There's nothing they can do with a fox as it's classed as vermin, which makes it illegal to release one back to the wild if you do nurse it back to health. Getting a vet to come out and put it down does nothing much for their image either.
It could have proved to be a vital meal for an injured fox. That's the way nature works.
Eh? Can you clarify that?
I assume you mean mallard? Just enjoy them - and be grateful for their appetite for slugs :-)
Mary
You could also ask the experts on sci.agriculture.poultry.
Mary
In message , RedOnRed writes
Even proximity to water is no guarantee of survival. The MIL lives across the road from a large pond that supports several pairs of adult ducks, coot and moorhens. Ducks and ducklings visit her garden several times a day to scrounge. The duckling attrition rate can be two or three a day, and a sometimes an entire brood falls prey to cats, rats, herons, traffic, etc.
My sister once gave some duck eggs to one of her hens to hatch. All was well until she (i.e. my sister) made a makeshift pond out of a tractor tyre and plastic sheet. The mother hen went berserk trying to keep the little ones out of the water!
That's what I like about this group :-) Whatever the problem, someone will come back with the right answer ;-)
Dave
The message from Dave contains these words:
And lots of wrong ones, too.
More likely to be magpies that do the killing. This theory is only based on the poor ducklings that were short lived in my parents garden some 20 years ago. Magpies are worse than cats.
Adam
Rather poor timing, but we've just had roast duck tonight.
It was very nice though. I might spare our little guests from the same fate, although it's going to take a lot of self restraint.
Magpies are sods. So are squirrels.
You will soon need something bigger than the baking tray. Ducks being water creatures, don't have feet and legs designed for long periods on land. If the water is not deep enough for them to swim, then they have to use their feet and legs to the extent that it will harm them.
Hmm, that's an interesting point.
At the moment they're probably in the safest place possible conducive for survival and seem very happy.
Yes they are, we have three two week old bantam chicklets, hatched by a foster mother. I wisely restricted them to quite a large run with their coop attached. It's very sturdy and Spouse fixed 1/2 mesh for six inches up round the bottom of the run mesh so that they couldn't get out. and nothing can get in.
The magpies aren't able to get in because of this tunnel-like run but they spend a lot of time sitting on it and in various places round it. I know they'd take the little ones if they could, they're taking a daughter's baby chicks even though not many are hatching because the jackdaws take the eggs (she has 18 hens on her farm).
At first the foster mother hen and another, outside the run, were very protective, they'd run head down towards the magpies in a threatening attitude but if there'd been two or three magpies they wouldn't have been able to see all of them off. The only protection in our case is the run. The magpies don't seem to have got the message yet that they don't stand a chance. The hens are sanguine about them now, they're more intelligent than the corvids, and I'm letting the magpies be happy sitting around until we get an air riflle later this week.
Mary
You still haven't tried asking the experienced people on sci.agriculture.poultry ... shall I do it for you?
Mary
In message , Chris Bacon writes
Careful, I got two death threats for suggesting that a month or two ago.
If you don't mind.
Thanks.
Done.
Mail me your addy and I'll send you replies.
Mary
Juts keep fattening till ready for the baking tin.
They are. Only suitable for currying.
The only advice they seem to be able to impart is :
a) how to build an empire and
b) How to get said creature into their clutches to kill as soon as possible.
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