Allotment Gardening Advice Help Chat
Poultry and Pets => The Hen House => Topic started by: Prod on August 05, 2013, 08:33
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Something got into my duck pen last night and wiped them out. 3 call ducks, 8 ducklings and 2 runner ducks. I found the runners dead at the bottom of the field but no sign of any of the calls and very few feathers or blood but a gaping hole where they/it had chewed through the fence. I am hoping some of the calls escaped as they were almost fully grown and I had not clipped their wings. I searched the field next to mine this morning but found nothing and I am going across the other fields to see if they managed to get to the pond......... Oh well.... :( :( :(
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Oh what an awful thing to discover first thing in the day, heres hoping some of them will have escaped
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We're so very sorry. Its always awful when something like this happens. We do hope you find some of them. :(
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So sorry - what an awful start to your day.
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So sorry for you ! I had the same thing happen a while back to a pen of buff orps :mad:
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I think it must be mink or stoat as a fox could have jumped the fence. I am hoping some survived by flying off but I feel so guilty and gutted. I had 2 people wanting the ducklings so I have had to tell them too. I think I will leave it a while before I decide whether to restock and just continue with the chickens for now. thanks for the support & comments.... :mellow: :mellow:
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I'm so sorry Prod, it is so difficult to get the right balance between space/freedom for your birds and security. If the hole was large it could have been badger, they have been know to climb fences as well to get at poultry. :(
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I'm so sorry Prod, it is so difficult to get the right balance between space/freedom for your birds and security. If the hole was large it could have been badger, they have been know to climb fences as well to get at poultry. :(
I think it was a stoat as I saw one earlier in the year around about 5pm, which I know is unusual, and the hole in the fencing is only small. I am sure some of the calls must have got away as there are no dead ones and very few feathers around. What suprises me is that Gus & Sweetpea, the runners, were out of the pen so they must have flew/jumped 4ft to do so. There were no marks that I could see on Gus but quite a bit of blood on Sweetpea. I am going to bait some traps tonight and see if I catch anything......
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I think birds are easily frightened to death (heart attack) so that might be the cause.
Good luck with your trapping.
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Awww Prod so sorry to hear this! :( :(
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So sorry Prod :( Hope you catch the culprit.
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So sorry Prod, it's awful .
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So sorry to here this. It's an awful thing to find.
Good luck catching the culprit.
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Thanks I set traps last night but nothing today.. It is just weird that there are so few feathers, no blood etc and yet they have all gone..... :( :(
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If the culprits have stored the food it will be a while before they will be back.