Babies, Babies, Oh Baby!

We all spent the night at the Fallsview Casino in Niagara Falls; One of our last nights because my friend has lost her room comp. Had a great evening esp. knowing the babies were safe. While out, I got a call from Mark, Chippy had more babies. Great balls of fire!

Chippy had another baby last night. I only saw one when I fed this morning. But there is still eggs around her. WOW! It has taken her over a month to hatch those eggs.

First she had three, they were killed. While i was in Florida she hatched one and it was killed. Then she hatched two and they too were killed this last Friday night Saturday morning Mama Goose finally hatched five babies, I immediately constructed a pen in the garage for these babies. No more risk in the yard. For a few days we let them loose to go to the pond but it is too much trouble to fight off the parents to capture the babies at night. On Monday Morning Chippy hatched 2 more babies and these ones were captured and have become house pets and spent the night with me at the casino.

Friday morning we had 2 babies. They were 8 days old and every night I brought them in the house until this last Friday when I went to a party with some friends. When I came home, Mark had already locked the pens with the babies inside. It was late and real quiet. I should have let them out and even went to the shed for the drill but seemed to think they would be okay for one night. I was tired and went to bed. They were gone the next morning, I called Mark. He came right over and he found a beak with not much else. This has destroyed Marks theory that is was the pig eating them. I was devastated and so guilty. Mark felt bad too. We loved those little babies and had just watched them chase away the ducks. I now wonder if it isn’t the rats killing them. I gave the rats a new diet and have been finding their dead butts, all over the place. One thing is for sure. Something out there is killing my babies. It was the coyote and I solved that problem by locking them in at night but something is still out there. Small, limber and hungry. Though I can not get near the babies, The geese are very agressive and will attack, This thing, this killer walks right by the big boys and walks off with their babies. If they are locked in the barn at night they will be gone come morning.