By STAN MADDUX

Indiana Correspondent

MIDDLEBURY, Ind. — Thousands of baby ducks perished, but a much larger number of baby chicks were spared in October fires close to 48 hours apart on nearby Indiana farms.

The cause of both blazes outside Middlebury in the northern part of the state were still unknown nearly a week later. "It’s still under investigation," said Middlebury Fire Chief Jeff Wogoman.

About 13,000 ducklings died in the Oct. 28 fire at the Dale Hochstetler Amish farm on County Road 35. A farmer out doing chores went inside then, soon, with the sun about to rise, was alerted by a neighbor that his 600-foot duck house was on fire.

‘’He went out to look and there was fire through the roof halfway down,’’ Wogoman added.

Hochstetler is an independent supplier of ducks to Maple Leaf Farms, a fourth-generation provider of whole and processed white Pekin ducks to various foodservice professionals and retail stores from a processing plant just 30 miles to the south in Milford, Ind. The company also has products that can be purchased online.

Janelle Deatsman, communications director for Maple Leaf Farms, said the timing for losing a supplier is not the best, with demand for duck reaching its peak during the upcoming holidays. However, she said the company has 150 other providers in the northern and northeastern parts of the state to help relieve any supply crunch.

"We’ll feel an impact but it certainly won’t be something we can’t overcome," she noted.

Wogoman said it appears the fire started close to a door on the north side of the 50-foot-wide structure.

Another fire two days later occurred in a similar-sized building at the David Lambright farm on County Road 43. All 25,000 of the baby chicks inside were kept behind a curtain that prevented smoke from the fire on the other side from drifting over, said Wogoman. Fire damage there was also much less extensive.

He said that fire began on a skid loader, but exactly where on the machine and the cause were still not known at press time.

According to the USDA, Indiana, California and Pennsylvania are the leading producers of duck in the United States, where just over 27 million were slaughtered in 2016 for consumption.