Anybody ever feel bad when getting rid of a predator?

[CityClucks]

I found a little raccoon in my garden outside my chicken coop and I let my dog kill it. Yes I felt bad about it, but I felt it was the necessary choice. I lost two thirds of my chickens to predators last year, and I have too much time, money, sweat and emotion invested in my new flock to take any chances.

 

[Big C]

No.
If you don't then they will just come back or be someone elses problem, or could be your problem if someone else does.
There are always more predators but less of your flock(s) unless you do.
They cost you money in one way or another.
Have no guilt feelings at all since I am the provider for my family and our flock(s).
Am at most times smarter than them.
Thats just the way it is.

 

[johnwilly1962]

I have a friend who's husband shoots the squirrels that come into their yard. She tells her husband not to kill them if they look like they might be nursing baby squirrels-she doesn't want the young ones to starve to death. I said, so you let the baby squirrels grow up so your husband can kill them when they are adults, what's the point of that? Mind you, she has 8 children and 24 grand children, with many more on the way.

 

[AK-Bird-brain]

I only feel bad if it took more than one shot to kill, or the fat flares up and burns it when it's on the grill.
Which reminds me I have a red fox in the freezer the kids have been wanting me to grind into burgers.

 

[Sitka]

It is not that difficult to keep a possum out of a coop if you take the right precautions.

 

[johnwilly1962]

Quote:
What does whale blubber taste like?

 

[AK-Bird-brain]

Quote:
What does whale blubber taste like?

Kind of like chewing on wax. Dip it in soy sauce and not half bad. About tore my guts up on it's way out though.
Before you ask no it wasn't trying to get in the coop! I used to work for a native corporation and folks were always bringing stuff in to share.

 

[SurprisingWoman]

I have had to think about this a lot.

I don't own a gun, my friends don't either.

I eat vegetarian five nights a week.

I have three cats that RULE THE ROOST.

I have a guinea pig with a 12 sq ft cage and five veggies a day, with free range timothy hay (that I import on the internet from Nebraska) and pellets of timothy hay

and a HUGE Blue Heeler that lives the life of a pasha.

My chicks are finding a similar environment. They are our entertainment and we spend more watching our animals than most do on their movie budgets, and we get health benefits from protecting the earth.

I do feel badly when I decide to dispatch a predator. I can do it though, I don't know if my husband could. Raccoons don't have any redeeming qualities that I can find other than, "they are so cute!" I have a crapload of animals that are cute and don't rip each others head's off.

I have made my decision and found peace with it. Everyone is different.

 

[cornishman]

no...

it is up to me to look out for my chickens!

 

[Bear Foot Farm]

What does whale blubber taste like?

Greasy chicken​