The Quack Shack

[WannaBeHillBilly]

As expected, Buffzilla duck did not survive the night…
The last ducknager is doing better, limping around, still breathing hard.

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

Crazy things happen here:
Mr. Boots re-surfaced this afternoon, sadly fatally injured and he passed on while sitting on my lap.
And right before i was about to bring the last ducknager inside with Erbse and Sunny Mr. Snotty showed up. Still limping but completely unharmed. He must have hidden somewhere, spent the night outside and came back.

 

[Miss Lydia]

I am heart broken

Came home to find my flock scattered all around my place, found five dead ducks, at least six are missing.
Mr. Snotty, Fluffy, Flauschi, Ralphi, Mr. Boots and Buffy are missing.
Three of Erbses ducknagers are dead, two of her sisters dead.
Buffzilla duck and the remaining ducknagers have breathing problems and I don't know if they are going to make it through the night.
Tweedledee has an injured wing which I cannot treat because she would rather die then let me touch her.
Sunny Sunshine and Erbse were hiding under the patio, both are limping.
Flipper Duck is limping too and Mr. Entron is shivering and refuses to eat or drink.
I don't know if I am hallucinating, but is that a paw print here
View attachment 4260660
The dead ducks had minimal injuries but bled from their bills and nostrils and afaik that is the typical sign of being shaken to death by a dog.
And I am sure that's the work of my irresponsible neighbor's dogs at the bottom of the hill.
The dogs that disrupt traffic every day by running on the road. I guess next time the breaks on my five year old car will fade or I confuse the pedals...
Have to bury five of my kids tomorrow...

So very sorry. Sounds like a good time to put up some fencing to keep your ducks safe. I know if mine weren't behind fencing, they would be long gone. Loose dogs, foxes, coyotes, bears, you name it they come through here.

 

[Luv Ducks]

I am heart broken

Came home to find my flock scattered all around my place, found five dead ducks, at least six are missing.
Mr. Snotty, Fluffy, Flauschi, Ralphi, Mr. Boots and Buffy are missing.
Three of Erbses ducknagers are dead, two of her sisters dead.
Buffzilla duck and the remaining ducknagers have breathing problems and I don't know if they are going to make it through the night.
Tweedledee has an injured wing which I cannot treat because she would rather die then let me touch her.
Sunny Sunshine and Erbse were hiding under the patio, both are limping.
Flipper Duck is limping too and Mr. Entron is shivering and refuses to eat or drink.
I don't know if I am hallucinating, but is that a paw print here
View attachment 4260660
The dead ducks had minimal injuries but bled from their bills and nostrils and afaik that is the typical sign of being shaken to death by a dog.
And I am sure that's the work of my irresponsible neighbor's dogs at the bottom of the hill.
The dogs that disrupt traffic every day by running on the road. I guess next time the breaks on my five year old car will fade or I confuse the pedals...
Have to bury five of my kids tomorrow...

So sorry to read this Frank. People with unresponsible pets don't deserve to have them for reasons like this. I wish you had a game camera pointing to your backyard so you could prove it and call the animal warden on them.

 

[Luv Ducks]

How many ducks do you have left now Frank? Can you close them all up in that nice building you have for them while you are not home? My neighbors dog even jumped my fence to get to my bunny that it killed years ago. I would not trust anything without a roof over it too as that is why I went out and got all of my TSC pens that I bought for mine. I wouldn't have any if I had not. I pray you can find a solution to keep the rest safe while you are not there.

