Stig the Duck has also died

Oh dear. Not a day after poor 8 year old's mouse died (of being obscenely obese - we think due to a severe illness and not 1 year into it's poor life), her second duck, Stig, has died. ( or disappeared. You may remember her first one (Nitsy) unfortunately died as a young duckling, and now one of the replacement ducks has been found dead. Not much evidence, no feathers missing, no blood. Just gone. Her family (jessie - nitsys sibling, and bob, Stig's sibling) seems a little rattled ,and Jessie definately had a few feathers missing suggest that they have been severely chased by something during the day. We keep them locked in their backyard area, and enclosed in their own dog kennel/duck pen at night. So it's happened on the sly at some point. We have yet to break the news to her.

It's tough - this life of animals. We had the chook slaughter last year, the heart attack of Mrs Fatso our mother chook, the only survivor of said earlier slaughter, the first mouse dying, the second mouse dying, the first duck dying and now the second duck dying. I am slowly getting use to it.

The mice very unceremoniously were placed in my office/studio after their nocternal habits kept a certain little girl awake. And they never left. They stink, they make noise, and don't do much. Then one day the fat one died. I glanced over and it was just lying there. Feet falling through the cage. Very undignified. - And I know I am getting use to this death stuff because, there would have been a time I just squealed and shivered and insisted it be removed. But instead, after telling A, I just continued working and A removed the body a day later.

Still, we all loved Stig.