Such a disappointing day

[urban escapee]

I went out to feed the goats and the free ranging turkeys and roo's this morning...and only the goats responded. Usually all the turkeys and roos come running to the feed can and wait for me to toss out something for them to nibble on. After searching we found that something got into their tractor and hauled off 5 turkeys and 2 roos. We only found the carcasses of 3 turkeys and one roo. There was no damage to the fencing at all so something went over the top of it. We think it might have been coyotes or maybe a bobcat...I hope it was not a neighbors dog ( 2 of the carcasses were eaten)

A friend on my mothers gave me the phone number to a guy that works for the state, he will be out setting up traps and snares tomorrow to try and catch the predator. And I spent the day ( the last of my cash and getting sunburned) putting in an electric wire ran around the entire goat pasture. Got the top of the fence done today, the bottom will be done tomorrow. While the turkey and roo loss is tragic, the loss of the baby goats would be devastating.

I guess for now my attempts at free ranging are on hold.

 

[C&C Chickens]

So sorry for your loss. Attempts at being a farmer can be heartbreaking at times.

 

[Chicksandhorses]

aww im soo sorry that happened!!! those darn wild animals... its okay

 

[urban escapee]

thank you all...

BUT the day just seems to be getting worse.

As a courtesy, we notified our closest neighbors that the guy from the State will be here tomorrow to set out some snares, and to make sure that they keep their dogs close to home, since we didnt want anything untoward happen. After the response that we have gotten from two of our neighbors, you can bet they wont get that courtesy again. One was polite, but you could tell he wasnt happy about it. The other, who was informed by my mother, called her and went OFF. Cussing and yelling at her, that he couldnt build a pen overnight...he has lived on the 40acres behind my mom for 7 years, you think he could have built a dog kennel at some point during that time? He also said something to the effect of " all this over some @#$#@ birds, the coyotes were here before we were. and that the 2nd neighbor was pretty upset too." Well you can bet that if it was his new foal or the other guys cows the response would have been different.

So needless to say, I am even more upset than I was to begin with.

 

[CorinneP]

So Sad Sorry for your loss.. And you do need to fear for your Goats if you think its coyotes .. I have not tried it yet but I heard hanging those string lite that kids like to decorate their rooms with they have a rubber coating around them really deter Coyotes .. To bad your neighbors are being so difficult ..

 

[urban escapee]

We moved all of the goats into their small pen which is where they eat and for the most part sleep, and got them locked in there. It is the closest area to the house (and my bedroom) and we are sleeping with a window open so we can hear them better. Once its full on dark we are going to go collect the remaining roos and put them in with the laying hens so they will be better protected till an alternative is available. The poor little things were traumatized, they hid in a corner of the goat barn all day and wouldnt move or come out to eat. Hopefully they can relax a bit in the coop instead of their tractor.

 

[urban escapee]

So Sad Sorry for your loss.. And you do need to fear for your Goats if you think its coyotes .. I have not tried it yet but I heard hanging those string lite that kids like to decorate their rooms with they have a rubber coating around them really deter Coyotes .. To bad your neighbors are being so difficult ..

I will have to try and find some of these lights...I did think about taking my solar lights out there and setting them up at random intervals

 

[CorinneP]

Chickens and Goats are a beautiful combination.. I have watched my goat when kenneled have a raging fit to scare off a ?Hawk too close to the chickens.. the chickens like to roost near my Goats they feel safe. and chickens will eat centipede's that can hurt goats.. But both are easy pray to coyotes Its one of my biggest fears as some night I can hear them singing way to close to home ..

 

[redhen]

Yeah..your neighbors sound like real jerks..
Actually.bet it was his dog that did it.. because that's a LOT of animals killed in one night...
Sounds like the work of a dog to me..

 

[urban escapee]

Redhen, thats what my husband said when he heard about that guys response. LOl actually my husband said.." that @@@ better not let his dogs roam over here, or he wont be seeing them again."

Here they are before their demise. They were so sweet, they followed me around the pen whenever I went out there. I was just thinking last night that it was going to be hard to eat them come thanksgiving, because they were so sweet.