I have found dogs a risk if you raise birds. They like chicken.
My daughters last dog was removed when we found it eating a lamb.
So much for protector.
Kirk
Keith Addison <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
Hi David
Interesting, nice story, thanks.
>Keith,
>
>If you want a more permanent means of predator dissuasion, the Pastore
>Maremmano dog is an excellent guard for pigs, sheep, goats, chickens and
>donkeys.
Well, I'd like that. I once had a Pyrenean mountain dog, much the
same as a Maremma, very nice indeed, but these dogs are huge! They
weigh in at about 50kg, it'd eat us out of house and home. The idea
is to protect our meat-producers, but I think they might eat more
meat than they'd protect.
Actually we considered a dog a while back, though nothing so
enormous, but we ruled it out. A dog is more of a commitment than
we're prepared to make. We're not sure how long we'll be in this
place, nor even in Japan, for that matter. I doubt it would work very
well anyway, there are lots of small fields here, fenced, with birds
in any three or four of them, the dog couldn't be in all of them at
once. Nor in three hutches at night which raccoons or a weasel could
attack. And it wouldn't protect hatchlings from crows. Also this
place is too small for such a beast, it's only about 800 sq metres.
Anyway, I must confess this yarn about the weasel is not quite what it seems.
Yes, we do have a weasel, here it is again:
http://journeytoforever.org/bflpics/weasel6-4-072.jpg
And yes, weasels are a scourge of poultry, they'll kill everything if
they can. But this particular weasel is not a problem. In fact one of
the reasons I'm so careful about setting traps for predators is that
I really don't want to catch the weasel by mistake.
But I just thought I'd ask, I was interested in what responses I might get.
The weasel was here before we were, it's his place. I saw him the
first day I was here, before we moved in. Oops, I thought, that
one'll be trouble.
He was indeed trouble. I saw him a few times and asked him please to
leave our chickens alone, but it wasn't too long before he attacked
the chicken hutch, and killed a chicken. We heard the uproar and
chased him away, but he came back a couple of times, bent on killing
more chickens, not much hope of keeping him out. So I set a trap, and
caught him. I used a Chinese rat trap, like this one here, a cage
trap:
http://journeytoforever.org/at_rats.html#trap
But the weasel escaped. It was the first time I'd used this
particular trap, which I'd asked a friend in Hong Kong to send us so
we could copy the design. But this one wasn't like the excellent
traps we'd used in Hong Kong for rats - I didn't realise the springs
(the crucial bit) were so weak, the kind of cheapo springs that
stretch out and stay that way if you give them a good tug. The weasel
managed to stretch the springs and got out. It must've been a real
struggle though, I found the trap about two metres from where I'd set
it. I don't think he enjoyed that very much. But neither did the
chicken he'd killed.
Hm. So I set another trap, this one a snare - I don't like snares,
but I don't like having chickens murdered either, and it's my
obligation to protect the chickens, that's the deal you make. And I
caught the weasel again - and again it got away. I'm not experienced
with snares, the catch was set too strong and it didn't release, or
it'd have garotted him. As it was it just collared him, and he was
able to work his way out. I don't think he enjoyed that either.
We didn't see the weasel again for a few days after that. When it
reappeared it had totally lost interest in chickens. And so it
remains, three years later. Same with ducks and geese, I've seen the
weasel passing ducks in the narrow outside corridor next to the
house, ducks going one way, weasel the other, and they take no notice
of each other.
He often comes into the front part of the house to forage in the
kitchen, including times when we've been nursing a hurt chicken in
there, he knows it's there, it's defenceless, but he ignores it.
He'll steal eggs though, if we leave them around.
He doesn't mind me much, he's come right up to me quite a few times,
then rushes past, bent upon his business. He's not at all tame
though, totally wild.
Has anyone ever heard of someone, um, negotiating with a weasel?
Because I haven't, and if there is such a thing I'd really like to
know about it.
Do I trust him? No I don't, despite his exemplary behaviour for the
last three years - weasels kill chickens, it's how they make their
living. But I'm definitely not going to kill him on suspicion. Anyway
as long as he's here there won't be any other weasels around, which
would kill chickens.
So that's mainly why I'm interested in trying to educate things like
raccoons, because of our very strange weasel. But I think I'm going
to have to kill another raccoon anyway. As well as a crow. Or two.
I'd really hate it if a dog killed the weasel.
Thanks again David, all best
Keith
>It has even been introduced to Middle Island, Australia to protect a
>dwindling penguin population:
>
>http://www.warrnambool.vic.gov.au/page/page.asp?page_Id=527
>
>---------------------------
>Penguin numbers up after world-first maremma trial - 13/12/2006
>
>Little penguins, nearly driven to extinction on Middle Island, have almost
>tripled in number at the conclusion of the world-first maremma guardian dog
>trail this week.
>
>Warrnambool Mayor Cr David Atkinson said initial results from the penguin
>protection trial were promising with little penguins returning to the
>island.
>
>Numbers were up from 27 to 70 at the most recent count.
>
>We are still to go over the results of the trial thoroughly but we are
>extremely enthusiastic about the positive impact the maremma guardian dog
>seems to have had on the safety and security of the penguins and shearwaters
>on Middle Island,� Cr Atkinson said.
>
>Penguin numbers dropped dramatically from almost 2000 to under 100 due to
>attacks by foxes and stray dogs wandering onto the island.
>
>...
>
>Middle Island has been reopened to the public.
>
>
>
> >
> >I was chatting offlist with Kirk about traps and stuff, and decided
> >to bring it back onlist:
> >
>
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