That's so sad. Sorry for your loss.
When I found out how small of a hole weasels could squeeze through I felt like it was impossible to keep my chickens safe. That was when I lived in East Wenatchee. Now that we have moved out into the "wild, wild, woods" of Entiat and having space for the chickens to range around I didn't want to build them a Fort Knox again. I thought the livestock guardian dog would be the perfect answer. He can keep my kids safe while they are playing outdoors too
I feel so sad for your hen duck. And just in case it was me you were asking, how do you think she would do being the only duck with my chickens? I was thinking I'd have to do a little more work to get set up for ducks before I get them in the spring. I've never had them before so I don't know much about them yet.
I also heard Gr. Pyr. can be prone to bark a lot. At night, mostly, too. But, anyway, long story short, we found our puppy right off the bat so that made the choice easy. We LOVE him. I am super excited about his cross, too. He combines the flock guardian traits with some more people oriented qualities that I like, too.
We lost 4 hens to grrr my cat this year. I was a mess over it... Lesson learned. Check run DAILY! Now I watch said cat stalking the run and trying to find a way in but has yet to succeed, he gives me the stink eye a lot now... That was a painful lesson for myself and my kids....
