Varmints

We are having a problem with varmints on the farm.   About a week ago, something started getting in the rabbit house at night.  We have about 40 does and about 3 bucks.  Many of the rabbits have babies now.  So something is getting on top of the cages, and reaches inside. It got the mama rabbit's foot out of the cage and chewed it off.  Pappy nursed her as best he could, and lifted her in and out of the nursing box so she could care for the babies.  She lasted three days, and now he is feeding the babies with a medicine dropper.  Pappy thinks it may be a cat, because it is so flexible and agile.  But I don't know.

Last night, Our German Shepherd, Lupan, started barking like crazy.  Pappy got his gun and went outside.  He was gone awhile.  When he came back he said something had scared all the goats.  They "overnight" over on this side of the pond, near the house.  They were still on the other side of the pond, where it is very dark.  They were too frightened to come back.  Pappy thinks it was a coyote, and it got between them and their house.  The coyote wanted the goats to stay out in the open so he could get one.  Pappy couldn't get them to come back here, so he finally came inside.  But he and the dog tramped all over, and left their sent.  So we are hoping the coyote doesn't come back tonight.

We have had coyote problems for the last several years.  There are also rumored to be mountain lions in the community we live in.  Two years ago we lost a whole crop of baby goats in one week.  At one of our pastures, we had a problem with neighborhood dogs chasing the calves.

We have tried many different remedies for varmints in the years past.  One thing we tried, that seemed to help I think, was to put hair around the fence.  A beautician friend of mine kept all the hair from her salon for a week.  We strowed it around the pasture fences.  I think the scent helped.  We leave a radio on outside in the pasture 24 hours a day, as well as a few lights, in the barns.  This lends the idea people are around and keeps varmints away from the house.  We also let our big dog (the Shepherd) out once or twice a day to "mark his territory".  If anyone knows any better ideas, we are always open to suggestion!

Thanks for stopping by!  Honey