Post by catherine on Jul 11, 2008 2:33:48 GMT -5
Well, we've had a day of it. We stopped by Liz's place to pick up some of her extra milk, ostensibly for cheese making, but it's so delicious that we always seem to have drunk it all before I ever get around to making any cheeses! Lol. We then blitzed on over to our farm, and found a tragedy.
We have a main chicken house, and a smaller "chicken condo" (bigger than a tractor, smaller than a house). I'd told DH that the plywood roof was getting geriatric and needed replacing before some crafty coon fell through into a smorgasbord of our two very sweet 2 month old Delaware chicks and our 3 very friendly Muscovy ducks. So being the good husband that he is, and given a definite "to do list", he replaced the roof a couple of days ago. We thought everyone was now safe and secure again. However, apparently, some crafty coon apparently figured out how to open the latch on the egg collection door and got in anyway! We arrived to find the chicks and all but one duck dead and mostly gone. We were all heartbroken, as these particular chicks and ducks had recieved so much individual attention that they were particularly friendly.
The last murdered duck had only recently been dispatched, and her carcass was still fresh and mostly intact. My DS remembered an article I'd read to him once that mentioned how Australian shepherds had taken to lacing lamb carcasses with Ipecac to teach dingos that lamb DIDN'T make for a good meal! So, we laced the duck's carcass with Ipecac, to see if we can turn that monster varmint's stomach and maybe destroy it's taste for our poultry!!! Andrew wants to see it toss it's toenails!!! Sigh. Sniff. Bad words!
You see, it's not just today, but this whole week that's been disheartening for us about our poultry. We've also lost all 8 of our rare Cotton Patch geese (enclosed in electrified poultry netting at night for more than 6 months without incident) to either that same or a similar culprit. Interestingly, we didn't have ANY losses as long as the pig girls were around...but since their departure, it's been terrible around here. I think that the pigs must smell like predators, and kept the varmints at bay. With them gone, well, it seems like it's open season! Who'd have thought it?! I know the geese had started trying to go roost with the cows, and we thought it was just cuz they were "lonely". Now, I think it was much more than that!
Anyway, we've wrapped electrified poultry netting around both coops, firmed up the latch, and removed a metal tub the coon may have been standing on to get to the latch, so we're hoping that our lone remaining "teenaged" duck will remain safe. We'd already made arrangements for a new Muscovy breeding pair to be added...so he/she's got buddies coming soon. I just hope we can keep everyone safe. BOY, do we NEED an LGD or two now, or what?!?!
We have a main chicken house, and a smaller "chicken condo" (bigger than a tractor, smaller than a house). I'd told DH that the plywood roof was getting geriatric and needed replacing before some crafty coon fell through into a smorgasbord of our two very sweet 2 month old Delaware chicks and our 3 very friendly Muscovy ducks. So being the good husband that he is, and given a definite "to do list", he replaced the roof a couple of days ago. We thought everyone was now safe and secure again. However, apparently, some crafty coon apparently figured out how to open the latch on the egg collection door and got in anyway! We arrived to find the chicks and all but one duck dead and mostly gone. We were all heartbroken, as these particular chicks and ducks had recieved so much individual attention that they were particularly friendly.
The last murdered duck had only recently been dispatched, and her carcass was still fresh and mostly intact. My DS remembered an article I'd read to him once that mentioned how Australian shepherds had taken to lacing lamb carcasses with Ipecac to teach dingos that lamb DIDN'T make for a good meal! So, we laced the duck's carcass with Ipecac, to see if we can turn that monster varmint's stomach and maybe destroy it's taste for our poultry!!! Andrew wants to see it toss it's toenails!!! Sigh. Sniff. Bad words!
You see, it's not just today, but this whole week that's been disheartening for us about our poultry. We've also lost all 8 of our rare Cotton Patch geese (enclosed in electrified poultry netting at night for more than 6 months without incident) to either that same or a similar culprit. Interestingly, we didn't have ANY losses as long as the pig girls were around...but since their departure, it's been terrible around here. I think that the pigs must smell like predators, and kept the varmints at bay. With them gone, well, it seems like it's open season! Who'd have thought it?! I know the geese had started trying to go roost with the cows, and we thought it was just cuz they were "lonely". Now, I think it was much more than that!
Anyway, we've wrapped electrified poultry netting around both coops, firmed up the latch, and removed a metal tub the coon may have been standing on to get to the latch, so we're hoping that our lone remaining "teenaged" duck will remain safe. We'd already made arrangements for a new Muscovy breeding pair to be added...so he/she's got buddies coming soon. I just hope we can keep everyone safe. BOY, do we NEED an LGD or two now, or what?!?!