Crap crap crap crap crap

[gardenmom5]

do you know about great pyrs?

 

my sil was in farm country (she had hogs).  down the road, they had sheep.  we saw these big white fluffy dogs wandering the sheep pastures, and asked about them.

 

they'll take a pyrennes puppy at about 6 - 8 weeks, and give it to a ewe to raise.  the sheep aren't afraid of them because they've always been around.  they're docile. . .  however . . when a coyote comes around, their instincts kick in and they'll hunt it down and kill it.

some other place will put llamas in with the sheep.  they have a mean kick.

 

here's some links:

http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Great-Pyrenees-Dogs-Protectors-of-Sheep-3239126.php

http://www.sheep101.info/guarddogs.html

https://www.wellsprovidence.com/training-your-great-pyrenees-puppy-to-be-a-livestock-guardian.html

 

 

 

 

Edited January 27, 2017 by gardenmom5

[gaillardia]

:grouphug: that must have been very shocking. 

 

Do you have any sheep now? 

I was reading about identifying various predators and wondered, as others mentioned, if it could have been a mountain lion or even a black bear or two.

When you post comments about your sheep I'm always interested because I wanted to raise some sheep but we're not situated for it yet. Maybe never.

 

The coyotes around here are not so shy. One of our neighbors' kids went outside at night with their small dog and the dog was grabbed by coyotes. It wasn't a complete loss, surgery for the dog. 

 

http://icwdm.org/inspection/livestock.aspx

 

[chocolatechip]

I'm so so sorry. This is just heartbreaking. I would have been crying for sure.  :crying:  :grouphug:

[BrookValley.]

Oh man, I'm sorry. Farming can be so hard.

 

I got a coyote on the game cam a couple years ago. It took out half my free-ranging chickens in one afternoon. No one thought we had them in the area, but yep, they're here. Sneaky critters.

 

We raise dairy goats--we have the same trouble with getting genetics with good feet. It's one thing I'm a real stickler about when I'm bringing in new lines. I hate crappy feet!

 

I know this has been mentioned and I imagine you've already considered it, but: livestock guardian dogs? Are a couple of dogs (you'd need a team with that kind of coyote problem) a possibility? There's a large and informative group on FB, if you're on there, called "livestock guardian dogs" that I would suggest.

[El...]

I'm so sorry.  That's awful.

[RioSamba]

I'm so sorry, how awful.

 

Here on the Front Range of Colorado we are seeing big changes in Coyote behavior. They are adopting pack behaviors and becoming much more aggressive with humans. Our suburb has had multiple incidents of coyotes attacking small children as well as people walking dogs.

[fraidycat]

:grouphug: :grouphug:

 

We had a cougar take the throats out of two horses at my cousin's place just a 1/4 mile up the road a couple weeks before Christmas.

 

Wildlife management tracked it for 5 days, but lost track when it got to the park and disappeared into the trees.

 

Eta: Just commiserating and not suggesting a big cat got your sheep. It definitely sounds like coyote if they started at the hind end.

Edited January 28, 2017 by fraidycat

[MercyA]

I am so sorry. That is awful.  :crying:

[flyingaway]

Another vote for Great Pyrenees. I'm so sorry. My dad lost three lambs one morning while we sat at the breakfast table. We could see the pasture from the house, but didn't notice anything until it was too late. His pyrenees had died a couple of weeks prior.

[eternalsummer]

I'm so sorry, how awful.

 

Here on the Front Range of Colorado we are seeing big changes in Coyote behavior. They are adopting pack behaviors and becoming much more aggressive with humans. Our suburb has had multiple incidents of coyotes attacking small children as well as people walking dogs.

 We lived in the Springs for a little over a year and only toward the end of it (last fall) did we hear coyotes - first every few nights, then every night.  We lived right across from the Garden of the Gods so they had a lot of room to roam, but we had not heard them before that.

[Guest]

I'm sorry. That would be one of the things about farming that I don't know if I could handle. I haven't even dispatched these two evil chickens who really need to go.

[zaichiki]

do you know about great pyrs?

