I am feeling terrible about the ducks. It is like the ten green bottles song - one by one they have gone off and I am left with only one duck in the duck house tonight.
For some reason they are disorientated - we should maybe have kept them locked up for longer - but they have refused to accept our garden and field as home and have headed off - they haven't been attacked by anything, they have just decided to leave.
I found one in the copse, caught it and that is the one in the duckhouse, another has turned up in the farmyard of a farm over the hill and is spending the night there in a rabbit hutch and we will go and pick it up in the morning, I spotted two about two fields away and hopefully we will track them down tomorrow, I haven't seen the final one at all. I find it very odd as the ducks we had before all went around in a seemless cluster - they were never alone.
Craig, who gave us the ducks, is coming over tomorrow morning to see if he can find them. I just feel like a useless duck keeper.
3 comments:
I looked on your site yesterday to see if you had any update. This is sad news.
If you herd them up will it not help to keep them locked up a bit until they settle - or fence them around their duck house until they've sort of bonded?
Maybe the Indian Runners are more independent as a breed and don't flock particularly well - you get some sheep like that.
Good luck - I'll keep fingers crossed
Heather
Craig - my hero of the day - took his two dogs down to the burn today and found two of the ducks - he returned with them under his arms and we have put them in the duckhouse.
So tonight we have 4 back on home ground. Tomorrow morning we shall put mesh on the top of the wee run we had made them to stop them flying out - it turns out that their wings hadn't been clipped after their moult - hence their ability to fly very well.
Craig is vaguely confident that the final one turn up and we will put the word about - white indian runner ducks are fairly distinctive.
Friends are very great things - particularly when they will wade through nettles and burns to trek down your ducks(and will allow you to have them back).
Hello Jane,
I've just come over from Lisa's and have been taking a look at your blog, it's beautiful and very interesting. So pleased to see you have recovered 4 of your escapee's, let's hope the other one returns unscathed. Sounds like you have sussed out how to keep the blighters in now. Good luck.
Will return to follow the adventure.
Carolyn
Post a Comment