Chat
12-18-2013, 11:02 AM
I surveyed the pen this morning and I see what happened. Since the power was off, one or two coyotes wriggled under it in a place where the ground was uneven. It (or they) fought with Nibbles down the length of the fence line. Then it got her down and dragged her to the place where it got in, but wasn't able to drag her under the fence into the brush. I think they gave up after that and left her because they didn't want to hang around inside a fence. Nibbles lost a lot more blood than I realized last night. It had pooled under the snow in the spot where the coyotes left her, leaving only two small spots on the surface. I feel sick about it.
Joe, your comment about the dog is one of the reasons I've not been so sure about getting one. I saw the neighbor's livestock guardian dog playing with the coyotes in the field next to ours one day. I don't know if she was in heat and trying to get bred, or if she was just bored, or what. She didn't get attacked, but she didn't drive them off either. On the other hand, I've seen the same dog run down foxes and other predators on different occasions. I've also hesitated because I've heard (and witnessed) too many horror stories where the LGD attacked the animals it was supposed to be guarding. A friend of mine recently shot both of her dogs (one of which was a Great Pyrenees) after they attacked one of her goats. There's just nothing foolproof, is there?
Joe, your comment about the dog is one of the reasons I've not been so sure about getting one. I saw the neighbor's livestock guardian dog playing with the coyotes in the field next to ours one day. I don't know if she was in heat and trying to get bred, or if she was just bored, or what. She didn't get attacked, but she didn't drive them off either. On the other hand, I've seen the same dog run down foxes and other predators on different occasions. I've also hesitated because I've heard (and witnessed) too many horror stories where the LGD attacked the animals it was supposed to be guarding. A friend of mine recently shot both of her dogs (one of which was a Great Pyrenees) after they attacked one of her goats. There's just nothing foolproof, is there?