Last night the Commander and I went out to check on the animals, he was worried that someone would be down with a case of bloat because when he put the animals away he saw a few too many hay bellies.
The moon was full and as we walked to the first barn a long wolf howl echoed in the distance. It was soon answered by two other wolves who called from different locations, all surrounding our place. It was a bit odd to hear a fourth call that was obviously a coyote, one would think they would keep their yaps shut with all the wolves about.
The wolf calls make sense from one perspective, for when our neighbor came over Sunday he alerted us that he had just seen a wolf dash through a field between our properties. He said it was one of the largest wolves he has ever spotted around here.
I am now a bit scared to let the animals out into their pastures during the day while I'm away for work. I can't leave the dogs out as they would just be snacks if a wolf came across them. They just started wolf hunts in Minnesota this year, would it be bad if I hoped someone would thin the pack that seems to have moved in around here?
Seasons Changing
8 hours ago
No, not at all. It's your livestock,it's only natural that you want to protect them.
ReplyDeleteYikes, scary. I'm all for letting nature take its course, and told my mom we weren't going to kill the fox that has been hanging out by our sheep pen, because all he's doing is cleaning up the mice out of the feed barn. But a wolf is a whole different breed...
ReplyDeleteI use to think that it was horrible for people to want to kill wolves or coyotes. I always and still do think they are beautiful creatures. Now as a shepherd myself, I can't sleep at night when I hear the yapping of the coyotes around the property. I lock my sheep in at night, but I feel better if they weren't around so much. A little pack thinning to save my sheep is what I say.
ReplyDeletenope. owning livestock puts game hunting in a whole different perspective, doesnt it? around here the coyotes are getting more and more bold. its getting kinda scary. zoikes!
ReplyDeleteWe have a larger coyote population this year. There wasn't enough snow for anyone to hunt last winter, and the warm weather did not provide any natural thinning of the population. Hope everyone stays safe.
ReplyDeleteRachy - That is what I was thinking.
ReplyDeleteRuth - I like wildlife just fine, so long as it is away from our goats, sheep, and foul!
Chris - I was/am the same way. Everyone gets locked up tight at night for their own good. Wolves belong in the wild, not on farms and in neighborhoods.
OFG - Wildlife is creeping in on towns and cities with the hope of people who can't separate cute from danger and disease. Too many deer a destroying vehicles and rabies is hitting too many counties. Everyone needs to learn to throw hatchets or something....
Teresa - Coyotes are destroying the game bird populations throughout the Mid West. Their numbers need to be brought down for the sake of all wildlife, domestic farm animals and pets.
I finally got a livestock guardian dog, after losing a couple of sheep and a number of cats to coyotes. He is 140 lbs of snuggly, sweet, coyote killer. Haven't lost anything since and I will never be without one again. I hear it takes 2 for wolves though.
ReplyDeleteTex - We are at our dog limit here with the house dog (Patch) and the 2 herding dogs (Sara the Border Collie and Molly the Aussie Shepherd). We considered a livestock dog but the Winters are just too brutal with temps routinely at the -20 F before windchill is factored in.
ReplyDeleteThat's farm life. You need to protect your farm animals. It would be terrible if you lost one of your dogs!!! Don't feel bad for wanting to protect your animals.
ReplyDeleteI used to feel bad about killing fox who killed our guineas and chickens, but after seeing so many guineas and chickens killed or badly injured, I stopped feeling that way.
Lynn - I used to like the "idea" of wild wolves but the reality has me very frightened. Ultimately we will do what we have to to keep everyone here safe.
ReplyDelete