Being Stalked by a Coyote

We have lost three of our Bourbon Red Turkeys to a coyote. We have been stalked by him and he has figured out when the dogs are all fed and has made his move. So we adaptted and rotated the feedings, so there was always a dog on duty. The coyote has been patient. We had to lock up the turkeys with the intention of removing the predator before they would be allowed out again. I gave in Sunday evening and decided to let them out for a hour before dusk. We were working nearby so we could keep an eye on things. When we went to lock them up, one hen was missing. We knew she hadn't been nabbed, but had probably found a spot to hunker down for the night. We searched into the darkness for her hiding spot. We couldn't find her, but we knew she was still around. The next morning Donald went out to do a quick recovery and get her back in the pen for the day, and found the coyote with her freshly killed carcass next to the irrigation ditch. The coyote had gotten her moments before.

I was so mad at myself for letting them out. And Donald was so mad at himself for missing his shot. He had cleaned his gun and taken the scope off and had not re-sighted it. He still hasn't made it to the range to make adjustments and two mornings in a row the coyote has been back. The dogs tell us it's here and we scramble. Sometimes it's someone driving on a distant road or a neighbor's dog visiting, but we have had so many coyote visits, we aren't ignoring any warning barks. Bear just isn't enthusiastic about a big chase these days. He goes out to a certain imaginery line and then turns back once the coyote starts to trot away. Donald says "Bear has retired." We have to figure out a way to put one of the Pyrenese out to do Bear's job.

The problem is Zeus could probably do the job, but he'll probably kill Bear if we don't isolate him from Zeus. Titan gets along better with Bear, but we're not sure he wouldn't wander off. So much talent, but so many traits to neutralize their value! What's a soft-hearted rancher to do?

The horses have been doing great on the pasture. They are all looking much fuller and have shed the winter coats, so they have a shine these days. So far they aren't being bothered by any bugs, specifically mosquitoes, so life is good for them.

We are going to have to irrigate one more time before cutting the hay fields. We were hoping to cut this week, but there just isn't enough growth to make good flakes in the bales. We will irrigate the next couple days and we should be able to cut at the end of the month. It always seems to be the end of May for our first cutting. I just hoped it would be a little early this year.

We have had a lot of maintenance and repairs to do around the ranch. Just recently we had to dig up the drainage pipe for the washrack on the barn to put in some clean-outs. The muck had built up in the pipe, so that the washrack was not draining to the trees anymore and there was standing water in the wash rack. That was completed, but now we have to re-plumb the cut water lines to the trees on the perimeter for the lines were in the way of the work we needed to do for the clean-outs. The intersection where we put the clean outs is directly in front of the round pen gate. There will be boxes when we are finished that will house the clean outs for access. We will have to switch a couple panels to relocate the gate to the round pen. We don't want to have the horse traffic over the boxes for safety reasons. It is yet another job that requires a couple people.

The first batch of chicks and turkeys will be moved out to the pasture in the chicken tractor today. The visiting coyote makes me nervous, but the tractor is pretty secure. We have another clutch due to hatch this week. We have some people interested in buying chicks and poults, so I have put extra into the incubator. My fear is that they will change their minds and I will have a lot more chicks than I want at a time. I am anticipating the butchering process and I know my limitations. I am not an endurance butcher :)

As I spend so much time in the barns, the house is progressively getting dustier and more cluttered. I tell myself that the extreme heat will be here soon and will chase me inside again. I will take care of the interior when the heat drives me inside. In the meantime, I can barely stand to be in the messy house.

Time to go back outside and avoid the nagging irritation of the dusty piano and television!