Official Poll: How do you protect your livestock from predators?

[Support]

Whether we like it or not, predators are always lurking around our beloved livestock and they are HERE TO STAY. So here's the million dollar question, how do you protect your livestock from predators?

Please take a minute to complete this poll and tell us how you protect your livestock from predators. After voting, you can reply to this thread and expand on your reason.

If your answer isn't listed, you can vote for "Others" and reply to this thread with your answers.

 

[samssimonsays]

We have our "LGD's" that are pretty much house pets as we got the dogs as family pets NOT working dogs but they are the proper breed for herding/LGD (Collie and Saint Pyrenees) and both have natural instincts and know what they should be doing. They are with them during the day and with us at night but their smell in and around the goat area/property has been enough of a deterrent. We have a sturdy pen they are in with a nice shelter and the goats would start bellering if anything were to go on which would sound the alarm for the dogs who would in turn wake us up and we would bring the guns to battle if need be. So far, we have not had any predator issues (KNOCK ON WOOD) but if we were to I would be purchasing an LGD to live full time with the goats. I would like to get a cat full time to live with the rabbits as they will tame down the mouse population and also protect against predators for them as well such as weasels. I should add that we have 2 goats in a small pen with a sturdy shelter that have free range while we are home. All rabbits are protected via a building but nothing is 100%.

 

[mikiz]

Not sure cats living with rabbits would be a great idea to be honest. No doubt they'd take more interest in your caged rabbits than in the elusive mice?

 

[samssimonsays]

Not sure cats living with rabbits would be a great idea to be honest. No doubt they'd take more interest in your caged rabbits than in the elusive mice?

LOL true. But the cat I had living out there originally did great. Paid no attention to the rabbits or babies when they would escape (I had one litter who was escape artists last year). Unless of course it was cold enough, then she'd want in the cage and I would leave one cage open to her favorite rabbit and they would snuggle for warmth. But She was a rescue and we gave her a temporary home because the local rescue refused to take her because she was a cat with frostbitten ears and would be hard to rehome... We found her a great home because she kept peeing in my hay bales... BIG no no. Even the dogs, Collie and Saint Pyrenees, can be trusted to be out in the yard with the rabbits while they are running and eating grass. They are never left unsupervised of course but They were their original livestock and have been raised around them.

 

[Southern by choice]

For us the LG Dogs was the only choice. They are easily moved, can go deep into the woods easily when we set our wire up for the goats to forage etc.

We also wanted our poultry completely protected. The hawks don't even come in.

Everything on our farm is covered by our LGD's.

I also like wildlife and really prefer to keep that balance. The dogs keep things out and take care of what decides to come in... we need coons and possums to keep the field mice down, the fox to keep the rabbit population in check and so on... we just don't want them in our chicken houses or snatching them from our fields.

The coyotes are just a pain no matter how you look at it... could do without them.

 

[OneFineAcre]

Number 1 fencing we have permanent woven wire
Number 2 LGD's live with our animals
Number 3 not squeamish about shooting a coyote
We have a pretty high concentration on a large track behind me but there is a horse farm in between and a lady who keeps a .243 on her tractor when she mows and she smokes them fairly regularly for me

 

[Support]

Great input guys!

Let's keep on sharing. We are learning a ton of things here.

 

[samssimonsays]

Number 1 fencing we have permanent woven wire
Number 2 LGD's live with our animals
Number 3 not squeamish about shooting a coyote
We have a pretty high concentration on a large track behind me but there is a horse farm in between and a lady who keeps a .243 on her tractor when she mows and she smokes them fairly regularly for me

Sounds like me! This absolutely made my day reading this.

 

[frustratedearthmother]

I'm with ya'll...good fences, good dog(s), and a good gun, even though I can't imagine needing to use a gun since we've had Maddie!

 

[butteryscotch]

For me and my family, we used a Maremma dog to guard our 50 free ranging chickens (and sheep that we picked up along the way (funny story about that actually, but that's for another time)). Worked for about 6 years, until we were no longer in a practical position to keep the chickens around.
I couldn't rate them more highly.