Very sad day... I lost 12 Ancona ducks to hunters on POSTED land.

[Bligh]

You should contact your local authorities and get them to check all the local Chinese food restaurants, as they have alot of duck dishes. I'm serious. Our local game warden said this is a real problem with asian food restaurant owners poaching game and even road kill (as was recently on the news). Since the carcasses of your ducks were taken, this points to someone who wanted the meat. Just kids playing around or being mean wouldn't have bothered to take the carcasses. were there any tire tracks? if so, take detailed pictures for comparison to any suspects that you come up with. btw, we're a good two hour drive from a town big enough to have a chinese restaurant, but that didn't deter the ones my game warden was speaking of. Or it could be someone local that knew your schedual. I hope you catch them, that is just awful! ~ Aspen

....are you seriously suggesting that the perpetrators were Chinese, because 'they have a lot of duck dishes'? So, in your mind, owning a Chinese food restaurant is enough to make you a suspect in 'pet poaching', am I reading that right?

What happened here was a reckless and thoughtless act. Suggesting the people responsible are of a certain ethnicity, with no facts to support this viewpoint, is overtly racist, pure and simple, especially when you add hearsay about people of this same ethnicity 'poaching game and road kill' to serve in a restaurant.

Duck Owner, I hope you find the creeps responsible.

 

[sourland]

....are you seriously suggesting that the perpetrators were Chinese, because 'they have a lot of duck dishes'? So, in your mind, owning a Chinese food restaurant is enough to make you a suspect in 'pet poaching', am I reading that right?

What happened here was a reckless and thoughtless act. Suggesting the people responsible are of a certain ethnicity, with no facts to support this viewpoint, is overtly racist, pure and simple, especially when you add hearsay about people of this same ethnicity 'poaching game and road kill' to serve in a restaurant.

Duck Owner, I hope you find the creeps responsible.

Agreed on all points.

 

[Lady Ressler]

I apologies for my late responses to these questions.

as celtic mentioned where was your dog when all of this happened?

and im confused how did someone kill 17 of your ducks if you only had 15 on the pond to begin with (and you mention 3 of them came to you)

I am sorry I am saying this, but I am doubting this story from the beginning.

15 cant become 17

if you had 15, three are left then 12 vanished.

did you find shell casings? They fall from shot guns when fired. Many hunters dont retrieve them.

you mentioned blood and feathers, this says it could have been any predator (fox, dog, cyote or human included)

holes in the story just dont equal the end

mentioned a great pyrenees..................then nothing of the dog

My great pyrs wont let anyone or thing harm their birds. My male would die defending them.

again sorry to doubt if it is true

As for the Great Pyrenees, when he was a pup, he was around a huge construction site just over the hill from our house giving him lots of interaction with people. The construction is part of why we moved. We lived out in the country at a rental farmstead to stay away from city noises and to have privacy. When the construction crews showed up and we found out they would be there for 3-4 more years, we decided to move. So my dog was used to people coming in and out all the time by the time we moved to our current location. I am grateful for this interaction with people since I wanted him to guard my livestock and not be danger to people that visit.
I did find shell casings and I find it hard to believe that 12 ducks just vanish at once.

As for the number discrepancy, I have /had 17 ducks total. I keep 2 in the coop with my chickens because I don't want to take ANY chances with these two. One is a hen which is very dear to my heart and the other is a crested drake I wanted to breed her with. That leaves 15 ducks I allowed to free range out on my pond. After the loss, that leaves three ducks in the pond, and two in my coop. This leaves me with a total of five ducks left. I apologies for the 15, 17 difference. I still refer(ed) to my flock number being 17 even though they are separated.

I don't know the OP, personally, I assume she had permission to use the pond, if she didn't own the land herself. She said she had those ducks there for quite some time with no problem. It doesn't sound like the pond was hidden and was close to her home. The land was posted, she said.
I once read about someone shooting someone's Pekins because they wanted to train their dog to retrieve. I think it happened in a similar way it happened here. I think they were caught in the act or via a game cam. At first, they claimed it was a simple ID mistake, but fessed up to it later.

The pond is not 200 yards away from my house, I can see it from my kitchen window, it is posted, and it is ours. There was no permission given to anyone to hunt there. I appreciate you giving me the benefit of the doubt.

This was not ment to be a woe is me story. This was supposed to be a vent to my friends at backyard chickens. I only defend myself because I want people to see me as a person who loves and has a serious interest in chickens, ducks, and other birds. Not someone to be doubted and seen as a liar.

Am I angry at these questions? Maybe a little but my information was contradicting so I can understand those questions.

Thank you and my apologies for the contradictions.

 

[Mrs. Fluffy Puffy]

Quote:
I didn't say the poachers were Chinese. you said that. I was just offering a suggestion based on two true stories that I knew about where restaurant employees were sent out to find cheap meat. My stories were from our local game warden and the main stream media reports. I have nothing against any ethnic group, but I do have a serious problem with poachers and was trying to offer another idea for this poster to follow up on. Please don't read any more into it than that. ~ Aspen

 

[sourland]

Lady Ressler, apologies on your part are not needed. There are others who should apologize to you. Once again, I am very sorry for your loss and the action of these 'non-hunters'.

 

[CelticOaksFarm]

Thanks for clarifying everything. Sorry your pyr was too use to humans to guard against those who meant harm. Since it is private land, and they are domestic animals the sheriff should take a report for poaching of livestock, as that's what has happened. Most states has laws to help protect farms from stupidity like this.

 

[Haunted55]

I am so very sorry about your ducks.

 

[Nyssa03]

so sorry for your loss! I hope they are caught. We got some nice Ancona's from Oregon-- Boondockers (or something like that) - they got their stock from Holderreads.

 

[Evelle]

Oh no I'm so sorry..
My husband told me of a story when they had chickens a man who lost his home started eatting their chickens. Never caught him and never could prove it. But they just knew in their hearts that was the case.
Sorry for your loss it sounded like it was an act of pure vandalism. Any REAL hunter would know the diffeance between what they are to hunt and what a pet duck looks like
People are getting desperate these days, and I'm sorry you got the short end of the stick

 

[satay]

I am sorry for your loss. Does posted land mean land owned privately? I have never heard that term before.