The dogs were in the backyard raising cain Saturday morning. I looked outside and followed their fixed gaze. High up in a neighbor's tree right against our fence, was a familiar bandit face. A raccoon was in a crotch of the tree staring at the coop. He started down the tree and the dogs attacked the fence. Our Great Pyrenees bit the wire in her efforts to crunch the neck of that raccoon. Our Lab and Aussie went berserk barking. The raccoon went back up the tree.
We live in town just blocks from city hall and the police station in our little town. After reading for months all the horror stories of predator attacks, I built a Fort Knox coop. Good thing, because a friend of ours gave us a Great Pyrenees that killed chickens. Paris HATES chickens. So it was real comical to see Paris go lay down next to the coop, stare up at the raccoon and growl threatenly.
She might not care for the chickens, but her protective nature sure kicked in.
Just because you live in town does not mean there is no reason to worry. This raccoon was trying to get into our yard at 8 A.M. it was not a night time raid under the cover of darkness. There are houses for blocks and blocks around. A major highway cuts through town just one block away. This is not the environment you would picture wildlife in, but they are there. Do not be lulled by a false sense of security that because you live in surburbia or in town that you don't have to be careful about predators. Build your coops and runs strong and as predator proof as you can get it. And a Great Pyrenees in the yard flanked by her two sidekicks ain't a bad idea either.
We live in town just blocks from city hall and the police station in our little town. After reading for months all the horror stories of predator attacks, I built a Fort Knox coop. Good thing, because a friend of ours gave us a Great Pyrenees that killed chickens. Paris HATES chickens. So it was real comical to see Paris go lay down next to the coop, stare up at the raccoon and growl threatenly.
Just because you live in town does not mean there is no reason to worry. This raccoon was trying to get into our yard at 8 A.M. it was not a night time raid under the cover of darkness. There are houses for blocks and blocks around. A major highway cuts through town just one block away. This is not the environment you would picture wildlife in, but they are there. Do not be lulled by a false sense of security that because you live in surburbia or in town that you don't have to be careful about predators. Build your coops and runs strong and as predator proof as you can get it. And a Great Pyrenees in the yard flanked by her two sidekicks ain't a bad idea either.