 

my sil was in farm country (she had hogs).  down the road, they had sheep.  we saw these big white fluffy dogs wandering the sheep pastures, and asked about them.

 

they'll take a pyrennes puppy at about 6 - 8 weeks, and give it to a ewe to raise.  the sheep aren't afraid of them because they've always been around.  they're docile. . .  however . . when a coyote comes around, their instincts kick in and they'll hunt it down and kill it.

some other place will put llamas in with the sheep.  they have a mean kick.

 

here's some links:

http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Great-Pyrenees-Dogs-Protectors-of-Sheep-3239126.php

http://www.sheep101.info/guarddogs.html

https://www.wellsprovidence.com/training-your-great-pyrenees-puppy-to-be-a-livestock-guardian.html

So sorry about your ewes and lambs!  That sucks!

 

We had alpacas and one of them was a truly fab "guard paca." He'd charge the fenceline... trampled some smaller animals that got through the fence.  Tried to trample our pet dog and our toddler... pretty bold. so I think there is a good chance you could find a guard llama or a guard alpaca. Contact some breeders and tell them you're looking for a guarding personality. Some of them are "just made that way."  Easy to put them in with the sheep. (Just separate them if/when you grain them b/c the amount of copper in alpaca/llama feed is toxic to sheep.) 

 

A friend of mine keeps a donkey in with his sheep and has never had a whisper of an issue.  That donkey is sweet as pie to family and adores the sheep, but tolerates NO predator.

 

We have coydogs out here (coyotes breeding with stray dogs and they really pack up).  They're bolder and more aggressive than the native coyotes. Could that be a problem by you?

 

Dh installed motion sensor lights (don't know if that would make a difference with coyotes as bold as yours) and those kept the foxes and raccoons away from the chickens. We also have motion-activated cameras down by the barn. Do you have someone techie enough in your family to hook up some noise-making devices to a motion-sensor? That might help.

 

Good luck!

[Guest]

That's just brutal. All of it. The dead babies, your poor favorite ewe, the two dead adults, the birth complications and vet assistance. I'd be bawling - stupid coyotes :(

[fairfarmhand]

So, we have one pen to keep the dogs in, and yes, they're great pyrs.. (long story. Neighbors not liking dogs, etc.)

 

We're deciding something. I'm leaning toward selling the sheep. All of them.

 

Or

 

the kids can volunteer to put sheep up in the barn each and every night. They're thinking that over. I like sheep. But this is heartbreaking.

Edited January 28, 2017 by fairfarmhand

[katilac]

 

 

Or

 

the kids can volunteer to put sheep up in the barn each and every night. They're thinking that over. I like sheep. But this is heartbreaking.

 

We're not farmers, AT ALL, so this is not coming from any knowledgable perspective, lol. We just have a camp on some acreage, and this last year we have seen coyotes in the day for the first time ever. I'd be scared as heck to have my kids shepherding animals into the barn each night. Yes, I know, they're supposed to be wary of humans, but . . . 

 

Of course, my kids are barely taller than sheep. If yours are less elfin sized, it might be less of a worry.  

[Mergath]

:crying:  :grouphug:

[BlsdMama]

I didn't cry at the butchers.

 

He was so nice. I think he could see that it was hard for me.

 

Thankfully, things worked out okay today. The processor could take her immediately. The young men my dh hired to work on the barn were around to help me load her up. She was still mobile and not shocky or whatever, so she could still move around. It could have been much worse.

 

But this is hard. She was my best ewe. She had GREAT feet. Perfect conformation. For those who don't know, small livestock have to have their feet trimmed. Matilda's feet were beautiful. They wore evenly and grew slowly enough that she only needed a trim once a year. They were hard so they didn't develop cracks that lead to infection. She NEVER was wormed at the age of 2. Parasites and wormer resistance is a huge problem for small livestock. So her parasite resistance was excellent. That's something that can be passed on to offspring.

 

We have been culling our flock to rebuild and much of our rebuilding would have been around Matilda's offspring because she had such great traits.

 

What a waste.

 

I'm thinking about the game camera to ping to a cell phone. That sounds interesting and helpful.

