How do you manage predator safety for your livestock or pets?

[Ridgetop]

Rats are nasty. Have only seen a couple and with the return of our once dead lol cat seem not to have that many. Since we dont have chickens or rabbits yet, snakes are not a problem other than venomous ones. Here in north east Texas the main sheep predators are coyotes and black head buzzards. We use Anatolian LGDs to protect the sheep and lambs and they have gone after a couple black head buzzards that have landed and looked like they were plotting on the lambs. We also fenced with 6' fencing - mainly to protect the dogs from going over the fences after predators and getting hit by cars. Leaving the property is mainly a Pyr trait and our Anatolians stick with the sheep.

We had a lot more problems with coyotes in southern California. Here in Texas you can shoot the coyotes, in southern California the animal lovers objected to it. another big problem in the lie of redators that is not uch touched upon are loose dogs. In Texas you can shoot one that goes after your livestock. In California we had a lot more loose dogs come after our livestock. We did shoot at them, but aftergetting our LGDs we no longer had much of a problem.

Good fencing and multiple LGDs are our solution for predators no matter where we live.

 

[Leo Vance]

For us, sturdy fencing and locking animals up at night have been the biggest help. A livestock guardian dog has also made a real difference, especially with stray dogs and foxes.
I know some people use donkeys or even llamas with good results too. In the end, it depends on what you’re dealing with in your area, but combining a few methods usually works best.

 

[fuzzi]

Just chickens here, and since I have every predator (except for bears and big cats) I tried to make Fort Knox hoop coops. They are covered entirely with hardware cloth, which extends about 18" out beyond the base. I pinned the apron, the grass grows through it. Early on I had rat snakes get in, but I found the gaps and fixed them.

First coop construction photo

 

[Baymule]

There have been 2 black bears sighted in my county and surrounding counties just last month. Game trail cameras prove it. They are protected, huge fines for shooting one. People with livestock are not happy about it. The last one in Trinity county, local old timers say, was shot back in the 1940's. There's been a few here and there, in the early 1980's my boyfriend and I were hunting creek bottoms in Houston County. He said he'd seen a sow with cubs, was on horseback, and tried to rope a cub, but the bears had run and got away. Yeah, rope a bear, typical redneck thing to do. LOL Anyway, suddenly there was this stench, just downright heavy stink hanging in the air. He said it was the bear, so we eased out of there.

 

[Debbie292d]

We have had a lot of bears here over the years. They've never tried to go after the chickens. If they came at night, they couldn't get the chickens. During the day, they could, as they free-range, but have never gone after one. They've destroyed a few sunflower seed feeders because they love sunflower seeds. We've now strung those up into the trees.

We can get licenses, but they're hard to get as you have to sign up for many years in a row and hope to be drawn. We have no desire, though, to shoot them, just shoot in the air, and they run off.

The DNR contracts with a company to relocate them if we have any worse issues with them.

 

[Crazy Chicken Keeper]

My geese usually do a good job. The worst I get is wild cats and mustelids and I have a cage trap for them, but the geese mostly keep them away. A cat was about to get one of mine a few days ago though, one of my Orps, so I have been setting it again lately but I did get it with my BB gun so it should stay away.