Animals: October 2009 Archives

One of my ducks is missing. We only have five ducks, and they are always together and always close to the house. John came home around 6 pm and told me that one of our Pekin ducks was missing.

I put my coat on and went out with the dogs - Buffy (the coyote slayer), Gunner and Kiki. We are indeed missing a duck. He must have been taken by surprise, as I could find no sign of struggle anywhere in the area the ducks are known to frequent.

Buffy and Gunner picked up a scent and ran down the field behind the house and into the woods on the other side of the creek. Kiki, being an elderly dog, trotted behind them and then sat down until she figured she had been gone long enough to impress me and then returned home.

In the meantime, Buffy and Gunner could be seen racing through the woods and then back across and to the field to the West of the house - where I have seen coyotes before. They were gone for at least 30 minutes before they returned.

This happened between 4 and 6 pm - prime coyote attack time, in our experience. I am going to have to start keeping watch with rifle in hand during those hours. Last autumn, John shot several coyotes during that same time period - as they started up the hill toward the fowl.

I really hate predators. I want my fowl to free range. They are healthier and their eggs are much better than penned hens and ducks. But it costs us every year - and it is always this time of year that is the most dangerous.

Glen Reynolds linked to an article on POPSCI.com about the Dangers of Rogue Household Robots.

I immediately followed his link, not because I have an overriding concern about Robots gone mad, but because I had hopes that someone had invented a useful household robot.

I want an army of teeny tiny household robots who will zip out from a secure hiding place in the wall to clean up anything that is not authorized to be on the floor or carpet as soon as the unauthorized object hits the floor.

We’ve tried the Roomba robots, and although they might be fine for a household without critters, the Roomba is no match for three hairy farm dogs who track in mud, dust, leaves, grass clippings and worst of all, burrs. I those robotic vacuums might do okay with pet hair, but burrs almost require something with fingers to pull it from the carpet.

Oh, and I have not yet mentioned our ten (10) cats. We don’t go searching for kitties, they find us, and with kitties comes kitty litter, which gets stuck on kitty toes and then dropped wherever.

Oh, and I forgot to mention fiber. Since I have started spinning and carding and dying the goats’ mohair and turning it into beautiful yarn, little bits of goat hair (and some purchased wool) are finding their way into all the nooks and crannies of the house.

So where are those household robots that could turn rogue? I want them. Now.