 

 

I'm really sorry.:(

 

A mountain lion would have killed her though before beginning to eat her, don't you think?  They are pretty powerful. While a coyote (or group) would try to bring her down and tear at what they could?  I don't know....  We don't have lions here.  And I just can't fathom coyotes being that courageous.  They're skulky things here, you rarely see them except at night and even then they seem timid.  You don't have wolves in your area do you?   This is an absolute shame.

[Ewe Mama]

I'm so very sorry for your losses. Matilda was beautiful.

 

My heart has been ripped to shreds by sheep losses, too. I sold all of our ewes last year and had our three remaining Rams castrated. They keep us company, but I miss my girls and the lambs so much.

 

I guess I need to come up with a new name again, since we no longer have any ewes.

 

Hugs to you all as you grieve.

[Twigs]

:grouphug:  :grouphug:  :grouphug:

[Another Lynn]

:grouphug:  :grouphug:  :grouphug:

 

I'm so, so sorry.  I had a few sheep in high school (mostly pets and 4-h).  One year just a few days before Christmas I lost one sheep, and had to put down 3 more.  I tried to save one other, but even though he wasn't severely injured he would not eat and died as well.  I never left them outside overnight after that.  At the time our farm was surrounded by developments, so could just as easily have been dogs as coyotes in our case.  They basically just went for the throat and moved on without eating the rest.  

 

Additionally, my Dad had a flock of ~200 sheep in the late 1960s and lost 3/4th of the flock to dogs in one night (tore out the throats and moved on to the next).  He had to rent bulldozers to deal with the carnage.  

[Another Lynn]

I just read your other posts.  Ours happened very close to our house also.  I cried off and on for a few days too.  So hard.   :grouphug:  :grouphug:  :grouphug:

[creekland]

:grouphug: Just reading this now.  I'm so sorry.  I hate it when things like this happen to our critter friends.   :grouphug:

 

Best wishes taking out the predators.  I feel no love at all for them once they develop a taste for farm animals.  We take them out any time we can on our farm.

[Amber in SJ]

I am so sorry.  I grew up on a farm in a very rural area and am very familiar with sheep.  By the time I was 8-9 I could feed a bummer lamb with one hand and an infant sibling with the other (the joke was; don't mix up the bottles!)  So many losses at once is heartbreaking.  Often times a coyote will stay away if a larger male predator has made his presence known.  Yes, I am saying you might have your husband pee on the fence.  No joke.  

 

Now that I live in a very highly populated area I don't see as many coyote as I used to.  Last year, though, while taking a morning walk in the park, I came within 6 feet of one with a chain link fence between us.  He was not afraid of me or my border collie.  I told all the neighbors & the reaction was, "That is so cool!"  I couldn't convince them that a coyote sighting means livestock counting.

 

(((hugs))) & peaceful thoughts to you.

 

Amber in SJ

[PrincessMommy]

Just reading this.  I'm so sorry.   :grouphug:

[Lilaclady]

(((Hugs))) so sorry about your sheep loss.

[eternalsummer]

Also, before I lived in Colorado Springs, I'd spent most of my adult life living in a midwestern suburb.  We had what I thought was a very emaciated fox move in across the street - he roamed about, ate the food the neighbor lady left out for stray cats, and never seemed to look any better.  I mean he was the worst looking fox you ever saw, really.

 

Then we moved to the Springs and took a vacation one May to Grand Lake, way up in the mountains.  One night I looked out and saw a fox, a real fox.  He looked just like in the picture books - red and bushy tailed and amazing.  

 

So it was pretty obvious to me that the "fox" we'd had in the suburban town I'd lived in was something else.  I called my mother (who still lives there) and she said of course it was not a fox, it was a coyote.  I guess I'd assumed coyotes looked a lot more like wolves!  He is still there living off cat food.

[Seasider]

Fair, do you have a trail cam? Of course I would hope no predators return, but the scale of injuries inflicted would have me eager to confirm exactly what's roaming about out there at night.

 

I am so sorry for this tragic event.

[Amy in NH]

I'm so sorry for your loss. :(

 

We just sold off our last two ram lambs. Down to chickens only now. Sad, but a relief too.