R.I.P. Ebony and Belle

[Tevyes Dad]

Yesterday the ducks stole the mini-marshmallows out of the DP coon traps.

(Luckily in our case, DP must also mean Duck Proof). I don't know which is more dangerous for their health, eating mini marshmallows or pecking inside a raccoon trap. We ran out to Wal*mart and bought terracotta vases to put upside down over the traps during the day so the ducks wouldn't get in them.

This morning Mr. Raccoon stopped by for some marshmallows and he and I had a point blank conversation that ended with him agreeing not to eat any more ducks.

I came home at lunch time to finish cleaning up the area, and the ducks were trying to eat the brass

.

We will do our best to pick it all up, but they can put much more time in to finding it than we can.

How is it that ducks didn't go extinct millennia ago?

 

[rebcart1905]

aha! great news.....My ducks will about every other night refuse to come in, and love staying down in the pond in the horse pasture.....I know im taking a huge risk in our location, but I would like to think the horses will chase any coons, fox, coyote etc... out

 

[Onlyducks]

gentila: You have a very creative way of writing. Your last post was subtle, yet clear! I too wonder how some animals failed to go extinct years ago.

Sorry you lost the ducks—hopefully it's under control now. One thing you mentioned was putting the house in the middle so the coons could not reach. I learned that when I let my ducks out of the pen, I need to either shut the pen completely or have two doors. Dogs and other canines are very good at cornering the ducks in the pen if there's no second opening.

 

[Tevyes Dad]

Thanks for the advice. I am trying to put together all the ideas i can for a real duck house maybe for construction this fall.

 

[Going Quackers]

I'm sorry for your loss. We had coons go after our ducklings when we first put them out a reach and grab through the chain link dog run.. one was gashed open pretty bad, lost sight in one eye.. but he did live and thankfully the rest were unharmed as the coons did not get IN the pen.. that is probably the worst thing about pens is coons doing that.. so dangerous.

I personally prefer houses now.. pens are quite hard to secure overnight. I wish you all the best with your flock.

 

[Tevyes Dad]

Yup. Houses! Here is what they have for the moment. It is a 6'x8' plastic shed from Costco that was hastily converted and used since coon day. It was already vented and I drilled several 3/8" holes in the window which is about 4-5 feet off the ground. I shut myself inside and for now it is quite breathable.
I may have to add more holes in mid-summer, but I step into it every morning and check the air quality for myself. I am looking at various plans for a duck house. There are many Chicken huts that I have seen and a couple duck houses that for one reason or another don't work as is so I am gathering information to try to make an amalgam that will cover all the bases. In the meantime, this is better than nothing and they don't hate it too much. A couple minutes after 8:00 pm and they march in on their own (mostly).

 

[Tevyes Dad]

After 2-1/2 weeks, mama raccoon finally came by. Since I have to go on the road a couple days at a time here and there, we decided that I would get the first raccoon and she would watch so she would know what to expect. And she would get the second one with me there for support so she would have the experience if this should ever happen when I am not there. Well that was this time. This was the first animal my wife ever shot so it has weighed very heavy on her. She was brought up city - certainly not a farmer and was never a hunter. She has shot paper for decades, so she knows her tool,. but never had to really use one. She has gone fishing before and has enjoyed that, but a mammal just isn't the same. She probably expected to feel elation and relief over protecting her flock. Instead she found her humanity challenged and found that it is never a small thing to take an intelligent life. I am sure most of us that have gone through this can remember how traumatic it was whether they were 8 years old or it was just last week. She isn't conflicted, she would do the same again, but now she knows the weight of those actions. She performed well and I am confident she can take care of the flock in my absence. But it cost a bit of innocence she still had and I mourn her that.

 

[Onlyducks]

That's innocence replaced with reality. That seems to me to be a good thing.