First-time house renovation

Plasterer

stolt wrote: »

Can I bring my ducks round when they have hatched????;)
weather as good as it is right now I would love a pool in my garden (havent got the space though!!)

Yeah bring them round - as well as swimming another two of my favourite pastimes is shooting and eating

stolt

Plasterer wrote: »

Yeah bring them round - as well as swimming another two of my favourite pastimes is shooting and eating

sadly as much as i would like to something attacked the nest last night and ate all 8 eggs that was in the nest, strangely enough the mother seems to ok, she came back this morning and spent the good part of 15mins looking around and then realising that they had all gone, felt really sorry for her really. no mess in the nest, no yolk or egg shells, really strange as you would have thought that whatever it was would have left some mess but not any. Still got the great tits nesting they have hatched some babies, i can here them quite clearly form the patio, parents have been working overtime in this heat. Girls were so looking forward to them being in the garden, I might buy them a rabbit to look after so it can run around the garden.
hope everyones had a good day, very hot weekend, i'm an official member of the red head club!!!!

we went down some garden centres this afternoon and bought some flowers for the beds, trouble is i'm so use to buying on the net and the net prices i just can pay £7 for a 3cm pot of plants... so we didnt get too far. chilling in the garden now the kids are running around the cider is cold and i'm trying to find subjects to take pictures of..... Been trying to capture the great tits going into their nest box but they are so quick i just end up taking picture sof the bamboo in front of the nest box. Due to the nature park about 100metres away we get some lovely birds hanging around, one on the tv ariel today singing think its a goldfinch but a really nice song. Might try and post some pics up in minute of things i took

TomsMom

stolt wrote: »

sadly as much as i would like to something attacked the nest last night and ate all 8 eggs that was in the nest, strangely enough the mother seems to ok, she came back this morning and spent the good part of 15mins looking around and then realising that they had all gone, felt really sorry for her really.

Oh, that is so sad. Even OH was upset when I told him. Poor mummy duck.

stolt

TomsMom wrote: »

Oh, that is so sad. Even OH was upset when I told him. Poor mummy duck.

weird thing is i dont understand what could of done it without making some mess of the nest or the eggs. our garden is pretty enclosed, there are no gaps under fences or gates so whatever it was took got over the fence, and there is no way something could have seen the nest from above it was really hidden well. Since this morning she hasnt been back, not sure if its too late for her to start again somewhere else, my girls are really upset by it all especially the eldest (only 7) but shes really started getting into nature etc and they have been really good by leaving the mother duck to do her thing and not bothering her.
Plus ive jsut spent £15 on duck pellets and dauckling crumbs for when they hatch, that will teach me, just hope the garden birds like them:)

TomsMom

stolt wrote: »

weird thing is i dont understand what could of done it without making some mess of the nest or the eggs. our garden is pretty enclosed, there are no gaps under fences or gates so whatever it was took got over the fence, and there is no way something could have seen the nest from above it was really hidden well.

We've been trying to think what could have happened. Hedgehogs would definitely have left evidence if they could find a way into your garden, probably foxes would too. Did you tell anyone? You don't think someone fancied duck eggs for brekkie and they climbed the fence when it was dark???

That would have been the most fantastic nature lesson for your girls.

stolt

TomsMom wrote: »

We've been trying to think what could have happened. Hedgehogs would definitely have left evidence if they could find a way into your garden, probably foxes would too. Did you tell anyone? You don't think someone fancied duck eggs for brekkie and they climbed the fence when it was dark???

That would have been the most fantastic nature lesson for your girls.

No I didnt mention it to anyone in the street, only yesterday she was sitting on the nest, i was saying the wife that she must be laying properly now as she was there yesterday for the the best part of the day. I know it sounds silly but I at first thought it might be a snake (just because there is no mess) complete mystery because i would have thought the nest would be ripped up aswell but it still looked neat. If i knew someone with eggs i would have put some more back for her but now shes seen the nest as i say she had a good look around you coudl tell she knew something was up, she stood there on one side of the garden and me and the kids stood on the other side and then she took off. Hope she doesnt think it had anything to do with us!!! Perhaps a rat but surely they would have had to smash the eggs so there would have been some mess.

the girls were really excited, they cant get so excited by the great tits as there isnt alot to see, really want to get them a rabbit, but i know i will end up looking after it and i'm not sure i want to be the one looking after it!!!! Will have to see if i can find a cheap hutch...

andrew-b

aww shame about the duck eggs...maybe a fox?

Still doing bits and pieces in the garden here and waiting to hear from shed company to tell me when shed is ready. Today i fixed the two fence posts at end of garden that were rotting where meet concrete - only about 4 years old that previous owner replaced on the cheap before they sold to us ...thats what happens if you use 3" wooden fence posts in concrete i guess! Dug out an 18" hole next to each post, used my new SDS+ drill from Lidl to break out the concrete in front of the posts and then dropped in concrete repair spurs, drilled a few holes and bolted to post with three 6" coach screws, then filled the holes with postcrete. One of the posts that i'd previously staked up was leaning quite badly so need to secure in place with a rope. Both posts were clearly rotten just where they left the concrete..above and below were fine. Anyway it's now solid.

As the fence is shared i spoke to the elderly lady from the bungalow behind (fence actually overlaps 2 bungalows at back but the broken posts were only on her part). Few minutes later she returned with a tenner to put towards the cost - didn't expect it as i'd said it wasn't her problem that the job hadn't been done properly in the first place. Actually cost about £40 in all...not including 1/2 a bag of postcrete i had already to go with the 2 bags i bought for the job. Would have been far less hassle if they'd put in proper slotted concrete posts in the first place!

andrew-b

Stolt, if you thinking of rabbits...thought about a house rabbit to run around in your extension? My sister has a house bunny that has a cage in their living room...trained to do it's business in the cage. We used to have rabbits as kids that lived in a hutch outside (built by Dad..along with a collapsible pen). If there is a chance a fox is around (most likely is) make sure the bunnies are securely kept in their hutch at night - and put a bolt on it!

John_Pierpoint

I'm still traumatised by bunny "Snowy" dying of a heart attack in my arms, after being terrorised by two "feral" dogs of some neighbour.

Keeping pets, if you can afford the vet bills, is an important rite of passage/character forming educational experience for kids.

aliasojo

stolt wrote: »

sadly as much as i would like to something attacked the nest last night and ate all 8 eggs that was in the nest, strangely enough the mother seems to ok, she came back this morning and spent the good part of 15mins looking around and then realising that they had all gone, felt really sorry for her really. no mess in the nest, no yolk or egg shells, really strange as you would have thought that whatever it was would have left some mess but not any.

Definitely a fox. The fox lifts the whole egg gently in his mouth, so no breakage and no mess. They steal as many as they can and stash them for later nourishment. He probably buried several, just as a dog would a bone.



Nature is so cruel sometimes.