Early family happiness for a father and mother swan from Broek op Langedijk was brutally disrupted at the beginning of this month by a dog’s attack. Mother Swan was brooding on her eggs when she was graze by the quadruped. A local resident saw the damaged animal and alerted the animal ambulance.
“She was taken from the nest by a stray dog and as a result has badly damaged her beak,” says Nina Schouten of the Animal Protection. When the employees of the animal ambulance saw the animal, they were shocked by the injuries and they immediately took her to an avian doctor in Utrecht.
“She amputated part of her beak. The entire bottom of the beak was broken in half. They put them together and stitched them. She is now getting a whole load of medicines,” said Schouten.
Mother Swan’s beak. Text continues after the photo
Mother swan has 15 stitches in total and is intensively cared for at Krommenie Wild Shelter. She seems to be doing better, but Father Swan is also concerned.
Initially, he kept the eggs warm and animal ambulance staff provided sufficient food. Neighbors also kept an eye out.
This seemed to go well, until during a check it turned out that the father swan was no longer in the nest. “We hoped that the father swan would incubate the eggs, but that urge was not strong enough,” said Schouten.
The seven eggs felt cold to the touch and were taken to the wildlife sanctuary. According to the Animal Protection employee, two eggs had already become so cold that they can no longer hatch. The other five are in the incubator.
The father swan has now been spotted again at the nest and it is expected that he will remain in the vicinity of the breeding site. Mother swan is recovering well and broods on the dead eggs in the shelter to maintain her breeding course.
“We hope that she will incubate the young herself. Then we will reintroduce her with the father. This involves a lot of monitoring and attention. The best thing would be that mom and dad would go swimming again in Broek op Langedijk with the young ones. ”
If the remaining eggs do not hatch, the mother swan is in any case reunited with the father swan. The aggravated couple may then start a second leg.
leash
Although it could have been much worse for the swan family, the Animal Protection is making an appeal to dog owners. “Do you see a nest where a bird is breeding? Put your dog on a leash! Are you walking in an area where your dog has to be on a leash? Follow the rules! These kinds of situations can be prevented”, reads on the website†