 

[shawluvsbirds]

I am heart broken

Came home to find my flock scattered all around my place, found five dead ducks, at least six are missing.
Mr. Snotty, Fluffy, Flauschi, Ralphi, Mr. Boots and Buffy are missing.
Three of Erbses ducknagers are dead, two of her sisters dead.
Buffzilla duck and the remaining ducknagers have breathing problems and I don't know if they are going to make it through the night.
Tweedledee has an injured wing which I cannot treat because she would rather die then let me touch her.
Sunny Sunshine and Erbse were hiding under the patio, both are limping.
Flipper Duck is limping too and Mr. Entron is shivering and refuses to eat or drink.
I don't know if I am hallucinating, but is that a paw print here
View attachment 4260660
The dead ducks had minimal injuries but bled from their bills and nostrils and afaik that is the typical sign of being shaken to death by a dog.
And I am sure that's the work of my irresponsible neighbor's dogs at the bottom of the hill.
The dogs that disrupt traffic every day by running on the road. I guess next time the breaks on my five year old car will fade or I confuse the pedals...
Have to bury five of my kids tomorrow...

Ooohhh Frank. I feel ya buddy. I lost 3 birds in the last couple weeks to a bellybutton hawk. 2 of my Cayugas and my new Rouen gal that my sis in law had bought over because all of her other ducks had gotten killed.
We spent all afternoon Sunday tearing apart the big ducks enclosure and rebuilding a covered pen next to the calls.
Poor things are traumatised half to death.
After the 3rd kill.. that was thursday, I makeshifted a small pen with a tarp over The remaining Ugas for a couple days till we could do something better.
They did not touch a bite of food or drop of water until I forced them out sunday so we could work.
As of this afternoon they are drinking, but have barely ate anything.
The calls are pretty freaked out too they must have saw some of it. They wouldn't come out of the pen till I made them yesterday.

Anyway. This is scrapped together but doesn't look too bad, at least it looks good from the road lol!

We've been fortunate to have made it this long without predator losses out here. Our luck finially ran out. Hopefully this summer we can build a proper bird barn.

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

So very sorry. Sounds like a good time to put up some fencing to keep your ducks safe. I know if mine weren't behind fencing, they would be long gone. Loose dogs, foxes, coyotes, bears, you name it they come through here.

Same problem since 2018: Too many feet and too steep terrain…
I have plans to fence in a larger area around the house, but that's a lot of work and a lot of money.
Plus i despise the idea of looking at an ugly fence when looking out of the window, its called »wild and wonderful« for a reason.

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

So sorry to read this Frank. People with unresponsible pets don't deserve to have them for reasons like this. I wish you had a game camera pointing to your backyard so you could prove it and call the animal warden on them.

I am thinking about a bunch of cheap cameras, i have seen "surveillance" cameras, battery operated, triggered through motion sensors, storing pictures and videos on SD cards. - Again somebody restricted my budget about a year ago…

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

How many ducks do you have left now Frank? Can you close them all up in that nice building you have for them while you are not home? My neighbors dog even jumped my fence to get to my bunny that it killed years ago. I would not trust anything without a roof over it too as that is why I went out and got all of my TSC pens that I bought for mine. I wouldn't have any if I had not. I pray you can find a solution to keep the rest safe while you are not there.

The final numbers are in: Mr Snotty survived and so did Ralphie Dux, I have lost 10 ducks, three have vanished (Fully, Flauschi and Buffy) and i had to bury seven.
I am now down to twenty ducks, nine females and eleven drakes. Next spring will be interesting…

As an immediate reaction some duck-shelters will be constructed, small "safe-houses" where dux can go inside, but a larger predators can't get in. Also thinking about a dedicated duck door for the dux-house, same idea: Dux fit, dogs won't.
And then some fencing around the house, three/four feet tall with razor-wire on top and electric wire(s) outside.

 

[shawluvsbirds]

Holy smokes I have more dux than you!
Never thought I'd see that day
I am at 28 now after the hawk attacks.

The final numbers are in: Mr Snotty survived and so did Ralphie Dux, I have lost 10 ducks, three have vanished (Fully, Flauschi and Buffy) and i had to bury seven.
I am now down to twenty ducks, nine females and eleven drakes. Next spring will be interesting…

As an immediate reaction some duck-shelters will be constructed, small "safe-houses" where dux can go inside, but a larger predators can't get in. Also thinking about a dedicated duck door for the dux-house, same idea: Dux fit, dogs won't.
And then some fencing around the house, three/four feet tall with razor-wire on top and electric wire(s) outside.