To every season, turn, turn, turn
12 March 2017
Well we are almost halfway thrgh March already, which means there is just one and a half months to go until duck Hunting season starts. I dread this time of year because it means my babies (my rescued flying ducks) are in danger.
My first rescued ducks came into my life in Feb last year. 4 ducklings who I raised, and who waddled their way into my heart. By April last year those four ducks (Little Duck, Whisper, Punky and Chatterbox) were flying and spending the days doing their own thing, returning home at night.
By mid April Little Duck had found himself a girlfriend and spent some nights away from home with her. Soon after Punky and Chatterbox also spent a night or two away from home. However they were never away more than one or two nights.
So I thought I had time.... Time to lock them up over the start of hunting. Two days of carnage they call opening weekend.
But then they all decided to take a holiday. I dont know why, perhaps someone nearby was baiting their pond with corn (some farmers put out food for ducks in the weeks leading up to the start of the season, so that the ducks start to see their ponds as a safe and welcoming place to nest and feed)
Anyway, they went off just over a week before the start of the hunting season, and I have not seen any of them since. So my assumption is that all 4 were shot and killed that weekend.
Please help me get a roof on 'Ducktopia' so that i dont have to lose any of these guys to a 'hunter's shotgun
Pictured in the foreground:
"Miss Sore Leg Duck" a sweet gentle miss, with the cutest quiet little quack, and a penchant for lettuce, that some might call an addiction (she often sleeps beside the bin I bring the lettuce home in so as not to miss out on any when I dish it out)