Predators & Pests

[Art Eatman]

Got my REA Co-Op magazine today. Some $$$ numbers about the value of sheep and goats, common targets of predators.

Lambs: Around $230.

Slaughter ewes: Around $50 to $60 per hundred pounds.

Kid goats around 50 to 60 pounds: $160.

Nannie replacements: $100 per hundred pounds.

Slaughter billies: Around $80 per hundred pounds.

I had a neighbor who lost a dozen goats to a cougar, one night. Another report of a similar number of sheep lost to a cougar, up near Marathon.

Feral hogs will take baby goats or sheep. Coyotes and feral dogs will go for adults as well as babies. Bobcats seem to pretty much stay with the babies.

Never forget that the tax folks don't care whether or not a rancher makes a profit.

IOW, there's a valid reason for predator hunting.

 

[BADUNAME37]

About 25 years ago, I did not carry at that time. My wife and I were driving along a two-lane highway where I live in the mountain region in the Northeast. It was just beginning to snow, there was about 1" of snow on the ground.

We came upon a small, yearling deer that crossed the road right in front of us, I had to slam on the brakes to avoid hitting the deer, right on its tail was a coyote. They stopped on the right shoulder and my wife opened her window. This coyote was winning and it was a very poor sight! We tried yelling, blowing the horn, etc, but the coyote was determined to bring her down by continually pouncing on her and biting at her face. Her face was all bloodied.

If there is any reason I carry now, AT ALL, it is in case I should ever come across a sight like that again. We were helpless and I certainly didn't want to get out and take on an angry coyote, unarmed -- especially if it was rabid!

My wife could have easily held her ears and I could have rested a gun on the open window and popped that coyote easily from a distance of about ten to twelve feet!

Coming home, several hours later, enough new snow had laid that we couldn't see any tracks, we just said a prayer that the deer got away fine from the coyote. Who knows, if a homeowner saw that going on in his yard, he would most likely try to kill the coyote, I know I would!

That was a sight I will NEVER FORGET!!

 

[irondavy]

not to mention crop and land damage from the hogs. There are places on my property that I can't get to except on foot any more because the hogs have rooted it so bad . I will have to rent a Dozer sometime just to smooth everything out so it is useable again.
I thought about goat proofing all my fences and hiring a small herd to clean out the vegetation so I could shoot the hogs with a little more ease but a neighbor told me he lost 10+ goats in a weekend to the 'yotes.

Can't win for losing :banghead:
ID

 

[shiftyer1]

I have quite a bit of money invested in chickens and goats (to me) Predation is my #1 loss!!!!!! In most cases my only loss.

 

[heeler]

Living in Texas all my life and hunting all over the state since the very early 70's I always wondered why coyote's were hardly ever seen let alone heard howling in the deep hill country pastures of Edwards,Kerr,Uvalde,Sutton,and Schleicher counties.
An old Uvalde goat rancher told me years ago that since the 1930's a great eradication program pretty much took out the song dogs in the sheep and goat pastures of those rocky pastures.
Then poison spring loaded traps were set in the early 70's with cyanaid pellets to take care of anything else that basically was a meat eater.
Now in the wilds of west Texas it seems pretty stunning that someone would try and raise sheep or goats in that predator rich area.

 

[Loosedhorse]

IOW, there's a valid reason for predator hunting.

As perhaps you know, I make a distinction between hunting and pest control.

I like foxes. We have a few aroud that I've seen. I would never hunt one. But if I kept chickens here and one was stealing eggs or chickens, well...

There's hunting, and then there's taking care of business.

 

[tahunua001]

this is why I love Idaho so much right now, this year they have wolf season, 1 tag per hunter and no quotas in any region. now if only we could get rid of the quotas on cougars I know a lot of farmers would rest easier. we are starting to get reports of hogs starting up in the lower half of the state and I know that if I ever see a wild hog that I'll shoot it before it can start an infestation. a hog can start breeding at 6 months old, can have up to 3 litters a year and can have from 8-12 piglets per litter. that is a crop stopper from hell right there. I dont hunt foxes, badgers, wolverines, bobcats and lynx but if it's big enough to carry away a child and mean enough to kill an entire herd of goats then yes, I'll blow it away the first chance I get.

 

[Sky]

a hog can start breeding at 6 months old, can have up to 3 litters a year and can have from 8-12 piglets per litter.

Or more~
Smart as a dog and as destructive as a cyclone! Lucky they do not see to well.

We never had hogs attack the farm animals (less of them) when I was growing up it was mostly snakes and a few feral dogs; the dogs seem to leave when Junior (favorite dog of all time who might have been a feral pup?) showed up and took a few chunks out of them. Up to that point we had a Tom Turkey who was an attack turkey. He wasn't much on running the larger varmints off but was hell on kicking my 5 year old butt. I was so glad when Dad decided Uncle Tom was going in the pot for Thanksgiving. Worst tasting Turkey I ever ate.

 

[sm]

Lest us not forget groundhawgs can cause extensive and expensive damage to vehicles.

One fella had over $1700 worth of hydraulics damaged by groundhawgs.

 

[AR-yoter]

Rabbits eat our wiring out of our cars here.. and it sucks because there are two kinds and one of them are either endagered or protected either way they get pissy if ya shoot em .. they say trap and relocate.. hmmm