PLANNED POULTRY GUARDING DOG

[centrarchid]

MYSTERY VARMINT(S) PUT US ON HIGH ALERT

About 0200 this morning Scoob came barreling into house and then bedroom breathing hard. He was doing his follow me routine and was clearly agitated. I started getting semi-dressed, made sure infant son was tucked in and went out to find Scoob who was already back to location of what he considered a disturnbance which on neighors property. My birds all quite and safe as could be determined with quick scan of flashlight. Scoob was concentrating his tracking efforts about 800 feet away where he could be seen largely with aid of neighbor's service light. My flashlight helped with some monitoring of Scoob but I did not want to blind him. Scoob was running and tracking hard along a line that went between neighbor's electrified chicken enclosure and large hardened coop. He also ran between to two ponds that the flocks of geese and ducks use. Scoob paid particular attention to pond where common snapping turtle has been according to neighbor been killing adult ducks. Scoob's activities did not cause usual stir among waterfowl as he bowled through their locations. Something was up. It is difficult to describe how much effort Scoob was investing in trying line out what problem was. He ran very fast tracking but no barking back and forth along a route that was at least 400 feet oneway with nose popping. He was putting so much into effort it seemed he thought varmint was still present. I began shining trees looking for reflecting eyes but saw none. I watched his effort for a good 30 minutes and suveyed actual poultry roosts with flashlite and rifle at ready. All birds were on roost. During this time Scoob made too loops that include our poultry as well but each time he concentrated his efforts on neighbors. Last time this happened a raccoon was involved but Scoob did not seem to be as earnest. I suspect scent was stronger this time and possibly involved more than one varmint. I finally went home with Scoob coming with. He then laid down in front doorway positioned so his head was aimed outside across threshold. Lucy came over and tried to play but Scoob was focused on what was going on outside. He will patrol several more times I am sure before dawn. Doing what is does requires a major energy expenditure which explains why he is sometimes so tired during day. Roosters have not crowed during entire time required to right this. Breeding season must be closing and molt intensifying.

 

[centrarchid]

WAY OFF PROPERTY PREEMPTIVER STRIKE

This morning a student working in my lab called to say two raccoons had gotten in and consumed some of my brood stock bluegill. Those fish are worth a great deal. We are in process of moving to newly constructed lab in part owing to biosecurity issues such as these provided by existing lab that was originally constructed for hogs. I rounded up rifle, keys, flashlight and Scoob but forgot duck (important later). We loaded up car and took the 20 minute drive to lab which Scoob does weekly when we go to TSC for supplies. Scoob like sniff dog toys and gets treats from ladies at register so he likes trips for that reason alone. When we got to lab student walked me through carnage. No question coons were eating my brood fish. Pit tags to missing fish can be detected in piles of scat along back wall of room used to house brood animals. Scoob quickly lined out one coon (a kitten) that holed up in inside a cinder block. I found sow some distance away in pit that is nearly 60 feet long with heavy wire grate as a cover. We went after kitten first per Scoob’s direction. Scoob could not get at coon but was perfectly willing to try and chew thru concrete to do it. I pulled Scoob back and grabbed coon by very large pair of channel locks ancd pulled it out. Scoob grabbed and promptly killed it. Sow was targeted next. Scoob could get not fit thru access point used by sow so I had to move a bunch of heavy materials to make so a grate could be removed. All said and done a good 30 minutes where chewed up doing that. Scoob how sow lined out and was eager to get job done and sow new it. Just as grate was lifted sow went done a 10” drain that Scoob could not access. We were not beat yet. I went over to one of the big tanks that could be drained into pit and pulled a pipe so water came washing down into drain. Scoob jumped out of pit to follow me. Just as last water went down drain sow climbed out, somehow relatively dry. Scoob saw her and jumped down and proceeded to maul her. Surface was slick and strongly sloping to drain so Scoob did not have superior speed like he normally does against a coon. Fight lasted maybe 30 seconds and Scoob was causing coon serious hurt possibly rendering one of her back legs less than fully functional. Sow bit Scoob a couple times but fight was clearly going in Scoob’s favor and he would have finished her if he knew not to let her head get into drain where she pulled herself down. Scoob caused her more damage as she gave up on fight to get away into drain. Scoob was clearly frustrated and barked tree at coon not more than 3 feet away inside pipe. I drained another tank in effort to get sow to come out again but she would not. Scoob stood over drain as water rushed down waiting for sow to come up for rematch which she did not. She knew consequences. To make long story short, I placed a large cinder block over drain to block her access. Then is I we walked out congratulating each other I walking into a propane pipe to heater and almost knocked myself out. That is what the duck was for. I am tallish and now have a major headache, maybe a mild concussion with a goose-egg above right eye.

