Ridgetop - our place and how we muddle along

[Baymule]

TSC MEMORIAL DAY SALE

330' roll OK brand 48" sheep and goat wire on sale for $341.99! Regular price $399
Red Brand 48" sheep and goat wire on sale for $359.99
Regular $419

Been waiting for this sale since Margali posted it several years ago. One day sale (?) available in 5 stores around Sulphur Springs, but wire not available in California

Call the store. Pay with credit card over the phone for pick up in 2 weeks when y’all go to the ranch. They will email your receipt. Print it out and take it with you to pick up the wire.

If they won’t do that, ask Cody to pick it up for you. Email receipt to you, forward to Cody so he can show the receipt.

 

[Ridgetop]

I will try that. Not sure if they will take credit cards over the phone. I will call. Will also check prices at Co-op. Might be similar to sales price?

Big fright at our house last night. Sadness this morning.
Rika disappeared! She was laying on lawn on barn side of house when I gave Ozel her med at twilight. (Gave Rika a piece of chicken too, just because I love her LOL.) DS1 drove the trash barrels to the road. She was gone when DH went out to feed about an hour later. Fed Angel, fed Ozel, no Rika. Two hours later still no Rika. DH walked out calling her with no response. DS1 walked the field, no Rika anywhere. Sometimes she stays far out on guard in the field so no worries. Eventually she will show up at door to be fed late but not last night. Around 10 pm DH told me they still couldn't find Rika. I walked out on field and went around with Ozel looking for her. If she was laying on the field somewhere injured or sick Ozel would have found her. That night Angel was laying in Rika's preferred night guardian spot on the field. We worried about her. Do Anatolians hide to die? Was she sick or injured? Wouldn't Angel have stayed with her if she was injured or sick. Lead us to her? She was fine around 7pm, suddenly she is gone and no sound of her all night. She did not join in Angel's barking at coyotes in the front field, and no Rika barking in the rear gully. We know our dogs' bark tones.

This morning at 6:30 am both DH and DS1 were scouring the hills, pastures, and gully looking for her. No Rika, no sound from her. Then as I came out with the binoculars to search, DS1 spotted her at the side f the field below the ewe/lamb pen leading out of the barn. She was laying up against the bottom of the fence in the outside. Dead? Injured? DS1 climbed closer to look. Thankfully she was alive, but - DS1 also spotted what looked like a dead lamb inside that corner of the pen. That pen is a worry spot for me. One complete side of it runs along the neighbor's property. He hasn't cleared there yet, and the brush is high. The dogs cannot surround that pen. Angel used to be able to get in and out of it, but since she has matured into such a powerful dog, she apparently can't do so anymore. I walked halfway down inside of the lamb pen. The lamb's throat was bloody. Rika was not leaving the spot where she could see the lamb. Angel had joined her and both dogs were watching us to see if we saw what they knew had happened.

DS2 Came down with me inside the pen and climbed down to retrieve the body. A large ram lamb, #166, with its throat bitten and still leaking blood when DS2 dragged him up the hill. The rigor was starting to wear off. The carcass hadn't been eaten. DS2 found the hole on the neighbor's side where a coyote had dug under the fence. The neighbor has 2 Borzois but they can't access that area of their property. DS1 had walked over below the bottom fence. He saw both the hole the coyote dug, and where Rika had been digging trying to get into the pen after the predator.

Time Line and Scenario: Rika hears a problem in the lamb pen after DS1 departs with the trash barrels around 7 pm. She runs to investigate. She can't get in the pen where the coyote is busily digging in. She starts digging her own way into the pen as the coyote cuts out the lamb and makes his kill. Angel is barking on the field but to no avail since she can't get in the pen either. By now it was dark, DS1 had returned, and DH was going out to feed the dogs. Still no Rika. DS1 and DH checked all the pens and the hay Connex in case she had been locked inside accidently. (Has happened before.) DH fed the other dogs. If Rika was guarding against something she would eventually come up for her supper later when she deemed the threat was gone.

Reconstruction Theory of the Event: We think that the coyote got in and killed the lamb right away. Then before it could start eating, it was scared off by both Rika's determined attempt to get into the pen and by DH and DS1 walking around the field and into the barn searching and calling for her. Rika did not move away from the pen. She remained there guarding the now dead lamb after the coyote departed by way of his hole. She was still on guard this morning until we found her and removed the lamb from the pen. Once the lamb was removed, she came up and had had her meal. Her job was over.

Would this have happened if we still had Bubba? Will it happen again now the coyote knows it can access the ewe/lamb pen?
YES! Bubba was too large to be able to get into the pen and our fences are too secure for the dogs to get out and run around to kill coyotes off the property. Why didn't we hear anything? At the time we figure this happened DH was watching a 70's-90's cowboy marathon. Lots of gunplay, saloon brawls, stampedes, bad guys burning out innocent ranchers and townspeople. DS1 and DS2 were either watching the shoot ups or involved in video game shoot ups of their own in the same room. Robert and Nicholas were home, hungry, and making noise of the infant type. I was making dinner in the kitchen which is open to the family room with all the noise. Everyone was in the family room on the opposite side of the house. We have become complacent about the warning barks of our Anatolians but this time there was little or no barking loud enough to be heard over the combined family noise.

