!#+%! COYOTES!

[Shiloh Acres]

I am so sad, so mad.

Sometime during the night, a pack of coyotes busted into the barn. The floor is dirt, and they tried digging in several places, and managed to find a weak place to break through and also dig. They gor my pregnant does. I was expecting the first kids next month, from my very sweet girl.

Not sure what I'm going to do. I'm worried now about the other livestock, since I woulda thought the barn was safe. My coop is new so chickens I hope are safe at night, but rabbit cages are not secure from a pack though they are in a fenced yard. I think the goose coop is strong enough. My buckling and wether and llama normally stay in the pasture at night. There are hog panel sections to help prevent digging under but the fence is only 4' high in places.

I dunno. I can not believe I didn't wake up. I usually hear the mule way across the field or even tiny sounds out there. And the neighbors dog is penned near my bedroom window. Maybe he didn't bark. The barn is not too near.

I'm thinking of putting my other animals in the backyard at night. If something chases them, I hope my dog and the neighbors' would wake me. I might sleep with a window open but it's chilly for that and there has been a very VERY nasty bug going around at school and I really don't want to be sick -- especially at the holidays.

I want the blasted coyotes DEAD. I'm going to miss that sweet girl. She hopped up on the milk stand from about the second day of training and used to lick my arms when she finished her grain while I finished the milking. She was getting HUGELY rounded and fat with those babies, and I was outside yesterday scratching her big stretched tummy for her.

I'm afraid I'm still in shock. And beyond disappointed at losing her especially.

 

[justusnak]

Oh I am so very sorry!!! I have noticed the yotes are very active right now. Sam one in the field across the road from me a few days ago, dureing the day time. When it spotted me it just sat down and watched me. I HATE YOTES!!! Your poor goat...I am so very sorry.

 

[Blackbird]

Oh my gosh!! I can't imagine!! They got all of your girls?? How many did you have?

i'd just be storming mad..
do you have any firearms?

 

[aggieterpkatie]

Oh no!! How sad!

 

[urban dreamer]

OH NO! Oh I'm so sorry! I hope you can find a way to protect your other critters! SSS- Shoot, Shovel, Shut-up.

 

[Shiloh Acres]

Thanks, y'all.

I had two does. Not a lot, but they were the only ones old enough to be bred. Both second fresheners. One was SO sweet and a good milker for a FF.

I just realized ,,, I thought I'd have just a couple months' off milking. Looks like it's going to be a lot longer. No kids or milk next year -- not the way I'd planned it at all.

I am SO mad. I don't usually hate an animal, and it might be kind of unreasonable, but I think about how they must have felt, trapped in the barn with those things digging and breaking in. My poor girls. Yup ,,, I am beyond mad.

And yes. I have hunting rifle and a shotgun, as well as my handgun. Tried to get a coyote in daylight outside the fence maybe a couple weeks ago but he got away. I'm thinking about a stakeout.

 

[Henrietta23]

I am so sorry!!! How horrible!!

 

[Blackbird]

Are you sure it was coyotes and not a pack of dogs that did this?
I hope I never have to experience that.. Wowzers.

 

[Shiloh Acres]

I'm relying on my neighbor. She's the tracker. She said coyotes -- and a lot of them. She said she'd check into it but poisoning is illegal here (though she told me how to do it) and only live traps are permissible without a lot of permits and red tape. Several nighbors together have been shooting coyotes lately.

There ARE dogs around, but only one or two of the group are any size. These cooperated and dragged one goat out of the barn. I've put a pretty big scare on the leader of the dogs and it hasn't been back since then, months ago. I saw the other one today. Not bloated, not bloddy, just lean and standing in the road

I'm not the expert on it tho.

 

[ksalvagno]

I am so sorry. That is just horrible. I hope you get those stupid coyotes. I lost 2 barn cats in the last couple weeks and I'm sure it is coyotes. I'm down to one barn cat now and I'm devastated. These were the most loving barn cats I have had and excellent mousers. I will have to get more cats but I'm going to start locking them up in my barn that they can't get out of.