There you see part of my flock. The seven critters on the left are what I refer to as the Seven Musk a Tears. These seven guy and gals all hang out together. I suspect these are the seven that were given to me when Lyn moved into town. There are a white and a spotted that hang out; they were litter mates. Then there are twin gray and whites, a broad banded mallard, a khaki Campbell and another spotted. There is a renegade mallard that is lighter than all the others. He is the one who is in love with the goose. He chases her all over the barnyard trying to kiss her. All this to the consternation of her husband! But that is another story for another time. The big bird on the right is an African Gray Goose.
The point I am trying to make here is that much like people, the birds in my flock tend to sort of mate for life. They stay in the group they grew up in and like it that way. Much like we, as humans, cling to our roots. The difference being, we can defend ourselves and my flock is just part of the food chain. Mother fox, you know the cute little Red Fox that is indigenous to this area, had herself 3 babies this spring. Oh, don't we all know how hungry those babies can be!
At the height of my flockiness, I had 36 ducks and 10 geese. This morning I counted 14 ducks and somewhere there is a satisfied family of Foxes. It was one thing when the foxes were eating the nasty old drakes, but yesterday one of my little twins disappeared. That broke my heart. Did you ever give any thought to a duck's defense mechanism? They waddle when they walk, they have 2 wings and a rounded beak. No defense their. When they sense danger the stop stock still and do not move. Well, that makes no sense at all. But it is what they do.
Some people are of the assumption that foxes hunt at night. They may very well do that, but they also hunt during the day. They hunt whenever the food source is available. Just happens to be daytime around here. As much as I would like to be able to stand guard over the flock, I do have other obligations. So, I guess I am open for suggestions on what would be the best solution for all concerned here.
The foxes need to eat. The Ducks need to survive. Trapping the foxes on an acre of ground is almost a virtual impossibility. Keeping the ducks inside a fox proof house is cruel and out of the question. So, I am open for suggestions here. Ideal would be if you would come to my house, catch the fox and take it home with you! Right now, I have thought and thought and my brain may explode.
2 comments:
that's what you call the circle of life, and it's a shame you had to lose the one that broke your heart, sadness,
think of something that would eat the fox.
well what eat's a fox and when you find out put it their that will solve the fox problem, chain food of reactions
Post a Comment