Trying this to help protect my goats, chicken and sheep.
Hello Rob here from Flanagan Homestead I Want to talk about trying to keep my Chickens and my goats safe and I'm going To have some sheep here soon and I've Had some Predator attacks recently Especially last summer and through this Winter and I'm trying to do something to Help keep them safe so I'm I'm going to Tell you something that I'm trying to do Right now and I don't know if it's Necessarily making a helping but I'm not Losing any animals recently so uh maybe It is maybe it isn't let me know what You think I'm also like I said planning To buy some Sheep next weekend and I'm Considering getting a livestock Guardian Dog which I've never had one before and I've had some concerns about them Wanting to eat my chickens because my Sheep goat and chickens will all be in The same pasture and I'm just wondering How that works so if you have experience With livestock Guardian dogs Let me know or if you have any tips But uh here's my story on losing uh you Know if you have chickens and goats and Whatnot you're going to lose livestock Occasionally and it's never been really Bad uh the most scary one was I had some Big goats and a cougar came in and took A goat and probably 150 pound goat and Jumped over the fence with it and uh Over the second fence and then just ran Off through the woods with a fairly
Large goat that one is rare we very Rarely have problems with cougars here But the problem thing that we do have Problems with significantly uh raccoons And possums at night and coyotes are Coming in to try to get my chickens and Goats and so I had a lot of loss last Year so Um I I did set some traps down along the Fence line I found some holes that uh The coyotes were getting underneath and Uh coming in and trying to get our Chickens and actually our small goats Too and uh so as I was set in the traps One of my friends recommended the Trap That knows much more about trapping me And everything I was telling them I've Tried I set the traps and everything Because well he's like well what did you Do to uh hide your scent to prevent from Getting scent all over it because now That you've been kneeling on the ground There and holding on to the post and Working this your scent is there and Those coyotes won't be back for a month They'll stay away for a long time and uh I thought well bummer I'm not going to Get him in the Trap but two if the kaidu Stay away great and so I I and it turns Out true uh true to form it was probably About six weeks maybe longer than that Before there's any action in the traps And and we took care of some animals There but I was like well if it's true
That my scent being down where they want To come in is going to keep the coyotes Away because they know that I I want to Eliminate them Uh maybe getting my scent out there is Going to be more helpful so for the last Several months I've been as I'm doing my Chores and feeding I sounds weird but I've been peeing on fence posts and Making sure I'm handling uh fence lines And whatnot and even more recently I've Been taking shirts I have a bunch of T-shirts that I use for work shirts I'll Wear them for a day maybe to get my Scent on them and I'm hanging them up I'm not a bunch of them it's not like a Christmas tree but occasionally setting A shirt out this one I'm gonna go take Out and put on the fence line that's Down between the woods and the Creek Canyon that uh you know it's pretty wild And and predators feel safe down in There as they come up from there so I'm Going to hang this on the fence just Trying to keep my scent there and so Since I've been putting my scent out There I haven't had a loss of animals Hopefully this continues but uh I don't Know if it will I I'm gonna continue to Fix the fence Uh I do have a chicken run door now so The chickens come in and the door Automatically closes behind them at Night so that they're safer that way but
Uh anyway let me know if you think this Is going to continue to be successful or If I need to take more measures and if You have insights on livestock Guardian Dogs I'd love to hear it in the comments Foreign This will give you a better idea of what I'm talking about you can see the goats Up there the chickens and there's a blue Shirt there that's one of my shirts I Left there the other day but this is the Problem area you get down this hill that And you get below this hill I can't see Predators coming up from the house and Then they get down in the Creek Canyon And they come up from behind back in the Woods there and they find a hole and Come Come and get my animals So here's an example of what I'm trying To do and hoping to accomplish I'm out On the fence line between my pasture and The barn up the hill that way and just The canyon and woods where the Predators Run I'm just going to hang my shirt On the fence for right now Different Predators work their way along The fence here trying to find their way In so I'm hoping the scent will help Discourage them I've heard similar Concepts with the livestock Guardian Dogs even if they're not in the pasture At the time if they've been in the past For a long time put their scent there
And been spraying the posts and whatnot That uh Predators will know that they're Around and tend to be diverted so Hopefully the scent works Thanks for joining me on the Flanigan Homestead where Christmas trees are my Business teaching and cleaning Horticulture is my job and outdoor Projects are my passion hope to see you Again soon be blessed everyone Nice exciting times my transplanted Blueberry bush the buds are starting to Swell We'll see Bloom soon
