The Duck Thread

[Ren2014]

That's funny! I got chick pea and quackers as babies (along with another chick that died) and raised them together! Quackers has always taken care of chick pea (& the other one too up until she died)! It's funny...when we first got them it had been raining and they were all muddy so we gave them all a bath...quackers went to the deep end of the tub and floated around then tried to push to the chicks into the deep end of the tub! Lol! Now they r 2 peas in a pod! Quackers watches over all of my chickens! I have several new ones cooped right now and i have her watch the door for me while im in there! Haha! If one gets too close she will usher it bk! When chick pea got sick and was inside for a month they would talk to each other through the walls! I call them my big birds! All of my others r bantams except a game roo i just got and his mamas a bantam! Quackers is my only duck right now tho!

Awh so sweet!

OK so that just happened.

Can't believe I was just talking about this but some friends are over and a close step by one of them caused her to do just this. Better give her some treats to reinforce the idea of it.
Attimus

OMG so excited for you

Definitely treats for her! (and the friend too, lol)

 

[season1223]

I'm so sad. I got 9 chickies and 6 ducklings just yesterday, they were soo cute and i started naming them. I had a new run built and the coop fixed up and this morning they were all gone.

I looked all over the coop. There is no holes, no sign of break in, no feathers, nothing. I just don't know what could have gotten in or how, i'm so sad im trying not to cry, I can't figure this out. We have mesh wire instead of chicken wire cause it's sturdier. I just can't think of what could possibly be breaking in or how

Omg! That's awful! We built a smaller starter pen for our babies! I didnt move mine to the coop until they were bigger because i was worried about something like that happening!

We don't have babies at the moment so i have my new game rooster and his mama in it!
Im just as confused as u r! Where do u live? Minks << if i spelled that right...r in the rodent family...very sneaky & if they can get their head thru, they can squeeze their bodies thru as any rodent can! U dont see any signs? Is there any way they could all be huddled up hiding somewhere or maybe found a way out? How old we're they? Do u see batches of feathers anywhere!? I keep hoping they will turn up somewhere for u and theyre not all gone...i wanna cry for u!

 

[Lynn Manes]

I'm so sad. I got 9 chickies and 6 ducklings just yesterday, they were soo cute and i started naming them. I had a new run built and the coop fixed up and this morning they were all gone.

I looked all over the coop. There is no holes, no sign of break in, no feathers, nothing. I just don't know what could have gotten in or how, i'm so sad im trying not to cry, I can't figure this out. We have mesh wire instead of chicken wire cause it's sturdier. I just can't think of what could possibly be breaking in or how

I'm so sorry for your loss. Do you think they might be huddled together (somewhere else on your property right now?

 

[Blue Godz]

I'm sure you are, them being so tiny something could have eaten them right on the spot and left no signs. As far as what to do that will have to be your decision but doesn't look like the one they were in is very secure,even if we think it is. Just goes to show you how predators can find a way.   About the only thing that will keep out mink etc raccoons on the larger side is hardware cloth not even one small hole can be left open or it will be breached.
I hope you can figure it all out and maybe in the spring try again and this time it will be a success.
Did you have heat set up for these babies since they were outside?

Yeah we had em all set up with a bulb and a kiddie pool with hay, feeders, etc. I ordered them 2 months ago and I was waiting for them so eagerly and happy. I even cooked some rice for them yesterday.

I really just can't figure it out. We have that 1cm mesh wire stuff all around. The carpenter that helps us out said his idea is to pull all the floor and rebuild. I think we just should stop trying to patch this up and build from 0 again. This coop was in when we moved in and we patched up every hole we could find, but this thing has taken 1bantam, 3duck fertile eggs and 3 chicken fertile eggs (we mark them) my 4 muscovy babies that were hatched/born here, killed 1 chicken and now all these new babies.

My husband is lining a wire kennel with mesh and we are going to keep the new babies we get here in the porch (right out the door from our room)

I was looking into ordering some more right now but I'm just getting sad looking at the pics and thinking about my chickies and ducklings. We thought our girls had stopped laying so much but now that we have seen the marked eggs dissappear i think whatever it is its taking our eggs. I'm afraid it'll attack our adult birds if it doesn't find eggs

 

[Ren2014]

Yeah we had em all set up with a bulb and a kiddie pool with hay, feeders, etc. I ordered them 2 months ago and I was waiting for them so eagerly and happy. I even cooked some rice for them yesterday.

I really just can't figure it out. We have that 1cm mesh wire stuff all around. The carpenter that helps us out said his idea is to pull all the floor and rebuild. I think we just should stop trying to patch this up and build from 0 again. This coop was in when we moved in and we patched up every hole we could find, but this thing has taken 1bantam, 3duck fertile eggs and 3 chicken fertile eggs (we mark them) my 4 muscovy babies that were hatched/born here, killed 1 chicken and now all these new babies.

My husband is lining a wire kennel with mesh and we are going to keep the new babies we get here in the porch (right out the door from our room)

I was looking into ordering some more right now but I'm just getting sad looking at the pics and thinking about my chickies and ducklings. We thought our girls had stopped laying so much but now that we have seen the marked eggs dissappear i think whatever it is its taking our eggs. I'm afraid it'll attack our adult birds if it doesn't find eggs

May I ask where are you located? Do you have rat/chicken snakes there?

 

[Blue Godz]

I'm so sorry for your loss. Do you think they might be huddled together (somewhere else on your property right now?

That would be so awesome, but i cannot hear them, and I can't figure out how would they have gotten out if they did. I would be so happy if they were

 

[Blue Godz]

May I ask where are you located?  Do you have rat/chicken snakes there?

Deep so. Texas, we have everything, mostly black garden snakes, the kind that eat rattlers, rattlers and water snakes.

My cat kills a rat almost every day, the ranch is right next to a corn field

 

[Ren2014]

Deep so. Texas, we have everything, mostly black garden snakes, the kind that eat rattlers, rattlers and water snakes.

My cat kills a rat almost every day, the ranch is right next to a corn field

We are SE of Austin, Texas. We have huge rat snakes and rattlers. There's not a week that goes by that we do not see a rattler. Unfortunatley, the rat snakes seldom are seen but we've had 5+ footers. They are all I can attribute our missing duck eggs to. I sure hope you find yours all huddled somewhere safe

 

[Chrysolinsbirds]

 

[Blue Godz]

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