two coyotes this morning chased my dogs....

[henryetta]

oh meri, they are behond adorable. I think i would move back to the country just to have a donkey again. (oh i loved the country when we were there, but now, im afraid to say, that when i hear of the ole coyote song, and some of the other preditor stuff, it shivers me up my back. I've turned into a fearful of many things with age, but still have the love of nature and wild things. Just not as easly delt with as when i was liven it.

 

[Mojo Chick'n]

I'm thinking of having hubby break out one of the holsters so I can carry a pistol on the farm - that way my hands will be free to work, yet I'll have it handy.

I'm a much better shot with a rifle, but I'm not too bad with a pistol (still working on that).

with those coyotes coming out at all hours of the day or night, I never know when one might be in the field and my animals in harm's way.

meri

 

[Mojo Chick'n]

Quote:
I grew up on a farm and we had horses - I never had a donkey til I moved down here two years ago (now I have 9

) I like donkeys better than horses.

If I had the room, I'd probably have more of them.

My neighbor who is "the" donkey guy to go to if you need anything (vet related, advice, etc... about donkeys) has 40 donkeys!! he is 98 years old, has four teeth in his whole head and is the biggest character - he's a lot of fun to chat with.

meri

 

[henryetta]

ya know, i loved my horses too, and did my riding on them. I liked my mule but she was a little 'off' and never quite got that people were good. My donkey that had originally had been brought in with the mustangs and lived with an old fellow for years, was the gentelest little being and loved to be hugged. Dont think i ever trusted a 'hoofed' animal as much as i did her. Miss her dearly. So fun reading of someone elses enjoyment/love of the little beasties..

 

[Beekissed]

I worry about bears here more than coyotes, but we do have them. I would really like to see a coyote come in these dogs' territory, it would make a fine fight. They work well as a team and I've seen them start at each end of a stray dog and work towards the middle!

They are quite scarey!

I think I'd much rather see them live and die like real dogs than huddle inside the house, living out their lives as rug ornaments.

I don't want my dogs to get hurt, by any means, but they are outside dogs and these things happen. I would hate to lose one of them, as they are much like your Toby, but they have a purpose in this world.

Aren't labs just the best dogs?

My two lab mixes on guard in the yard!

 

[chickerdoodle]

Such C-U-T-E donkeys!!!

 

[bibliophile birds]

we've got a guard GOAT! he just showed up one day and decided that he really liked our horses, so he stuck around. we call him Hobo. it's like he's determined to make sure this place is safe since he CHOSE to live here.

he can get under almost all the fences on the farm, so he makes his rounds periodically to check that everything is ok. this spring he faced off with a couple of black bear cubs! they don't often come down into the fields, but these were running around having a good time. Hobo just didn't think they should be there so he charged them- stood up and tried to head butt one but they made a run for it. mama bear was not happy about it, but a quick warning shot in her direction helped her remember to look after her cubs and move along.

mojo- have you ever thought about Japanese Akitas? they sometimes get a bad rep as aggressive dogs (much like Pit Bulls) but as long as you get them as puppies and establish rules with them, they are FANTASTIC guard dogs. i had one growing up named Bear who was the sweetest thing unless you were trespassing. i once saw him take on 3 coyotes that just wouldn't leave when he told them to. 2 of them slunk off in tatters and we had to shoot one because Bear had gnawed his leg off... gruesome (terrible to witness), but incredibly effective.

good luck with your intruders.

 

[Cetawin]

I always have worried about losing one doing his job and still worry about it however, I remember that my love, training, caring for and raising him is makes him want to do his job and his love for me and appreciation of what I do for him, could make him give his life for me or mine.

It is a tough thing to think about but they have a job and they do it and sometimes they give up their life for you or that job.

 

[Mahonri]

Wow... I'd be setting some traps... you can't rest with coyotes that brazen.

 

[Mojo Chick'n]

I do understand that it is his job, and if it so happened that he was harmed or killed while doing his job, then so be it - however, if I can keep him from being harmed unnecesarily, then I'll do so.

The way the coyotes were hunting last night, I just felt that they would go after a dog sooner than to work very hard to get into my coops. The coops are pretty safe, a dog out in the dark by himself (cause Lily would have peed herself and hid on the porch

) isn't safe when so many coyotes are roaming the property. Plus, with the critters safe, there was no need for him to go risk himself.

with them out in the daytime (the coyotes) and my birds free ranging in the daytime, that is probably more dangerous than at night. The dogs are outside on patrol whenever I leave the farm. So if something happens while I am gone then I wouldn't be there with a gun, but they would be there to try to save the poultry and other critters.


I look at it more like the dogs and I are partners - when I'm not there, it is their job to protect - when I am there, it is my job to protect First - they are the second line of defense.


Toby knows the weirdness with the coyotes has me a bit on edge. This morning when he did his rounds (we have 25 acres) he stopped now and then to look back towards the house and make sure I was ok out there

and also to let me know he was still on our property and not off across the road (like he sometimes does.).

Of course, his first hint was when I took the gun out with me to do chores - I never have done that before. I just figured to have it closer to where I was, leaned against the coop porch rail rather than inside the house.

meri