Last night the rain was pouring down in buckets, and it was pretty cold out. Our driveway gate had been left open when one of my friends had gone home. I have 3 ducks whom come and go as they please, they have a coop and pen, but it is open. But, what I didn't know was that my auto door to my hen house had malfunctioned and the door was open and the chickens were unsecure. All around my house (2 acres) is fenced with 6 foot deer fencing with another 2 foot extending down beneath the ground to prevent diggers from coming in.
I thought to myself, it won't hurt to leave the gate open one night, no predators will be out hunting in this miserable cold rain.
BOY was I WRONG!
Thankfully, my husband who has an injured leg growled at me to go close the gate or he would hobble out there and do it. This caused me to spring into action and run out with a rain coat, flashlight and muck boots on to go close the gate.
Walking down the very very dark wet gravel driveway lined with trees and downhill (we are on a mountain with 18 acres) I pointed the flashlight ahead of me. About 30 feet in front of me I saw movement that caught my attention, what was it? It was very large, wide and furry with short legs as it waddled towards me. It was hard to see through the sheets of rain coming down, but I finally identified it as an extra large nasty mean badger, a creature you do not ever want to tangle with!
It was already through the gate and heading towards the chicken coops when it finally saw me and turned around and leisurely and without fear went back out the gate, then turned right and dropped into the woods. I secured the gate and made my way back up towards the coops realizing that this very large badger would have eaten all 3 ducks. I decided it was time to start securing the ducks in the hen house with the chickens, It was easy to catch them, because they were afraid and actually ran to me. After I put them into the hen house, I noticed the pop door was open and my auto door had not shut. This meant that the badger would have polished off the ducks and then made his way into the hen house for chicken dessert.
The lessons I learned are as follows:
1. Hungry predators hunt in any weather because they are hungry
2. Never assume leaving something unsecure for just a short while is Ok, because just once is all it takes to lose your flock.
3, Always double check equipment because they malfunction.
4. Even though ducks love their freedom, and usually party all night in their wading pool lock them up at night, they will be fine.
5, Keep listening to the husband because he knows what he is talking about sometimes.
6. Always grab the shotgun on your way out.
The auto-door was reset and is now working fine, but it does not mean I will relax and not double check it!!
What do badgers look like?
They have very long claws and very sharp big teeth, and fight like the devil.
I did not take these pictures, these pictures were pulled from the internet. But this gives you an idea what this predator looks like.
My driveway, it's another 1/2 mile to the the road:
I thought to myself, it won't hurt to leave the gate open one night, no predators will be out hunting in this miserable cold rain.
BOY was I WRONG!
Thankfully, my husband who has an injured leg growled at me to go close the gate or he would hobble out there and do it. This caused me to spring into action and run out with a rain coat, flashlight and muck boots on to go close the gate.
Walking down the very very dark wet gravel driveway lined with trees and downhill (we are on a mountain with 18 acres) I pointed the flashlight ahead of me. About 30 feet in front of me I saw movement that caught my attention, what was it? It was very large, wide and furry with short legs as it waddled towards me. It was hard to see through the sheets of rain coming down, but I finally identified it as an extra large nasty mean badger, a creature you do not ever want to tangle with!
It was already through the gate and heading towards the chicken coops when it finally saw me and turned around and leisurely and without fear went back out the gate, then turned right and dropped into the woods. I secured the gate and made my way back up towards the coops realizing that this very large badger would have eaten all 3 ducks. I decided it was time to start securing the ducks in the hen house with the chickens, It was easy to catch them, because they were afraid and actually ran to me. After I put them into the hen house, I noticed the pop door was open and my auto door had not shut. This meant that the badger would have polished off the ducks and then made his way into the hen house for chicken dessert.
The lessons I learned are as follows:
1. Hungry predators hunt in any weather because they are hungry
2. Never assume leaving something unsecure for just a short while is Ok, because just once is all it takes to lose your flock.
3, Always double check equipment because they malfunction.
4. Even though ducks love their freedom, and usually party all night in their wading pool lock them up at night, they will be fine.
5, Keep listening to the husband because he knows what he is talking about sometimes.
6. Always grab the shotgun on your way out.
The auto-door was reset and is now working fine, but it does not mean I will relax and not double check it!!
What do badgers look like?
They have very long claws and very sharp big teeth, and fight like the devil.
I did not take these pictures, these pictures were pulled from the internet. But this gives you an idea what this predator looks like.
My driveway, it's another 1/2 mile to the the road:
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