This is where using a hunting dog as a livestock guardian comes into it’s own. Scoob does not regard poultry as part of pack. If he did then poultry not mine would be attacked. Poultry are part of his landscape. Scoob’s biddable nature makes so he can work under my direction as part of a team. I reworked environment so he could get around better and he went where I directed to get a coons.

We will set a couple live-traps tonight armed with peanut butter in effort to get sow and any kittens we could not locate previously.

First victim, coon kitten.


Drain as water sent down before sow emerges.


Drain with cinder block in attempt to block sow from reentering lab.

 

[centrarchid]

DON'T BE STUPID SCOOB

I was out in nearly full moon banding birds without using a flashlite which something that can not be done all that often. While I was focused on my mission Scoob ran off towards neighbors again and very shortly started barking tree. I picked up flashlite for that and started to walk in that direction when Scoob came trotting back with adult oppossum in his mouth. It was alive and well with minimal damage. Scoob trotted into front yard and deposited the varmint just off front porch. Still alive. Not enough action at home so Scoob decided to import trouble. Maybe he is thinking job security?

 

[smilingcat]

ROFLOL... But isn't scoob a retriever? just doin' his natural thing.

 

[centrarchid]

ROFLOL... But isn't scoob a retriever? just doin' his natural thing.

Scoob may have as part of his selected for qualities the propensity to retrieve which he does when we play but he has yet to employ it in the types of hunting and predator management we do. I do not think he was retrieving when taking quarry back to home base. I think he was either preparing to cache catch or just as likely it was being brought back for pup to play with which she did before Scoob abruptly decided to dispatch the critter. When Scoob has been getting some of the previous oppossums he has been caching them which is natural canid behavior predating selection made for cooporative hunting with humans. Scoob is a caching fool. He sometimes eats his entire bowl of food all at once, goes out into pasture, digs hole, pukes most what he just ate into hole and then covers it with dirt using nose, As pup indoors he appeared to attempt same but could not bury anything in concrete or he did it in cloths pile (laundry or clean cloths basket). This made for surprise puke piles he would later eat if we did not clean them up first.

Bringing live quarry back for young also done by at least some wild canids and employed by at least two free-ranging female dogs I had to raise pups. The females (one black and tan hound and one dalmation) once well into pregnancy would promptly eat anything they could catch. Prey items I noted were voles, fox squirrels, ground hogs, muskrats, cottontail rabbits, swamp rabbits, chipmunks and large snakes (rat snakes, black king snakes, garter snakes, rough green snakes). Once pups began to consume solids, the hound in particular would catch lots of critters, swallow them often whole, and take them back an puke them up for pups to eat. Larger items like squirrels, rabbits and snakes where dismembered before swallowing while ground hogs where carried back in mouth (we has lots of ground hogs around soybean and hay feilds that dogs caught regularly). It was nothing for hound to go out for two hours hunting and puke up 30 or so voles that where consumed by pups immediately. For a brief period both female dogs brought back life prey such as juvenile rabbits and pups clearly played with those briefly before consuming them. All this was in addition to quality feed we supplied which I thought was in excess for pups. Neither female dog would go after live chickens but both would consume dead ones with little hesitation. The hound was also one of the best poultry dogs I ever had so qualities not degraded there.

