Is that a dead duck? And other misfortunes on the farm...

This has been one of our most challenging years when it comes to caring for our ducks, bees, and the garden on our little farm. First, Barney, the beloved community barn cat, passed away, and since then, the critters he used to keep in check have taken over the garden and eaten everything in sight. Those critters are voles, a destructive rodent, and we have watched as they've eaten all of our corn and green bean plants before they even had a chance to bear fruit. They also knocked over multiple fava bean plants, snipped the pea plants at their base so the whole plant died, and ate the tops off the onions. I had no idea rodents ate onion greens, but they sure did! They ate the potato plants (the green part that appears above ground), so there I was a week ago, digging up the potatoes growing in the ground to see if any were left. It was hard to find them without a plant above ground to mark the way. Blessedly, we do have many nice potatoes to enjoy. Currently, they're wreaking havoc with the zucchini, taking one disgusting bite off a fruit and leaving the rest, which I won't eat now. So, the whole fruit is ruined. I've had two of the tiniest zucchini off our plant, picked early since they had no bites in them yet. One of our neighbors, feeling sorry for me, brought me a bag full of large zucchini from her plant. 

But never fear—we haven't given up on eating farm-fresh garden produce. We're just enjoying the fruits of others' labor. We've been making good use of the local farm stands to get our organic produce while this unusual rodent infestation is going on.

Meanwhile, a new barn cat was introduced to our community barn. His name is "Nacho," and we believe he's starting to make some headway. There used to be a good dozen rodents running around in the garden when we'd go out there, and the past two weeks, each time, I've only seen maybe one or two rodents when I've gone into the garden. So the rodent population is slowly beginning to dwindle, thanks to Nacho's efforts when he wanders over from the barn into our garden, which is adjacent.

The other difficulty we've had with our farm involves one of our ducks. As you may know, we have four ducks and fourteen chickens. There is only one male in the lot of them, a male duck. Well, one evening, when I went out to put away the chickens and ducks, I discovered one of our ducks was caught up "dead" in the coop fence. When I saw that poor duck lying against the fence so still in the twilight, my heart felt heavy with sadness. We mourn our animals when they pass on, regardless of if it's from illness, injury, or old age. So, seeing that duck lying against the fence, I knew I had a difficult time ahead, what with picking it up, carrying it to a spot in the yard, digging a grave, burying it, and then telling my family about its sad demise. Then we'd all feel sad, and wonder what had befallen it.

So, I quickly got all the rest of the flock into the henhouse and closed up the doors. Then, I approached the sad duck and reached down to pick her up. It was hard to see her in the partial darkness, but as soon as I touched her, I could feel her warmth, and she moved slightly. I realized she was not yet dead. Maybe she was on her way there, but she hadn't arrived yet. She also seemed to be stuck to the fence. 

Then, I was rather startled when I realized she was actually woven into the fence. Her head and neck had been woven this way and that way three times through the openings in the farm fencing, trapping her. I took hold of her beak and slowly, gently, wove her back out of the fencing until she was free. 

As soon as the sad, weak duck was loose, I realized her ordeal was not yet over. She must have been trapped there for quite a while, as her head and neck seemed to have no strength left at all. She hung her head low. I picked her up and carried her over to the water bowl, setting her beak close to the water so she could drink. She tried, but couldn't draw in water and backed away. So, I pushed her close again, dunking her head down so that her beak was in the water. Again, she tried to drink and couldn't, and she backed away. Well, hell. A duck that can't drink won't live.

So, I dumped out the water, put the hose in the bowl, and went and turned it on so it filled back up with clean water. Then, I picked that duck up and dunked her whole body in the water. She was like a dried-up plant that was too parched to function. Repeatedly, I lifted her up to let her breathe, then dunked her back down until, after a while, she started to revive. Eventually, she took a tiny swallow. Her throat was obviously hurting and her neck looked swollen twice the size of the other duck's necks. She was holding her head lower than the other ducks and having difficulty moving around.

I spent about an hour that evening out with the duck, getting her to drink little sips of water and making sure she was okay. Then, I put a bowl of water inside the henhouse (which I don't usually do at night - they make too much mess with it in their bedding). When I closed the henhouse again with all the chickens and ducks inside, I knew that in the morning, I might still find a dead duck.

Incredibly, the duck survived the night. She continued to improve over the next few weeks, and today, she is back to her usual self. Her neck is no longer swollen.

Meanwhile, to avoid such issues from happening again, I closely inspected the area at the fence where she had trapped herself. She had been standing on a log alongside the fence. I have since removed all the logs and sticks along the fence to make sure that no duck finds herself trapped there again. I imagine it happened while she was mating with the boy duck. They do seriously odd things while mating. I also make sure one of us checks on them midway through the day to ensure no bird is trapped.

Lastly, in the late spring, our bees died. I think the dreary weather finally got to them. We also wonder if the bees that seemed to have taken over the hive were actually robbers, stealing what was left at the end of winter. Anyhow, our hives are once again empty, so we'll need to buy more bees next spring and start over. Such is life on a farm—some years there is success and abundance, and other years there are significant difficulties. One thing we are anticipating this year is an abundant apple harvest, although strangely there isn’t a single pear to be found on our pear tree.