May 11, 2013
They lost one. I wonder what got it?
Posted by: Steven Den Beste in Daily Life at
02:56 PM
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When I was a child, we had a hen that only saved two of her chicks from some threat that took the other chicks one night. We deduced that when the hen jumped up to run away from where they were sleeping, she had clamped her wings to her sides an managed to carry a couple of chicks with her.
You'd be surprised what a turtle can pull under.
Posted by: Mark A. Flacy at May 11, 2013 04:23 PM (66bg3)
I've seen raccoons around here, and that's my bet.
A couple of days ago one of the neighborhood cats was looking very interested, but one of the adult geese chased it away. I doubt the cat was responsible.
As far as snakes go, the only ones we have around here are garter snakes, so far as I know, and for them grasshoppers are more their speed.
There are no rattlesnakes on this side of the Cascades.
Posted by: Steven Den Beste at May 11, 2013 05:52 PM (+rSRq)
We pulled one out of our barn that was around 6 feet long. That particular snake had attempted to eat a hen that had made a nest near where that snake was living between the stalls (which is why we were looking for it). It hadn't been able to dis-articulate its jaws enough to swallow the hen, but it managed to open its mouth sufficiently to make it up to where the wing connects to the breast (going headfirst, of course).
I've seen a crow snatch a baby rabbit from the ground, so I'd think that a gosling would be small enough to nab.
Posted by: Mark A. Flacy at May 12, 2013 08:51 PM (66bg3)
I don't think we have any snake that big here in the Willamette valley.
There are crows around here, but they're thoroughly cowed by the ducks and geese. Sometimes when I toss bread out, the ducks and geese come in readily and start gobbling it. Crows sometimes fly down and land, but they stay outside the area where my bread is. They won't come in and compete directly; they hope to dance in and seize a piece and then fly away. Sometimes they do; mostly they don't. The crows act like they're afraid of the ducks, not to mention the geese.
I can't see any of them trying to do that with a gosling, given how afraid they seem to be of the geese.
My vote is for something furry. There are opossums all over the place around here, and I mentioned that I've seen a raccoon. I wouldn't be surprised if there were skunks around here, too.
And at least once I've seen a coyote here in the yard. (The poor thing was badly hurt, probably hit by a car.)
Posted by: Steven Den Beste at May 13, 2013 08:01 AM (+rSRq)
Posted by: David at May 14, 2013 10:26 AM (qw+UI)
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