Quote: ABSOLUTELY!!
Nothing flies over my property... ever!!
We have hawks, but lately turkey vultures taking live animals is a bigger problem.
I have friends who have llamas for guardians and lost more than 60 newborn lambs last year... they have maremma now... didn't loose any this year.
Flying predators and a bigger problem for my poultry here than ground predators. We have a lot of fox... and coyote... but they are predictable.
It's the flying ones that can surprise us... working the dogs in pairs prevents surprises... one of them always see em in time.
I have never lost anything to turkey vultures or hawks... actually I have never lost any livestock at all to any form of predation since getting maremma.
I can't believe how much I depend on them and how much easier they make my life.
I am going to miss all these pups terribly... the first one left this weekend and the others all leave over the next few weeks.
They are amazing to watch... they bond so quickly with their livestock...
I wish I had a picture of their mom when she had feathers in her mouth after a hawk barely escaped with it's life a few weeks ago.
The look on her face was priceless! And they know which birds belong and which don't.
My older female loves the chickens... but is only "tolerant" of the guineas... and of course will kill any hawks or vultures... they are very discerning.