May08

Thursday, 1st

Not a good start to the new month, although it really happened yesterday: Sweetie is gone.

We only missed her at bed time, but we think she must have been taken in the morning or early afternoon while we were out, because I could see and hear the 2 groups all afternoon and evening.

I did look twice when I could only see 8 in their favourite puddle, but as one or other of them often root around out of sight somewhere I didn't worry then.

We are in a dilemma now. Circle's eye looked like this today, so much better.

If we put the 2 groups back together within the electrified fence will the whole thing start again and will she suffer Chissit's fate? If we leave the group of now 8 running free around the house as before they are certainly more open to attack.

I checked back to when the most losses to the foxes occurred. The first one was our last chicken, Edna, on 31st March 2004. Rudolpho had his fight with the fox - the after effects of which eventually killed him - around 25th April 2005. Epi was taken 13th May 2005, Valentino soon after on 21st May 2005 and Gertie on 24th June 2005.

Splodge was the first victim in 2006 on 23rd April; a neighbour actually saw him being carried off. Lily on 13th May 2006 and Chequers soon after we got her on 3rd August. The only one we lost to the fox in 2007 was Clarence, quite early in the year on 25th March, and now Sweetie starting this year off. Around May certainly appears the most dangerous time [ vixen feeding young] and much as I dread it, I shall have to risk further injury from the drakes and put them all together in the electrified enclosure.

On a lighter note, the empty waterhen's nest pictured on 28th April was a decoy. The real McCoy is in the bunch of reeds in the right hand container - as I found out last night:

I counted 4 eggs so far.

Friday, 2nd May 2008

"There's a dead duck underneath the hut" shouted John at lunchtime. Oh heavens, no, not another. I ran out and could see at once that it was Sweetie, John had pulled her out from under the duck hut up here next to the garage. John thought she had been bitten, but to me it looked as if a patch of feathers had been pulled out from her back. And then there was movement and Florrie appeared from under the hut. She'd been hanging around in the duck enclosure all morning - I thought at one time when I counted just 7 that she had been taken as well.

I feel just terrible. It does appear now that Sweetie had been under the hut since Wednesday night, well hidden I must say, as we both had looked around extensively trying to find her. It seems we blamed the foxes too soon.

What upsets me most is thinking that Florrie must have spent lots of time sitting near her "guarding" her; she came out from under the hut when I went to put this lot to bed last night and I just thought she'd been hiding away from the boys. No wonder I had awful trouble as they just didn't want to go into the hut. They must have thought I was stupid not noticing what was up.

We don't know how old Sweetie was as she came from a rescue centre. Was she sick or just old? The thought of Sweetie lying poorly under the hut for maybe two days/nights with only Florrie for company makes me feel very bad. Could we have helped her if we'd found her sooner? WHEN did she die? Questions I'll probably never know the answers to.

Saturday, 3rd May 2008

It's Florrie I'm really worried about now, and the way she couldn't even walk when we got her out from under the hut makes me fear that she won't survive the night. We put her into John's shed in a box with clean bedding, food and water, but I don't hold out much hope. Had a good feel while I was holding her to see if she could be egg-bound, but I couldn't feel an egg. I am now wondering whether she and Sweetie picked up poison from somewhere. Only last week 5 of them got into a neighbour's garden through a hole in the hedge - were there some slug pellets? Or had the rats we've seen again recently got something to do with it. We don't use any kinds of poison, but we don't know what our neighbours do. Thinking back to last year when we found an almost dead, big rat in the middle of the path within the duck enclosure makes me wonder if it had anything to do with Chissit's death, who really was getting better at the time. Apparently rat poison works long time causing inner bleeding to the rat, but the poison is still active during this time and any contact with it by dog, cat or duck could have an effect. Come to think of it there was also a smaller rat floating in the duck pond. It's all speculation and it doesn't ease my worries.

