Parrotchick - Glad to know everything is well with them! Isn't it funny how they are with water? I noticed that sometimes mine REALLY want to get in it, but they aren't sure.. I'm so happy that they found a happy home.
The ducks have gone to bed for the night, but before that they invaded the chicken run. They were making me nervous because they kept popping up in random places because they found the stream and were following it, so I nixed that idea and put them in their house. They complained and berated me until I let them into the enclosed chicken run with a pool in it and food. Then they merely mumbled their insults.
I will be putting a fence up for them tomorrow so I can control their stream-going. The geese use it for dips and then leave usually to play in their pool, but the ducks are obsessed with it and are ignoring their pool. I suppose I will have to give them daily supervised access to the stream, but I get nervous when they're wandering everywhere on the property and haven't even been here for a week.
I would like you all to know that legal action will not be taken, despite how much I would like it to. I am in college though, and no one will listen to me if I have gotten a family that has been good to the community in serious trouble for what people just think are "livestock" around here. My mother has ties to the family and they are down on their luck apparently and their brother, the trucker, is "simple". She has talked to them and ensured that they know that this was inherently wrong and illegal. The whole town has been informed of this too, via gossip. I would love to hurt these people, but I want to go further with this and I want to be able to educate people and have them learn from this. I want to be able to prevent these sort of things and not punish one person once for it. In all honesty, it would take a lot of time and effort into getting them prosecuted with anything because of where we are. The park police technically have jurisdiction over this and tend to not want to be involved in town matters. So, I would have to weave through their hoops for a while, testify, etc.. Instead, I am taking that time and putting it towards contacting news agencies and creating a website where people can learn about this.
I know this is not fair and these people should be charged, but my hands are tied. My mother prefers I don't start a war because things could get nasty with the type of people we have in our town. I love my ducks and I do not like those people and think they should be punished, but having to face their community is a punishment they will have to deal with. Hopefully they will see the publicity I hope to generate and be shameful about it. I want other ducks to get something out of this too, and even if I prevent only a few more dumpings, it's more than I would've if I had dwelled on getting the guy fined/arrested for the entire summer. I wish I could do both, but it's not possible.
PS, I am still saving up all duck poop. it may just happen to fall out in their yard.. WHOOPS!
