Coming Attractions

No, the big donkeys I have been posting are not guard donkeys, nor will they be.

No, I am not going to breed Emma.  Doing so might help get her little weight problem under control and, I confess, I would love another donkey baby, but there are too many homeless donkeys and it might not be safe for Emma.  Also, while she is, of course, perfect and much loved, even perfect, much loved donkeys have conformation flaws that should not be passed on.

No more babies for Emma....

....but there are other donkeys in the world.

BIG donkeys.

A Day on The Farm

Hello blog readers.  Here I am for another guest blog.  I figured since the whole coyote problem has surfaced, I should provide more details.  For fifteen years, I have maintained a good relationship with the coyotes.  I admire and respect them, and they used to (I think) have pretty much the same attitude towards me.  I am not sure why there is a problem this year, but there definitely is.  

Here is how it started.  One sunny afternoon, I was clipping the pasture on half of my field behind the barn.  I was on my tractor, using a seven-foot sickle-bar mower.  I noticed the sheep grazing on the other side of the field in the tall grass, which was due to be clipped the following week.  After about an hour, I noticed the sheep running to the barn, and I wondered what that was all about, but I was not alarmed.  When I was done clipping, I went to the barn and checked the sheep, and all looked fine.  I did not count them, as they are REALLY hard to count! 

The next day, when went they went outside, I noticed one lamb hanging back.  She looked fine, but she was walking slowly.  To my horror, when she went past, I could see how her whole side was ripped open.  After much searching around, I was finally able to get a vet over, but the lamb had to be put down, as her injuries were too severe.  

At that point, I got an accurate count on the lambs and determined that another was missing, never to be found.  Now, you are probably wondering where Bess was during the attack, and I will tell you that she was in the house!  It was a brutally hot afternoon that day, and I was using a sickle-bar mower!  I NEVER have any dogs or cats outside while using such equipment.  

Of course, I was horrified that this happened and felt very responsible and guilty that I had let my sheep down.  I then began my stint as an official shepherd, watching those sheep every second that they were out grazing.  Last Thursday, I decided that it might be a good idea to shoot my .22 gun off, just to make a scary noise.  First I did a perimeter check with Bess and Kelsey to check for any invaders.  Finding nothing, I put the dogs in the house again because it was very humid, and they were very hot from their patrol around the farm.  I then took the gun and went to let the sheep out and watch them.  After about an hour, they had drifted about 200 feet from the barn, so I ran in the barn to check my 100 Freedom Ranger chicks.  Immediately, I felt nervous about the sheep, so I ran back out to count them (for the billionth time).  All of a sudden, I saw a ewe pick her head up in alarm, and a coyote came streaking out after one of my lambs at about one hundred MPH.  

There I was with a loaded gun in my hands screaming and running as fast as I could towards this coyote, who totally ignored me!!  Finally, I stopped and let a shot off, which did make the coyote take notice, and he left.  Luckily no lambs were hurt.  The next day, my neighbor that has land adjacent to mine lost a lamb (he began a flock three years ago, when I gave him a couple of ewe lambs).  So now I am totally shook up. 

Bess really does her serious patrolling at night, and she does not stay with the flock, as I have not raised her that way.  If you remember, I mostly wanted a guard dog to guard the farmstead, keeping the chickens, border collies, and me safe.  I always fall way too much in love with my dogs to have a dog that stays with the flock all the time.  I am very happy with Bess, and to be totally honest, I would rather lose the whole flock of sheep and herd of cattle than have something happen to Bess.  That is just the way it is, although I do very much care for my sheep and cattle and will do my best to protect them.  

I agree with Kris that hunting the coyotes down is really not the answer, so I have got to do a lot of thinking and develop a new plan to keep everyone safe.  A donkey or a llama are possibilities, although I have heard both very good and bad things about both of these options.  All of your input regarding this matter is welcome.  Meanwhile, I will watch over the sheep while carrying a loaded gun, although I probably will not aim to hit any coyotes.  The sheep know I am aware of the danger, and they know I have got their backs.   

