Evil Ducks and the Dock of Death

16 years ago

Ok, here's a sad, amusing, and annoying story...

Last year, I joined the crew of a sailboat, and we race twice a week. We have a long dock, and I've taken to treating it as an extension of my balcony, and have spent a lot of time picking out plants and tending them, just to bring a little joy and color to the place... like you do...

So, it's racing day today... I'm walking to the dock, and I'm actually thinking about the plants I put in the big pot on the dock. I get to the dock... Down the way I see... the pot has no flowers. There's a ring of dirt around it. I'm standing there staring at it, trying to comprehend what I'm seeing. Skipper shows up and says, what are you staring at and I point to the flower pot. He says, someone stole the flowers? Someone had to have dug them up and stolen them! But I notice a withered dead plant near the pot, and say, there's a dead one, doesn't seem like anyone stole them.... I walk over to the pot... and I can see there's about 6 inches of soil missing.... and there... in the bottom.... 2 duck eggs.

These foul fowl beasties kicked out all my soil, laid all my flowers in the bottom, and nested on it! Guess it was too pretty!

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Comments (15)

jenny_in_se_pa
16 years ago
OMG LOL Ruggy!!!! (but maybe not lol). So many are used to squirrels doing the digging but you provided a great duck nest!

You have to update us regarding if and when the ducklings hatch!
ruggy
Original Author
16 years ago
Well, when I showed up for today's race, I saw Momma (she's been named Mildred, apparently) and I got some photos of her and her SIX eggs. I dropped the film off today, so I'll have pics to post tomorrow!
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I had an issue like that a long time ago with Muscovy ducks and their babies. The neighborhood children would all show up to throw rocks at them. Usually it was enough to go out and give the kids the evil eye and tell them to go away, but one day there was one kid who just wouldn't stop. I went out there and gave him a lecture about how would he like it if someone started throwing rocks at him. I asked him how he would feel if he were completely defenseless against someone picking on him like that. After I finished the lecture, I told him to leave his bike there and go get his parents and bring them back so that I could tell them what he had been doing. He left his bike, but he didn't come back. His bike was gone the next morning and I never saw another kid out there. Word gets around, I guess. Unfortunately, some adults later started shooting all of the ducks from their apartment balcony with a bb gun and some of the ducks were poisoned. They were reported to the SPCA and I think given eviction notices. Eventually a duck farm came to take away the surviving ducks and gave them a good home. Some of the ducks those people killed were ones that I had handraised after the mother ducks had been killed by wild animals, and of course I had given them all names, so I felt a personal sense of loss. It's hard to sit helpless with ducks that are bleeding to death or writhing hideously from being poisoned. It was a horrible thing to experience and it's very important to straighten the kids out because cruelty starts out small and doesn't always stop at animals. Many states have statutes making animal abuse a punishable offense. Tell your neighbors about what you've seen and make posters to hang around to let other people know that they are being watched and will be reported.
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Thank you all! Live oak lady you had me rolling with your story! NOT that they got hurt but their names! I LOVE IT! Ya'll going to laugh at me now but I'm going to tell you another idea I had. I had told my daughter awhile back that if I could find me some baby monitors I could put the unit out there and we could hear them quacking if something tries to get them. She thinks the monitor wouldn't pick up from that distance. The pond is pretty close to the front of the house and I could sit the other one inside so I could hear them. I found me some monitors the other day at the thrift store and bought them. They are Fisher Price and they are old ones but I think I can fix something to put the one in that will be close to the ducks. I thought about a birdhouse with screen wire over the hole so the sound would enter........that way I could sit it in there and stick it up on a post at the middle of the pond on the side so I could hear them if something started trying to get one. I know you all are going to laugh at me but I have raised these things from tiny babies and am attached to them. We had one one time that we named Launch Pad after the cartoon duck. That thing was a mess! I raised that one as well. I found him dead in a wash out by the pond and he was my last one. That's been a few years ago and I am just now getting ducks again. SO I want to do all I can to keep them safe!!! They are spoiled rotten! lol We have 11, 6 males and 5 females. The ducks are big now, they're not little babies. They look full grown. There isn't a lot of bass in the pond so they should be fine in there as far as that goes.
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ruggy
Original Author
16 years ago
{{gwi:2701}}

Here they are!
ruggy
Original Author
16 years ago
9 eggs!

{{gwi:2702}}
stacy_nm
16 years ago
I had been thinking, "What a lazy duck, just taking over a 'ready-made nest' like that!" But with 9 eggs, maybe she's entitled to conserve energy however she can...
ruggy
Original Author
16 years ago
I suppose she does at that :)

I'm not mad at her anymore, it's given way to excitement now :)

She was funny wednesday, she got into a LOUD squabble with a male duck, and we all laughed imagining the things she might be saying to him LOL
jenny_in_se_pa
16 years ago
Oh my! This is going to be an interesting summer for you ruggy! Make way for ducklings!!!
cynandjon
16 years ago
awww I hope it doesnt get to hot in that pot for the eggs. baby ducks are cute.
ruggy
Original Author
16 years ago
Ladies and Gentlemen, allow me to introduce... Mildred (who finally sat still long enough to get a photo)

{{gwi:2703}}
trudii
16 years ago
I love this thread! I checked and ducks take about 28-35 days to incubate duck eggs. Assuming everything went well there should be baby ducks soon.
posiegirl
16 years ago
Ask PVick about her pigeons. You might want to throw out the duck eggs...
klv13440
16 years ago
I love it! We have had morning doves build thier nest in our hanging baskets in prior years. I always look forward to when the little ones hatch. Do post more pics when they hatch.
flicker
16 years ago
You should have seen me the day I found my large pots on the front porch all dug out, dirt scattered everywhere amoung the droppings. This was done by chickens. I love chickens--they are delicious--but not on my porch. And it is becoming a constant problem. My 3 cats feel that this is none of their concern. 3 BIG disappointments! Where's a chicken hawk when you need one?
jenny_in_se_pa
16 years ago
I just put out some "Bird-B-Gone" spike strips on the "popular" corner of my balcony ledge and I will watch where else they try to perch to place some more (they ain't cheap either). With the hundreds of balconies here on both sides of the building (plus a huge roof), methinks it's time the pigeons here find another spot. :-\

Keep hoping my hummers chase the pigeons away too. LOL
luna_llena_feliz
16 years ago
This is hilarious! Thank you for sharing and giving me a good laugh :) I once had two hanging flowers on my balcony with a bird feeder hanging between them. Apparently a mother house wren thought it was an ideal set up because she built a nest in one of my hanging plants! Unlike Mildred, she didn't disturb the flowers. When I had to water the plant, I had to knock on the pot first. She would exit and I would carefully water around the eggs and then the baby birds under her watchful eye. When they grew up and flew the coop, I missed those little guys!

Evil Ducks and the Dock of Death

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Evil Ducks and the Dock of Death

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