Fox attacked my duck! PLEASE HELP!!!

[bird sitter]

Yes, lydia, i do. My muscovies stay in an add on kennel panel run to my chicken coop. She laid her eggs in the duck coop and has hatched one so far. Two more are pecking! So excited! It's her first eggs and her first chicks since she started laying.

 

[bird sitter]

I will post pics when I get a chance

 

[Miss Lydia]

I will post pics when I get a chance

Always exciting when babies arrive.

 

[bird sitter]

She started out with five eggs and lost three today. They died in the shell

, but three were from a different mother and two were from her. The two from her are doing great! So far one has hatched and the other one is pecking the membrane!

 

[tomingreeneco]

The dog attacking the ducks is not the dogs fault, or the dog owners fault if the ducks are not kept contained and provided for properly. There can only be blaim placed if the duck owner actually takes the steps to do everything they can to provide a safe place for the ducks.(like what Marty had done on her property by fencing everything in) If you want to turn a blind eye and allow them to wonder freely on and off your land then all bets are off, and they will all be killed eventually since no one wants to protect them. Shooting the dog with a pellet gun is animal cruelty and a chargeable offense legally that the dogs owner could come back on you with.

Every state that I am aware of has laws on the book that allow a property owner to kill any animal that is threatening their livestock. Dogs are not allowed to run free and attack others livestock. DO NOT use a pellet gun, 12 gauge shotgun with 00 buckshot will kill humanely and fast.

 

[bird sitter]

Ive got 2 22s... That'll solve it fast! Lol

 

[Haunted55]

The talk about the fencing has me very puzzled. You can do a very large area for around $500. An electric fence is cheap, can be moved to suit changing situations, easy to install and cheap to run. You could even enclose one of the ponds in a safe area. I use 50 mile chargers for my fences and nothing gets through them. They even have solar ones that aren't much more than one that needs electricity. What is the issue? Free ranging is all well and good, it cuts down on feed costs, makes for healthy and happier birds, but it has it's own set of rules that need to be followed if you want to keep your flock. If you can't afford any type of fencing then you need to be with the flock any time they are free ranging. You and your neighbor have an obligation to care for these birds and that includes protecting them from harm. Just my 2 cents.

 

[CelticOaksFarm]

Quote: This is true, and yes I believe in it as well. However livestock owners are also not permitted to let the animals run at large. They must provide fencing to keep them on their property. These ducks are permitted to run loose as well, so blame is on both for allowing all animals involved to be loose and not held on their own property. Thats why I mentioned fencing in a safe space for the ducks (not ever saying the entire property) so they were kept on their property giving the duck owner the right to shoot the dog if it was on their property. They would have been in their right since they provided secure containment for the ducks.

 

[bird sitter]

Obliviously no one is listening on what i'm saying. The ducks do have a safe place to go and my ducks are not running free on other peoples property! Me and my neighbors share our birds! We have two ponds and all the birds are both of ours!

 

[Haunted55]

Obliviously no one is listening on what i'm saying. The ducks do have a safe place to go and my ducks are not running free on other peoples property! Me and my neighbors share our birds! We have two ponds and all the birds are both of ours!

Birdsitter, you're wrong about no one listening. I get that you and a close neighbor share the ducks, work, food, etc.. I get that they have a safe house to go into as well. I get that someone else near you owns a hunting dog that comes onto the property and maims and kills your shared ducks. My point, and the other's point is this, that dog couldn't have gotten to those ducks if they were in an enclosed area. My ducks and geese are never out free ranging unless I am with them, period. If I can't watch them all the time, they are not let out of their safe pen. It only takes a second for one of their lives to end. Be it a hawk, eagle, or a neighbor's dog. Doesn't matter, if they are out unattended or unfenced, they're lunch for something.

I know you're frustrated because you don't think we are seeing the whole picture. We are and my advice to you and your neighbor is to put up an electric fence if you want them out of their pen. Or one or both of you can commit to being with them all of the time they are loose. I would also be in contact with the person who owns the dog. It obviously hasn't been trained properly if it is tearing at the birds. A trained dog knows better. This person needs to be told there is a problem and that there will be consequences if he doesn't take the proper actions to secure his dog. But even if this dog is finally contained what will it be next time? A coyote? Hawk? Please think about this very carefully.