Maybe Scoob was doing same with respect bring prey back for pup's benefit. Lucy (pup) is appropriate age and Scoob clearly is has taken on role of nurturing pack member that puts a lot of thought into what he is doing. He is no wild grey wolf but he is a very smart dude. He even allows her a shot at food bowl before he is done which seems odd to me. I always thought bringing back live stuff was moms role but maybe others in pack to same.

Biggest problem I see with all this is that oppossum is as big as Lucy is now, Truely biggecs concern is that Lucy may start bringing the big stinkies into house when we are not home. Scoob earlier this year had a coon stashed under bed. That was nasty.

 

[smilingcat]

Sorry but I have to laugh. Reminds me of a time when one of my cats brought in a live cotton tail then released it. "Hey MOM!! Look what I brought for you, a live bunny!!" Talk about blood everywhere in the living room. It wasn't funny then but looking back it was well, i can laugh at myself for trying to catch that rabiit so he wouldn't bloody up the room even more.

I guess we all have stories of our dogs/cats bringing in the wildlife. No skunks yet. And oh our Pyrenees mix did take a bite of a vole. It was just a bite but it disappeared with just one bite. Down the hatch it went.

 

[centrarchid]

COMMON SNAPPER TREED NEAR SET LIVETRAP

Early this morning I found an American Dominique pullet that had passed away in pen I used to test for broodiness. At close of second egg production season she failed in respect to broodiness and also passed away. It was very warm so she was already making a smell by time I got home from work. I routinely use such morts as bait in livetraps to catch critters that Scoob does not intercept. As I was arming trap with carcass Scoob opened up in tree so I walked to location downwind of birds carcass expecting to find Scoob with an oppossum. It was odd Scoob had not at least given his quarry a good shake. As I got closer I could see something pretty sizable in dead weeds that Scoob was barking at. Lighting was poor so I thought another skunk but no white stripe evident. Maybe it could be a ground hog or even an armidillo was thought right up until I could see it was a common snapper that weighed about 12 lbs. Scoob has treed several over last year so old hat for him. This one briefly bit Scoob's foot but no harm done. It is possible turtle was tracking smell of dead pullet as I have seen them do so for snake carcasses near stream.




CULLED BIRD USED TO TRAIN PUP NOT TO ATTACK BIRDS ON GROUND AT NIGHT

The cockerel below is used as a training tool for Lucy (approaching to sniff). It is unable to get to elevated roost so it sleeps on concrete of front porch. Lucy goes out multiple times each night and gives this guy a thorough sniffing. Sometimes she even bites him and he complains as do I when I get on to her about it, It took a few nights of this but Lucy now pretty much ignores him after she walks over to see that the feather pile is him. She now almost sits on him when she turns her back on hapless bird. Cockerel's life is not best right now but he increases odds Lucy will be effective guardian against activities of predators without being risk to future flock herself. To be noted is he has also yet to to have a feather damaged although being given such sniffings by Lucy must not be all that dignifying.

 

[centrarchid]

INTERACTIONS WITH VARMINTS MAKES FOR OUCHIES


Scoob has numerous booboos associated with his job, Most are scratches associated with running through briars but some are scratches and bites from varmints. Most recent altercation with coon has caused a minor infection of front left leg. Slows him a bit but he is already on mend.

 

[LR Gamefarm]

i really suggest not ever letting him get a hold of a wild bird because he will realize that chicks and smaller chickens look like birds and kill them

 

[centrarchid]

i really suggest not ever letting him get a hold of a wild bird because he will realize that chicks and smaller chickens look like birds and kill them

I am not quite following? If my guess correct, then dog is able to distinguish different types of birds very easily by sight, sound and smell. He chases all birds excepting poultry and it is my opinion that such activity does not affect disposition towards poultry.