Duck Slaughter Continues
Jun. 24th, 2004 05:58 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
laura_seabrookBallerina Duck is dead.
I didn't spot it at first. Today is the last day of semester at TAFE, and I'd just got home after shopping at Spotlight, with over $70 of dress material and accessories. My mind was on other things. I herded the ducks into their pens to feed them (though there did seem less of them), and then fed the cats. I went back into the house to get Peggy's food, and when I came out I saw her. She was near a water container, upside down, crushed, with her throat ripped out.
This has been the most upsetting death so far. Nicole, or "Ballerina Duck" as I used to call her, was born with bent wings, which stuck out like she was wearing a Tu-tu. She had a lot of character, and hatched seven ducklings earlier this year. And now she's dead.
I buried her under the trees, next to her cousin Akasha (who was found dead a week ago, and her mother Stinky, who died around Christmas. Then I came back and counted how many ducks I had in the pens -- 12. And that didn't add up. I had 16 ducks a month ago. I found two dead on the same day the other week and with Nicole gone that made 13. So another duck is missing as well. Maybe I'll find the body tomorrow, maybe I won't.
This shows though that Pegasus isn't to blame for this. Over the weekend I put a gate in between the side of the house and the backyard, to keep him separated from the ducks in the daytime while I was at TAFE. And maybe that was a big mistake, because Peggy couldn't get in to defend them either. He was still around the side when I came home, so I know that he hasn't been the killer.
I also know that it wasn't my cats either. Apart from not looking like something any cat would do (Nicole was almost as big as either of mine) Xena has been sleeping inside the house all day. While Gabby can get through the doggy door, Xena never learnt, so she's ruled out as well. And Gabby would be too cautious or lazy to do this.
So there leaves three main suspects -- stray feral cats, rats, or foxes. Rats have attacked my ducks before. When Howard and Donald were only two months old, a pack of rats attacked, though they fought them off (with help from Pegasus, a border, and his dog). Every since I've had two cats, rats have stopped being a problem. Both are territorially protective of the backyard, so it would be unlikely that a stray or feral cat would stay long there. Maybe
though with Xena inside and Peggy unable to intervene, something could have happened.
And that leaves foxes. I have seen foxes in this area in the past, and seen road-kill foxes more than once. And the way that the throat was torn would match this idea. In that case, I may never find the other duck's body, it may have been dragged out into the bush.
All of which means that I feel terrible, that I've let my pets down from all angles. I've failed to protect my ducks from
predators and misjudged my companion animal. Maybe if I'd left the gate open today, Nicole would still be alive, maybe not. Maybe I would have come home and still found her dead, but otherwise untouched, and suspected Peggy of the deed.
Sigh. Not sure what to do about this, apart from make sure that Peggy has access to the backyard. Tomorrow, I'll feed the ducks in their pens, and not let them out until Pegasus and I get back from our walk. Something has to be done.
I didn't spot it at first. Today is the last day of semester at TAFE, and I'd just got home after shopping at Spotlight, with over $70 of dress material and accessories. My mind was on other things. I herded the ducks into their pens to feed them (though there did seem less of them), and then fed the cats. I went back into the house to get Peggy's food, and when I came out I saw her. She was near a water container, upside down, crushed, with her throat ripped out.
This has been the most upsetting death so far. Nicole, or "Ballerina Duck" as I used to call her, was born with bent wings, which stuck out like she was wearing a Tu-tu. She had a lot of character, and hatched seven ducklings earlier this year. And now she's dead.
I buried her under the trees, next to her cousin Akasha (who was found dead a week ago, and her mother Stinky, who died around Christmas. Then I came back and counted how many ducks I had in the pens -- 12. And that didn't add up. I had 16 ducks a month ago. I found two dead on the same day the other week and with Nicole gone that made 13. So another duck is missing as well. Maybe I'll find the body tomorrow, maybe I won't.
This shows though that Pegasus isn't to blame for this. Over the weekend I put a gate in between the side of the house and the backyard, to keep him separated from the ducks in the daytime while I was at TAFE. And maybe that was a big mistake, because Peggy couldn't get in to defend them either. He was still around the side when I came home, so I know that he hasn't been the killer.
I also know that it wasn't my cats either. Apart from not looking like something any cat would do (Nicole was almost as big as either of mine) Xena has been sleeping inside the house all day. While Gabby can get through the doggy door, Xena never learnt, so she's ruled out as well. And Gabby would be too cautious or lazy to do this.
So there leaves three main suspects -- stray feral cats, rats, or foxes. Rats have attacked my ducks before. When Howard and Donald were only two months old, a pack of rats attacked, though they fought them off (with help from Pegasus, a border, and his dog). Every since I've had two cats, rats have stopped being a problem. Both are territorially protective of the backyard, so it would be unlikely that a stray or feral cat would stay long there. Maybe
though with Xena inside and Peggy unable to intervene, something could have happened.
And that leaves foxes. I have seen foxes in this area in the past, and seen road-kill foxes more than once. And the way that the throat was torn would match this idea. In that case, I may never find the other duck's body, it may have been dragged out into the bush.
All of which means that I feel terrible, that I've let my pets down from all angles. I've failed to protect my ducks from
predators and misjudged my companion animal. Maybe if I'd left the gate open today, Nicole would still be alive, maybe not. Maybe I would have come home and still found her dead, but otherwise untouched, and suspected Peggy of the deed.
Sigh. Not sure what to do about this, apart from make sure that Peggy has access to the backyard. Tomorrow, I'll feed the ducks in their pens, and not let them out until Pegasus and I get back from our walk. Something has to be done.
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Fox?
Date: 2004-06-24 03:45 pm (UTC)It might be a neighborhood dog or cat or perhaps one of the native cats (chudich, quoll, etc) but that doesn't sound too likely if the carcass wasnt eaten. Hmmmm.
One traditional WA remedy for foxes it to keep a Peahen with your poultry. An adult Peahen is large enough to see off a fox but isn't a problem for ducks and chickens.
Chin up Laura.
Cheers,
Steveg
no subject
Date: 2004-06-24 04:40 pm (UTC)I found a gap in the back fence this morning. I intend to plug it and see what happens.