Empty Nest

So all of our lovely ducks are gone. This really has been quite heart breaking for us. We purchased 5 ducklings last spring and raised them in a brooder and were pleasantly surprised to find that ducks are amazing pets not to mention their eggs are larger and better for you than chicken eggs. Even more amazing they loved playing with Roadie, chased her and her ball, and were quite affectionate to Walter and followed him where ever he went.

Sadly early last fall we lost one of the Blue Swedes (male) in the night to a racoon when the ducks were accidentally left out of their coop and it made us realize how vulnerable our little buddies were.

Over the year they weathered really well in the cold winter and very late spring but in May we lost the Rowan (Malard looking male) to another racoon when it seemed he didn't get put away with the others. This was a shock because he was a big chaser of Roadie and endless fun to watch. Two weeks later something got the male Pekin in the coop and with our hearts really broken at his passing we began to be really fearful for our last two ducks but at a loss of what to do with them in the mean time. We couldn't figure out how the racoon had gotten the Pekin. Two nights later Walter came home very late to hear a big bang in the coop. He went running with rifle in hand to find that a racoon was in the coop and that it had come in through the roof. It attempted to make a wild escape but with a few shots Walter had killed the animal that had been part of, if not a main reason for, the torment our chickens and ducks over the past year (we went from 12 chickens to 3 in one week). The satisfaction was short lived because Walter soon found that our last two ducks, the girls, were really bad off. The Blue Swedish was in such bad shape we "took care of her" right away and tried to have high hopes for the female Pekin. The vet however took one look at her and sadly said that she would need to be put down.

It seemed so quiet without them and for a couple weeks I would find myself looking for them when I came home to see where they were waddling today. Walter and I both agree that we won't get any more chickens or ducks until we build a new chicken coop. The one we have is too old and really needs to be reinforced. Luckly the chickens have been very self sufficent and have been roosting high in our outbuilding away from predators. Who knows when we will get to a new coop but I hope it can be a project next summer because it really just doesn't seem like home without them.