The Quack Shack

[WannaBeHillBilly]

What a week that was!
Last weekend i spent as much time outside as i possible to deter any predator from attacking the dux - and to plant plants into my new Cucurbitaceae field as i could. I also tried to fix up my racoon trap as best as possible, baited it with chunky peanut butter and installed it near the duck-house. Caught nothing over the weekend…
Then on Monday afternoon i discovered that one of my breeding ducks was gone! The white duck, sitting together with her brown sister on the nest at the duck-house door had disappeared without a trace!
One of my colleagues brought me one of his traps on Monday, so at that evening i sat up two baited traps in the vicinity of the duck house.
Tuesday morning - nothing…
Tuesday afternoon my wife texted me, she had just rescued the other breeding duck from that nest out of the snout of a masked bandit! After rushing home, i found Darkbill Duck bleeding from her neck but sitting back on her nest, defending it viciously.
That evening i baited my two traps with sardines, so stinky that even my dux-poop hardened stomach gagged and Wednesday morning Junior scumbag was in the trap! Disposed him, set the trap back, checked on the breeding ducks, closed the door to the duck-house for the day (they have food and water in the run) and arrived late at work.
Thursday morning found Big Momma in the trap - i heard her growling from the patio…
And finally on Friday morning the family was re-united in hell as Big Daddy became a victim of his own greed…
Both traps are still baited and set, so far the last two mornings they remained empty.

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

Well.. anywhere on the ground is fair game but Remi is really the only one who dares to get up on furniture and stuff.

I have plenty of dux here that don't hesitate to get off the ground and occupy chairs, tables, woodpiles, …
I believe if they figure out that plums and peaches are yummy, the will start climbing into the trees like goats. Maybe its because they have a second floor in the dux-house and -run?

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

And when i got back home on Friday afternoon, i found this in the duck-house:

So far one duxling from twelve eggs...

 

[shawluvsbirds]

What a week that was!
Last weekend i spent as much time outside as i possible to deter any predator from attacking the dux - and to plant plants into my new Cucurbitaceae field as i could. I also tried to fix up my racoon trap as best as possible, baited it with chunky peanut butter and installed it near the duck-house. Caught nothing over the weekend…
Then on Monday afternoon i discovered that one of my breeding ducks was gone! The white duck, sitting together with her brown sister on the nest at the duck-house door had disappeared without a trace!
One of my colleagues brought me one of his traps on Monday, so at that evening i sat up two baited traps in the vicinity of the duck house.
Tuesday morning - nothing…
Tuesday afternoon my wife texted me, she had just rescued the other breeding duck from that nest out of the snout of a masked bandit! After rushing home, i found Darkbill Duck bleeding from her neck but sitting back on her nest, defending it viciously.
That evening i baited my two traps with sardines, so stinky that even my dux-poop hardened stomach gagged and Wednesday morning Junior scumbag was in the trap! Disposed him, set the trap back, checked on the breeding ducks, closed the door to the duck-house for the day (they have food and water in the run) and arrived late at work.
Thursday morning found Big Momma in the trap - i heard her growling from the patio…
And finally on Friday morning the family was re-united in hell as Big Daddy became a victim of his own greed…
Both traps are still baited and set, so far the last two mornings they remained empty.

I haven't seen or heard one again here. Hopefully it was just passing through. Glad you got them caught. No more free duck dinner for them.

 

[Luv Ducks]

What a week that was!
Last weekend i spent as much time outside as i possible to deter any predator from attacking the dux - and to plant plants into my new Cucurbitaceae field as i could. I also tried to fix up my racoon trap as best as possible, baited it with chunky peanut butter and installed it near the duck-house. Caught nothing over the weekend…
Then on Monday afternoon i discovered that one of my breeding ducks was gone! The white duck, sitting together with her brown sister on the nest at the duck-house door had disappeared without a trace!
One of my colleagues brought me one of his traps on Monday, so at that evening i sat up two baited traps in the vicinity of the duck house.
Tuesday morning - nothing…
Tuesday afternoon my wife texted me, she had just rescued the other breeding duck from that nest out of the snout of a masked bandit! After rushing home, i found Darkbill Duck bleeding from her neck but sitting back on her nest, defending it viciously.
That evening i baited my two traps with sardines, so stinky that even my dux-poop hardened stomach gagged and Wednesday morning Junior scumbag was in the trap! Disposed him, set the trap back, checked on the breeding ducks, closed the door to the duck-house for the day (they have food and water in the run) and arrived late at work.
Thursday morning found Big Momma in the trap - i heard her growling from the patio…
And finally on Friday morning the family was re-united in hell as Big Daddy became a victim of his own greed…
Both traps are still baited and set, so far the last two mornings they remained empty.

Wow, you really had an infestation of those varmits Frank. I am so glad that you caught that many. We got three the year that they got two of my ducks before I invested in all of my metal pens. So far so good but I will not brag as that's usually when things seem to happen. Good luck with your other ducks and I pray that they stay safe.

