English Shepherd as Poultry Guardian

[TalkALittle]

A good sized freezer and some trophy hunting friends would help. I know what you mean. Dogs can eat you out of house and home. Even small ones. And if they are working all day they have even bigger appetites.

 

[centrarchid]

We are getting first decent cold of winter for Ben. He still gets hot running about. Coat is assume but he needs to pace himself. He does not have the ability to dump heat by laying prone on snow like Lucy does. She can get wound up chasing something then cool down quickly to resume high activity levels. Snow not deep now and predator visits not an issue currently although that will change. Foxes are going to have a harder time getting rodents so bigger prey will become more interesting to them.

 

[centrarchid]

We are effectively snowed in. Feedings to chickens will be smaller and more frequent. This will give excuse to walk down property with dogs and fence perimeters that are shorted out by snow.

 

[aart]

We are effectively snowed in. Feedings to chickens will be smaller and more frequent. This will give excuse to walk down property with dogs and fence perimeters that are shorted out by snow.

Like..... can't get out of the driveway snowed in?

 

[centrarchid]

Just car used to transport kids. Ice covered by snow.

 

[centrarchid]

Dogs and kids out and about in snow before we attempted to sled ride. Ground not frozen causing issues with runner sled.


Ben. Not very photogenic.

Ben and Lucy.

Four year old son.

Two and half year old daughter.

Both kids fight with Ben. He loves it.

 

[centrarchid]

Ben has reached another milestone. As we walk through paddocks I cross fences as I come to them. Ben now follows indirectly by using openings in fencing to keep up. Previously he would follow Lucy or after some whining about he would go over fence by jumping. This makes so he covers more ground and paths were he is more likely to scent bad guys and to leave trails to be crossed by the bad guys.

 

[centrarchid]

Check this image out. Satellite took it the winter before I acquired Scoob. The first year and a half predators where a real challenge. Trails visible that are not straight with right angles are trails made by animals. Most are made by predators that were going to or coming from trailer court to northeast. Oppossums and raccoons were a nightly occurence until Scoob was nearly a year old making me for a time very reliant upon electric fencing. Dogs, foxes and coyotes also used the trails a lot. To south trails and beds made by White-tailed Deer also evident.

I like Google Earth. You can even pull up images from years past showing same locations. I am watching closely for new image that will show barn, apple orchard and beeyard.

 

[scottcaddy]

Nice! I didn't know that you could pull up a time lapse from Google.
Thanks much!
Scott

 

[centrarchid]

Coyotes are getting into scraps evicting some of last years pups and firming up territory boundaries. It will not be long before mating gets underway in earnest. Both Lucy and Ben quite when the coyotes act up. Lucy can not take them alone and Ben is not yet ready. I am more confident than ever in the fencing and the dogs can use it to their favor in the event the coyotes do invade core. In just over a year the second English Shepherd will be acquired which will completely change the dynamic with the coyotes where repelling will be immediate and likely involving little more than barking. Scoob and Lucy as adults did it well but Lucy and 9 month old Ben just not there yet.