Have you seen this duck?

This is Echo, affectionately referred to as “the Pugging”, or simply “Pug”. A couple of days ago Echo went missing. We’ve searched far and wide but cannot find her anywhere.

Echo is usually found shoving her shitty bill into mud holes down at the chicken coop, foraging through leaf litter in a little stand of bush near the cottage, or sifting from any puddle of liquid she comes across, no matter how foul. When we’re outside, she’s always seen following a few steps behind.

Two events coincided with Echo’s disappearance. Some severe south-west winds hit, and some cows were moved into the paddock near one of Echo’s local haunts, the chicken coop, in which they guzzled down her pond (read bathtub) water. Last time this happened we found Echo stuck in the empty bathtub unable to get out. Maybe she saw the cows this time and decided she’d had enough of their crap, and flew the coop, so to speak. We haven’t actually seen her fly at all, however, so it’s doubtful she actually up and left. (Though I don’t blame her if she did – it’s friggin’ freezing down here.)

There’s also the possibility that a falcon killed her, but we’d expect to find her carcass somewhere, or at least a bunch of feathers… But I guess the high winds could have blown them away.

On our search we came across a conspicuous looking ponga. It looks like someone might make a home in there.

When I parted the curtain-like branches I was surprised to find…

…a clutch of eggs! At first I wondered if our chickens had started laying, but they were greenish eggs (we’ve no Araucanas) and slightly larger than your average chicken egg.

These are duck eggs!

Finding these raised another possible reason for our missing duck: Had she gone broody and hidden herself away somewhere? It gives us hope that she’s still alive.

We searched and searched, but still no sign. We’ll keep looking over the next week, but ducks are pretty good at hiding themselves and their nests. We might just have to wait until she emerges, all emaciated from not having eaten during her futile brood.

Let’s hope that’s the reason she’s disappeared, and not something more sinister like a hungry falcon.

Where are you, Pug? Come back… The farm’s not the same without you.