth i would guess to gravely harm a duckling. Since we brooded our original group in the house and i have house cats too we fully caged the brooder box, just in case... the dogs were less of a concern since the room was gated off.

 

[jdywntr]

So sorry.

I have small dogs but one of them has decided to try to pick on the younger ducks/chicks. She is scared of the adults so I think she figures she can bully the ducklings. She ( a 10 lb Shih Tzu) is not fast enough ( or smart enough ) to actually catch one but seems to enjoy freaking them out and chasing them. She is thouroghly scolded when she has done it.

 

[theoldchick]

Ah! The Cardboard Corral sure does come in handy in an emergency!



I had to make one when the cold weather did not allow putting my chicks in the coop, and I was forced to keep my chicks in a more controlled environment.

Sorry you lost the duck.

 

[mong7769]

I will have to be very careful of this with my dogs I think when I get my chicks next week. Fortunately we are putting the chicks in the garage and we don't let the dogs in there usually. I also plan, once the coop is up and the ladies are in there, to use the training collar to teach them that the coop is not for them. Or I may just move the invisible fence wire to around the chicken coup so they can't get within 2 feet of the coop.

 

[Ilovemyduckies]

So sorry about your duckling. I have had this happen too. My dog is not an indoor dog, and is always on a chain. So I figured they would be fine. Well, when one of my chickens was about 4 months, and had just laid her first eggs. The dog got loose, and of course got the chicken who was almost always outside her pen. (she got out through a hole every morning and I tried to cover it up, but she still kept getting out). I know how you feel.....

 

[MargaretAnneHK]

I am so sorry about your duckling. I had a similiar incident, just one, where our dog picked up a duckling and killed it. We discouraged him from going by the ducks with some success, at least when we were around! Otherwise we had to make very sure he had no way to access them.