[babe]

having been locked in for days, late yesterday afternoon, i had to let everyone out and do a god clean.

i let them have a good wander and seeing them having a good stretch i came in to get on with the Christmas wrapping watching them out of the window.

i have the whole family on boxing day and me and mum decided to make everyone a giant stocking, so nearly 200 gifts to wrap i got engrossed with what i was doing.

no excuses, i totally forgot to put everyone away.

the 12 chickens always put themselves to bed, but the two ducks, buttercup and primrose ned a litle push.

i went to bed shortly before 1am, about 1.15am i heard a strange bang, followed by quacking.

i grabbed my boots, and a torch and ran up to the chicken garden, face to face with a fox. it stopped dead still in the torch light, and was quite a big fox. stupidly i ran at it and it darted to the back fence and cleared it in one bound.

he'd had a go at both ducks, the blood standing out against their white feathers.

i brought them both in, showered them down and had a good look.

buttercup has two small nasty little gashes one on his back and one under his wing.
primrose has a long gash along her tummy, though not so deep.

they have stayed in the bath all night and are still there, they have both been eating and drinking this morning, but i dont want to put them back out until ive treated them to stop infection.

can anyone suggest whats best to treat them, neither are serious but i still want to do whats best.

i know its all my fault, and i know i will never forfet them again.

i even have a foxwatch, and it made no difference.

i feel so guilty, its unreal :cry:

[Bodger]

Get some of the purple spray antiseptic and dress the wounds and hope for the best. :cry:

I did mention a while ago that people shouldn't put too much faith in the high frequency deterrants. Put a good Indian curry infront of me and you could zap me with all sorts but I reckon I'd still get it. :roll:

[babe]

hi, i purple sprayed them last night.

ive just given them both a good clean and sprayed them again.

fingers crossed the shock hasnt hurt them too.

[Bodger]

Try and keep them warm for a day or two. if they can still walk without limps and the like, you may have been lucky.

Have a look at the bite and get the antiseptic right in there. Foxes eat all sorts of filth and from experience, the bites quite often become infected.

I've used the udder tubes that farmers use on their cows for mastitus to get right into the actual puncture wounds, to good effect .

[Foxy]

Hello happyvalley -what a shock! sounds like you might have got away with it. Keep an eye on those wounds any heat, pus, swelling take straight to the vet. I'd be extra careful the fox now knows you have poultry.
Perhaps some detterents placed around your chicken area? an old sweater perhaps I've heard sticking clothes around in different places confuses them. Have you an OH who could you know....foxes hate that!!

[chickychick]

Im sorry you had such a horrible time with that fox.  Dont blame yourself to much we are only human after all.

I had a fox in my garden last week, heard a comotion coming from the chickens went out to see a fox leaping over the fence away from my garden, chickens were in their coop but obviously it had done something to make them go nuts like that so that I could hear them from the house.

I had been considering gettign a fox watch as a Christmas pressy but this had stopped that!

Oddy enough the following night I thought the fox was back cause there was a racket again but it was a big owl sitting almost on top of the coop screeching and the chickens were squaking like crazy as you can imagine!
sheesh its like wildlife attack out there !!
hope your ducks are ok fingers crossed for you

[Aunt Sally]

Nasty experience happyvalley.  I hope the ducks recover  
Nothing to add to the treatments suggested !

Strangly, I still have faith in the FoxWatch, but great care has to be given to siting and powering it.  If it's not on the mains supply it will gobble up batteries.  I check every day that mine is working.  It makes an audible clicking noise and the red light comes on when triggered.

[Jellyhead]

So sorry for you Happyvalley. I hope they recover. I take it you dont have a dog??

[slowef]

Oh poor you but don't beat yourself up it happens.  :?

 I hope they are ok, if they have a bad leg don't worry I rescued a duck with a bad leg and he is a happy little chap just a bit slower than the others.

Bet you don't forget again :? I was lucky when I forgot to shut the garage (temp accomodation for newbies) they were all ok but I never forget now :oops:
xx

[chickychick]

was the fox watch working ok?

[babe]

my foxwatch seems to be working fine, and i would still advise anyone to get one.  this fox was obviously determined and you can never have to many safeguards in place.

buttercup has a puncture wound on his back and under his right wing, primrose has one on her chest.

they have been thoroughly showered twice (knew there was a reason i installed a shower, i like my baths so never use it) they have nice purple patches and have been happily wandering and chatting all afternoon like nothings happened.

no i dont have an OH, i tried marriage once, turns out i was allergic   . i have asked dad and one of my brothers to p around the garden, was politely told to p off, been freezing today was their excise. did offer them a hot water bottle, didnt help.

no i dont have a dog, horse sheep goat chicken duck poo etc doesnt bother me in the slightest, but dog poo ewww

i have put them all to bed nice and early and buttercup and primrose had an extra puff of wound powder just to make sure.

hopefully i was quick enough that the damage stays minimal with no ong term effects - fingers crossed.

but please no matter how safe you think they are, never forget to shut them in. if a fox is that hungry he will get through, and it makes you feel awful for allowing them to get hurt.

thanks for all the nice comments and not making me feel anymore guilty than i already do. love k

[paddy]

Glad to hear the ducks are OK.  It's awful if fox takes them.

I've never heard of a foxwatch - what is it?

[Selkie]

happyv, how are they doing now? i've been away for a week and have so much to catch up on here.

hope they're still making a good recovery.

i really missed my 'girls' while i was away (and the cats and dog too -- oh and my husband aswell :oops: )

[babe]

hi rosie, hope you had a nice break and feel refreshed and relaxed. welcome back

buttercup and primrose are doing fine, im changing their pool water twice a day just to make sure they dont get any infections and they are both white with pretty purple splashes, thanks to the purple spray.

they dont seem to have been bothered at all, which is great. me on the other hand is in and out of bed all night listening for any disturbances.

i was very lucky, as it could have been so much worse, not a mistake i will ever make again.

love k x

[Esme]

Hi - you don't need a bloke to "water" around the edges - yours will work too. Female animals mark their territory too, and are often the dominant being anyway.
Hope your duckies make a full recovery, I'm sure they will.