I had not expected such a deterioration in Florrie when I went to clean the hut in the morning. I took some photos:

She came out again from where the arrow is pointing [Sweetie was found on the opposite side] and stood at the edge of the pond for a while. Then she went for a swim, first on her own and also when the others came back:

She didn't look all that bad to me, particularly when she went out with the others and I saw her later under the broom where Gertie had used to do some nesting. I really did think she might be broody - until I saw her coming out from under the hut tonight and she could only propel herself along on her belly.

Sunday, 4th May 2008

She was dead this morning. She hadn't moved at all from where we settled her last night, had touched neiter food nor water. I HAD secretely hoped Florrie would be better this morning after a rest on her own.

Duck keeping is no fun when they die on you.

Sunday, 11th May 2008 Helmut's birthday remembered

I've had worried enquiries about the ducks, so I thought I'd better write an update.

Our neighbour Gladys assures us that no slug pellets have been used in her garden, and as our ducks have been in nobody else's garden as far as I know we can count that out. As regards the rats - if Sweetie and Florrie had contact with them it's more likely that they've picked up some disease from where they've been rather than eating or nibbling them. We should have had a post mortem done to be sure.

But the others are fine. With the glorious summer weather all week we've been outside every day and been keeping a close eye on them - which is how John found out who's been demolishing his trays of young lettuces in the cold frame! Caught them at it 'red handed', he said, they were all right inside the frame. So he's put up some defences - Circle and Primmie are standing in front of the frame in this pic:

Can you see how much better Circle's left eye is? You can see it in this photo, too:

It's nearly as good as her right eye now which you can see here, below:

You may note that some of the girls' feathers look ruffled with fright - that's because I'd been pursuing them with the camera for quite a while [trying to get some decent shots for Annie to paint].

The villain of the piece, Captain, spends quite a bit of time trying to find a way through the E-fence and do some more damage:

That doesn't mean to say that the other two boys are little lambs. The other day John was mowing within the E-fence but had left a gap after pushing the mower through. There was mayhem at the duck pond within a very short time with the white girls [Anabelle's too fast] shrieking rape and pillage. I had to come to their rescue.

Otherwise it looks very peaceful at the duck pond:

The top arrow points to the waterhen leaving the nest [with 5or 6 eggs] as I approach, and the bottom left one is pointing to a couple of strappy leaves outside of the netting I put up, and I'm hoping fervently that it's one of the bullrushes sprouting. The two fence pegs and lines are still floating around there, and the reeds in the two containers are flowering, can you see?

In the second picture below John's first row of potatoes can be seen to be through, just in front of where the ducks are - no doubt due to the week of lovely weather.

It has been almost too hot for us all of a sudden. The ducks always find shade somewhere, under the cherry tree or in the orchard:

And Harlequin thought she was better off UNDER her chair:

Friday, 23rd May 2008

Last Sunday night at ducky bed time I saw something black in the waterhens' nest. How lovely, I thought, babies in time for Eleanor's birthday! Of course I took some pictures on the 19th and again this morning:

I saw both parents leave the nest area as I went down to release our ducky quintett, closely followed by this baby which got out very well with the aid of spreading its tiny wings.

Next came a smaller baby which had trouble getting out to follow mum and dad. It swam back to the nest and it looked as if it was calling for assistance -

which came! And the two of them swam to the side together.

They both looked up the steep slope where mum and dad had disappeared, and the little one seemed to say "I can't get up there!" Bigger baby then showed it where to go.

Little one tried a little further to the right - still without success - and then, finally, made it to the top and into the grass where mum had been calling.

Right from the start our ducks showed no interest in the little ones; I'm sure they are well used to the waterhens as fellow inhabitants of the pond and tolerate them - it's when the mallards fly in they kick up a racket!

It's half past 3 in the afternoon now, and I've just heard and seen a heavy shower of rain coming down - AT LAST!!

The limp that has been slowing Blob down a little over the last 3 days is hardly noticeable now. It never stopped him having a go at Decibels, though, we can frequently hear her shrieking!