You recall my telling you back in September 2013 that we woke one morning to find that three ducks had appeared on our property out of the blue. Well, they stayed. And stayed. And stayed.
They obviously liked it here. And they liked us :)
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| Quack, Quacker and Quaker in action hunting out insects in my capsicum patch |
It was just gone.
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| The new duck enclosure with a pepper tree in the centre which will provide them with a modicum of safety and plenty of shade as it grows. |
We are aware there are predators in the area - large owls, rooikat, otters, free roaming dogs and foxes - we saw one run across the highway right in front of the car on the way to town a couple of weeks ago.
But, because the ducks weren't ours, we didn't lock them up at night.
Until the one went missing.
That changed everything.
Suddenly, the remaining two are ours - 6 months worth of possession, feeding and general care-taking makes them so. And, obviously the owner wasn't missing them...
And we don't want anything to happen to these two.
Every evening they had been waddling themselves off to the unfinished shadecloth veggie patch structure at the top of the garden, and burrowing under the weed guard which lined the floor, they put themselves to bed every night. But, it wasn't secure. And that is exactly where we think the one was snatched from.
They tend to hang around the alpacas every day, so we constructed them an enclosure right next to the fence of Kris' paddock.
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| A straw-filled sleeping area, a water bowl filled with fresh water, a drainage channel to prevent the whole area flooding when next we have heavy rain, and four protective walls - our duck enclosure LOL |
They now have a (albeit a bit rough and ready) covered area where they can sleep, a repurposed stainless steel sink for fresh water, and 4 walls (fences) around the perimeter to keep them safer. We debated making a shadecloth roof, but decided for now that we wouldn't.
And, instead of using the recycled sink for fresh drinking water, the idiots both climbed into it together and started paddling - round and round in circles. I almost wet myself when I saw them at it. But it gave me an idea...
Even though we have our beautiful large rainwater dam 'just down the drag' they had, previously, spent their days paddling in a pond full of unmentionable water - an overflow from our septic tank which had never been completed. RMan kept chucking a spoonful of chlorine in it every so often at night, but I have HATED that "pond" for far too long, and, finally, I could take no more.
I put my foot down!
Last Monday we called out the cleansing department at the town council to drain the tank of it's revolting contents, and that means the "overflow pond" will now dry up and allow us access in order to add some pipe to create a proper underground soak away.
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| A handful of duck food got them inside on the first evening |
The ducks weren't keen to suddenly enter a restricted area, so a handful of duck food was the bribe.
The next morning they exited the enclosure with very muted quacks. Not happy. Not happy at all. "Whaaaaaaaaat happened to our freedom? Don't 'cha humans know we're free range and free spirited...?"
But they were safe, and that's all that matters.
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| The recycled kitchen sink I had scored through Freecycle was the perfect size for their fresh water requirements. I even placed some bricks in one area - so that they could toddle "upstairs" to get to the water. |
Even though we have our beautiful large rainwater dam 'just down the drag' they had, previously, spent their days paddling in a pond full of unmentionable water - an overflow from our septic tank which had never been completed. RMan kept chucking a spoonful of chlorine in it every so often at night, but I have HATED that "pond" for far too long, and, finally, I could take no more.
I put my foot down!
Last Monday we called out the cleansing department at the town council to drain the tank of it's revolting contents, and that means the "overflow pond" will now dry up and allow us access in order to add some pipe to create a proper underground soak away.
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| The bath needed a good clean to get rid of all the soil it contained |
We had removed the bath from the bathroom in our old Hout Bay house when we modernised it, and, after getting it here with the movers, I had buried the bath and was unsuccessfully growing (or should that be drowning) herbs in it. It was time to repurpose that again too.
It would make an ideal "pond" for the ducks.
As I want to be able to drain the bath when the water gets seriously foul (fowl?) and needs changing, we have installed it above ground, and have clad the outside with left over wood from the paddock fences in order to camouflage, as much as possible, the apparition that it is.
Because of the height above ground (as opposed to above sea level LOL) I have also provided them with a ramp to waddle up in order to access the water in the bath.
I was getting disheartened that they didn't like their new pond, and would never find it, and was even contemplating catching them with some bird netting in order to introduce them to it.
Then, one of the ducks had flew onto the shadecloth "umbrella" yesterday morning - obviously checking out the new territory.
But, it didn't enter the water.
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| Is that a duck in the water...? |
When I walked out last night to feed the ducks and the alpacas their evening meal I saw something white on top of the water. Success!!! It had taken the ducks all of 5 days to discover their new, cleaner pond.
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| ... it is. It is. In fact it's two ducks in the bath. |
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| Waddle, waddle, waddle down the ramp. Wait - I'm coming... ... don't forget to feed us too... (in the foreground is the "pond" of unmentionable water. The ducks had spent their days in the shade beneath the IBR sheeting.) |
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| It just takes one to show the way, then the other one followed ;) |
RMan reckons that they have the pool, and the (shadecloth) umbrella, now all they need is a cocktail or two - served "on the water" so to speak :)