Now let's hope Kris posts lots of pictures of Bess, Kelsey, scout and the farm just to cheer us all up.

Sneak Preview

Mary, a Catalonian donkey.

Bodie, American Mammoth Jackstock gelding.

Conversations.

Pepper, an accident between a mini stud and a mammoth Jenny.  Where there's a will, there's a way!

Ben, American Mammoth Jackstock gelding.

Ben.

Under Seige

After nearly fifteen years of relatively peaceful co-existence, the local coyotes have called off the truce.  There is a group of at least three young toughs who have gone rogue and become sheep killers.  They are likely litter mates that were born early this year and they seem to be lacking in older adults who might teach them some caution.  They attacked the sheep last week, right in the middle of the afternoon, and killed two lambs.  That might not seem like a huge lose to some of the big farms, but to a small farm like this, it is devastating, both emotionally and financially.

I find it hard to blame the coyotes as they have been under intense hunting pressure in the past few years and this is how they respond.  They breed faster, spread out, expand their territory and become more aggressive.  It is why coyotes are the only predator who's numbers and range have grown rather than declined in the past thirty years.  The harder we try to eliminate them, the more of them there are.

In addition, there is something really pressuring the coyotes right now.  We aren't sure what it is, but they are acting very out of character.  While we all hear coyotes almost every night, they are generally shy and it is very rare to actually see them.  These coyotes are coming out in the middle of the day and they are very brazen, fearless and difficult to deter.  It took both of us AND Connor and Bess to chase them out of the field one day last week.  That is not at all normal.

I respect and admire coyotes.  I also understand why ranchers and farmers hate them.

The question is: What to do?

Bess is doing her job and trying her best, but she is only one dog and can't protect an entire farm twenty-four hours a day.  She is grossly outnumbered and she has to sleep sometime.  Late Sunday night she had a big showdown with a large pack, at least 10-15 coyotes.  Her hysterical barking and the coyote's frenzied response had Farm Buddy heading out in the middle of the night, armed with a single-shot .22, to help Bess out.  She was afraid they might kill her.  One guard dog, no matter how fierce, is no match for an entire pack of desperate predators.

The sheep are going out only with supervision for the time being and we are trying to figure out what to do.  We have talked about different fencing options, adding more/different guard animals, finding hunters to go after them....I suspect though, that the problem won't go away unless and until the coyote population stabilizes once again.  We can only hope that everyone survives that long and then hope that the truce will be resumed.

Something Big

I am sorry to have been such a terrible blogger recently.  I hadn't intended it, but I guess I needed a break.  I am going back to work tomorrow and, since I am rejoining the real world after my surgically induced sabbatical, I will try to get back into writing again as well.

I did find something this afternoon that might help.  Something that is sure to shake things up a bit.  Something exciting.  Something BIG.

Here's a little hint....

Donkey Welfare Symposium

The 2016 Donkey Welfare Symposium is being held at Cornell university in Ithaca, NY this year.  I am planning on attending.  Who else is going?

http://www.cvent.com/d/kfq4xj?lang=en&sms=7&cn=J_qIu_TeR06py1A5SzDtew

Face Lift

Sorry to have disappeared so completely.  I am doing well, just struggling to find any words and a reason to go looking for them again.

There is not much interesting happening here, but that does not mean that there is nothing interesting going on.  Farm Buddy has tackled some big projects this year and one of them has been some long awaited house repairs.

I tried to find a decent before photo.....

Things always get worse before they get better (especially when I am taking pictures with my iPod and making the pictures even worse with clumsy fingers getting in the way).

It is quite amazing what a pressure washer can do in the right hands....

And equally amazing what a simple coat of  primer can accomplish.

This farm house is about 200 years old.  It needs a bit of TLC, but it is still a sound and beautiful structure.

 Nowadays, people are lucky if they get 10 years out of a new house before it needs major repairs.  After 200 years, this house needed a few boards replaced and a good paint job.

It is still a work in progress and I need to get back over with the camera and get some better pictures, but the old place is looking mighty spiffy these days.