 

[shawluvsbirds]

I haven't seen or heard one again here. Hopefully it was just passing through. Glad you got them caught. No more free duck dinner for them.

I stand corrected. Came home from my house cleaning job yesterday, turned the hound out and heard the tell tale BAROOOOOOOOO!
coon in the trap closest to the call duck pen.
It was a mean one. It was trying to fight and bite Mason through the fence.
Getting a hounds attention off something like that is darn near impossible. If their had been any onlookers they would've got a good laugh at me. I had to get him to look at me long enough to see and hear me say "I have the gun!"
(Mason knows those words and what guns do)
He finially relented long enough for me to do the deed.. but promptly attacked and bit the thing THROUGH the fence to make sure it was down.. and take some revenge lol
Lord. I thought he was gonna rip the darn thing through my fence before I got him to let go.
So now i got two holes in my fence. One where the coon dug and tore a hole during the time it was caught and still tried to get to the ducks.. and another where Mason tried to yank the thing through.
But the dux all lived another day! I betcha I'd have come home to a massacre had I not had those traps.

 

[Luv Ducks]

I stand corrected. Came home from my house cleaning job yesterday, turned the hound out and heard the tell tale BAROOOOOOOOO!
coon in the trap closest to the call duck pen.
It was a mean one. It was trying to fight and bite Mason through the fence.
Getting a hounds attention off something like that is darn near impossible. If their had been any onlookers they would've got a good laugh at me. I had to get him to look at me long enough to see and hear me say "I have the gun!"
(Mason knows those words and what guns do)
He finially relented long enough for me to do the deed.. but promptly attacked and bit the thing THROUGH the fence to make sure it was down.. and take some revenge lol
Lord. I thought he was gonna rip the darn thing through my fence before I got him to let go.
So now i got two holes in my fence. One where the coon dug and tore a hole during the time it was caught and still tried to get to the ducks.. and another where Mason tried to yank the thing through.
But the dux all lived another day! I betcha I'd have come home to a massacre had I not had those traps.

What did you use for bait? I am so glad that you caught it!!!

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

I stand corrected. Came home from my house cleaning job yesterday, turned the hound out and heard the tell tale BAROOOOOOOOO!
coon in the trap closest to the call duck pen.
It was a mean one. It was trying to fight and bite Mason through the fence.
Getting a hounds attention off something like that is darn near impossible. If their had been any onlookers they would've got a good laugh at me. I had to get him to look at me long enough to see and hear me say "I have the gun!"
(Mason knows those words and what guns do)
He finially relented long enough for me to do the deed.. but promptly attacked and bit the thing THROUGH the fence to make sure it was down.. and take some revenge lol
Lord. I thought he was gonna rip the darn thing through my fence before I got him to let go.
So now i got two holes in my fence. One where the coon dug and tore a hole during the time it was caught and still tried to get to the ducks.. and another where Mason tried to yank the thing through.
But the dux all lived another day! I betcha I'd have come home to a massacre had I not had those traps.

Wow! - Just Wow!
You can never feel safe when you have dux. The predators will always find a way in…
I keep my traps baited and set. Thought about setting up a sign, similar to what they have at industrial plants, like

≫No Trash Panda incident since nn days≪​

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

I stand corrected. Came home from my house cleaning job yesterday, turned the hound out and heard the tell tale BAROOOOOOOOO!
coon in the trap closest to the call duck pen.
It was a mean one. It was trying to fight and bite Mason through the fence.
Getting a hounds attention off something like that is darn near impossible. If their had been any onlookers they would've got a good laugh at me. I had to get him to look at me long enough to see and hear me say "I have the gun!"
(Mason knows those words and what guns do)
He finially relented long enough for me to do the deed.. but promptly attacked and bit the thing THROUGH the fence to make sure it was down.. and take some revenge lol
Lord. I thought he was gonna rip the darn thing through my fence before I got him to let go.
So now i got two holes in my fence. One where the coon dug and tore a hole during the time it was caught and still tried to get to the ducks.. and another where Mason tried to yank the thing through.
But the dux all lived another day! I betcha I'd have come home to a massacre had I not had those traps.

What kind of traps are you using?

 

[shawluvsbirds]

What did you use for bait? I am so glad that you caught it!!!

What kind of traps are you using?

I use dog food with a bit of pancake syrup drizzled inside dog proof traps. Live traps are nice for keeping them from tearing stuff up around them.. but easier to catch in dog proofs and less chance of a skunk or something else going in. I was afraid they'd tear the fence up, which it did. But we wanted the traps closer to where they would be going towards the ducks, and farther from the trees so they'd be easier to dispatch instead of having brush to get tangled up in.

Those black things are some cement weights I had blocking a low spot under the fence that needed filled with dirt. This is where I found them. That thing was determined to get in even after being caught.