Solution to the Problem: DS1 has decided to put Rika in the ewe/lamb pen at night from now on. We will feed her there and she will go in at dusk. DS1 and DS2 will fill in the coyote hole with rocks and dirt. We have some plastic thin mesh left over from lining our wrought iron fence which can be crumpled in the hole with the rocks. The coyote will come back to that spot to try to get in again. This time he will be confronted by an angry Anatolian eager to get revenge for the death of one of her charges. Angel will take care of the rest of the property - all of which can be accessed by the LGDs. Ozel will have to step up to the plate and help by barking warnings. She already does this but knows she is not big enough or experienced enough to patrol the large field and gully. Time to learn.

BTW, Happy Memorial Day.

 

[farmerjan]

So sorry about the lamb. Thank goodness that Rika was okay and a pack didn't go after her. She is an asset to you even as ages. Bless her heart for trying her da@#st to get in there to save the lamb.
Ozel will get broken in faster this way... probably good and bad.. but it is obvious that you have a major coyote problem there... ours are more wary due to the constant pressure from hunters... and for us, the mules doing their job. Hopefully you will be more apt to shoot them also, when you are in Texas....

 

[Ridgetop]

Yes, surrounded by homes and the city, we have a terrible coyote problem. Bold as brass, no fear of humans, DH saw one outside the gate on the road this morning. We are told to live with them, don't put out food, keep pets inside, pickup fallen fruit from fruit trees, etc. Not allowed to trap or shoot. People in public parks get attacked but Animal Control is prevented from eradicating them.

We have not lost livestock for past 4-5 years since the bad fires drove several packs over to our side of highway. Now they know that side of lamb pen is vulnerable, we will have more problems.

Rika is still the supreme guardian. Hopefully she can teach Ozel t be like her.

 

[farmerjan]

I'd use snares at the point of entry and they would be disposed of.... SSS .... without the shooting...

 

[Bruce]

Anyway, electric fencing. I know it has to make a circle to complete the circuit.

Incorrect, fortunately

As @Margali said, in areas where the ground isn't pretty dry (or snow covered) contact with the ground and the hot wire completes the circuit. You need ground rods near the charger. If the ground will be too dry you can run a ground line along with the hot wire but the animal will have to hit both of them to get a shock.

I think I'm over "covered" as it isn't that dry here, the hot wire runs over the top of the 4' knotted fence with a ground wire above that. If something climbs the fence it should get a good snap just touching the hot wire because other than corner and gate posts the knotted wire is connected to metal T-posts. I assume snow or no snow, the fence will complete the circuit if an animal get up to the hot wire. But if something climbs a wooden post it should have to hit both the hot and ground wires to get over the top. I am exposed at the two 12' gates since there is no hotwire on the gates themselves. And if something did want to dig under the fence there is no protection.

 

[Baymule]

What a relief to find Rika! She was doing her job, but couldn’t save the lamb. She at least kept the coyote from going on a killing spree. That’s too bad about losing the lamb. Smart idea to put Rika in the lamb pen at night, she can still feel useful.

 

[SageHill]

Thank God that Rika is ok. Reading your post I was on the edge of my seat and worried. So sorry about the lamb. Damn.
Yes the coyote will come back (yeah we all know that). They dig under our fences here all the time. I keep "patching" with extra fencing going down into the dig out and a bit below apron style. That works for those spots, but they create new ones.
Wow - you can't even shoot them if they are attacking livestock?! YIKES. Heard Mike Rowe talking about the boldness of the coyotes up his way (San Fran area) and they can't do a darned thing either.

 

[Ridgetop]

Finally got DS1 and DH to sit down with me and look at the various fencing diagrams I had made. Neither one of them liked the ones that came to a point at the barn. DH was afraid it would be difficult to mow in those narrow areas. DS1 pointed out that it would take a lot more wire and posts to fence the angled fences. They also didn't like fences cutting the ponds in half. DS1 said it would be difficult to fence them so the sheep didn't go around the fence through the pond. DH thought the sheep would just swim out into the pond and go round the fences. I explained that sheep are not recreational swimmers like some horses and dogs. Even cattle like to wade out into the water in the summer and being much larger might go around the fences ending at the water line. Not to mention when the ponds shrink from drought, we might have a problem.

First, I explained that the NCRS wanted to see access to water sources or they would not approve the fences. They could see the value in that. Second, I explained that Baymule suggested the triangular configuration so you could get the sheep fed and/or moved to the barn easier at night to pen them up. Both explanations made sense but they still were not sure about how it would work. Luckily, I had several blank base drawings of the property with the barn and ponds. DS1 started drawing out new pen configurations with straight lines. Good plan but we would have to drive the sheep through several fields to get them back to the barn. Then he came up with a terrific solution of having all the pens bck up to a straight 20' alleyway that would lead to the barn. Wide enough to drive the truck or tractor through, narrow enough to easily move a flock through, and cutting down on the number of expensive gates we would need to buy.

He also pointed out that the new field shapes could be divided in half with electronet fences and a charger for rotational grazing. Just needed to run water lines to the fields for a secondary source, and for water when dividing the fields off from the ponds with the electronet.

More discussion with DH and DS1 about diameter of piping we would need to run starting with 1", reducing to 3/4" and eventually 1/2" to maintain water pressure from well. Finally, would have to also have a line from the city water lines in case the well fails before we can drill another.
Thank goodness the guys decided to do these plans since now it will be their ideas and they will be pleased to run the fences and lines without argument or unauthorized changes.

Got to go with DH to the orthopedist about his knee and replacement of the "good" knee.

 

[Baymule]

Well that solves that! Now it’s all their idea and you are off the hook.