Donkey will handle the problem. But I've seen mares run a calves mom off and take over the calf. Finally had to pen the cow and calf up so it could suck. On another note had a neighbor come by a few years ago and say one of my dogs was chasing his cows. Picked up my 45 off the nightstand and walked out on the porch where my two dogs were laying. Asked him which one and he said that black one. Turned around and capped the dog in the head right there. No more problems. Don't like them chasing mine and won't have one that chases either
@OK Corgi Rancher
I dont have goats, but been down your road with chickens.
First episode was neighbors dog broke chain, killed off all my laying hens.
Neighbors said, give them a value.
I valued them based on egg production.
Neibors son (dog owner) paid most of what I figued, and soon after got rid of the dog.
Still great relations with neighbors.
2nd time, a pit stray, noticed a few times running my property.
Well, got a call one morning from the well guy, "hey man, you have a bunch of dead chickens over here!"
Cleaned up mess, found the live ones, pached up pen, went away for a while and came back later afternoon to see the pit stray circling the pen, yipping and snapping.
Stoped short, got the 22 outa the truck, and ran the next 300' using my building as cover, snuck around corner of building, and dog stuck nose in the air sniffing (winded me maybe), but the excitement got its best, and the dog went back to its attemtion on the chickens.
Pop!
Dog yipped and ran off, thinking I did not connect good, I ran after it, well it was a perfent heart / lung hit.
Creamated that ******* in a fire where I was burning brush from clearing.
Third time, was raising a batch of meat chickens, naturally they was almost almost ready to butcher.
Lost about 1/3, signs all pointed towards a dog killing for the "fun".
Never did find the culprit to that one, and even know they was going to be butchered, that was enough to draw out some tears from this man!
I carry constantly, so my natural instinct in your case woulda been draw and fire.
I respect you handling your case as you did.
I hope your goat makes a full recovery!
I dont have goats, but been down your road with chickens.
First episode was neighbors dog broke chain, killed off all my laying hens.
Neighbors said, give them a value.
I valued them based on egg production.
Neibors son (dog owner) paid most of what I figued, and soon after got rid of the dog.
Still great relations with neighbors.
2nd time, a pit stray, noticed a few times running my property.
Well, got a call one morning from the well guy, "hey man, you have a bunch of dead chickens over here!"
Cleaned up mess, found the live ones, pached up pen, went away for a while and came back later afternoon to see the pit stray circling the pen, yipping and snapping.
Stoped short, got the 22 outa the truck, and ran the next 300' using my building as cover, snuck around corner of building, and dog stuck nose in the air sniffing (winded me maybe), but the excitement got its best, and the dog went back to its attemtion on the chickens.
Pop!
Dog yipped and ran off, thinking I did not connect good, I ran after it, well it was a perfent heart / lung hit.
Creamated that ******* in a fire where I was burning brush from clearing.
Third time, was raising a batch of meat chickens, naturally they was almost almost ready to butcher.
Lost about 1/3, signs all pointed towards a dog killing for the "fun".
Never did find the culprit to that one, and even know they was going to be butchered, that was enough to draw out some tears from this man!
I carry constantly, so my natural instinct in your case woulda been draw and fire.
I respect you handling your case as you did.
I hope your goat makes a full recovery!
Had horse that would kill one in a heartbeat if you left it in the cattle pasture. Never seen one of the donkeys get one. But you better not let your dog out of sight . my sister had a baby kind of late in life and would take her in a carrier when she went to check cattle. She could set that baby down on the bed of the truck and that old Donkey would stand there all day with his head hanging over her. If one of the dogs came close they better be running cause that Donkey didn't play. To this day I tell my niece she was raised by a jac..ss!
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OK...I get the guard dog thing. But I don't have a herd of goats. I have 4. They're mostly just pets and entertaining companions that give me something to do and care for. We're not running a goat farm, I don't have a large herd to protect. But I don't think it makes sense to get a large dog (or a donkey), for a lot of reasons, mostly financial. The dog would require more $$ in just food every year than the monetary value of the goats. I'd also be concerned about interactions with my Corgis that like to herd the goats. It just doesn't make sense from a purely practical standpoint. As for the expense of getting a large dog, to me that would be like buying a semi with a flatbed to haul a couple of sheets of plywood home from the lumber yard.
I think we'll concentrate on fencing off a larger portion of the property than we had intended.
I also just got Annie back from the vet. She's pretty beat up and in a lot of pain. The doc seems to think she'll recover physically but didn't rule out some brain damage due to being choked so badly. He does think that's not likely but is possible. Gave her some pain meds and antibiotics and cleaned everything up. Surprisingly few serious puncture wounds but very severe bruising on her neck and a couple of her legs.
The neighbor has already taken steps to remove the dog and to reimburse me for the vet expenses. I'm sure we can work thru this...he's pretty reasonable and I sometimes try to be. Maybe we can make that work.
I think we'll concentrate on fencing off a larger portion of the property than we had intended.
I also just got Annie back from the vet. She's pretty beat up and in a lot of pain. The doc seems to think she'll recover physically but didn't rule out some brain damage due to being choked so badly. He does think that's not likely but is possible. Gave her some pain meds and antibiotics and cleaned everything up. Surprisingly few serious puncture wounds but very severe bruising on her neck and a couple of her legs.
The neighbor has already taken steps to remove the dog and to reimburse me for the vet expenses. I'm sure we can work thru this...he's pretty reasonable and I sometimes try to be. Maybe we can make that work.
Good to hear!!!!!
Glad to hear goat is recovering. Also, glad to hear neighbor is doing what's right.
yes., focus on fencing is probably best for your situation. Yes, feeding the guard dog is expensive and difficult because the goats want to eat his food and visa versa. It can be a rodeo.
As for your fencing....4 goats don't need a lot of room depending on pasture, etc. but I like hog panels. They are only 34" tall but the bars are very dense on the bottom. you could add a single hot wire.
Another choice is an electric net fence. I use them for a chicken yard and I use them in the spring/summer to keep critters out of my garden. Here's a link to where I have purchased mine.
Electric Fence - Premier1Supplies
The net fencing is very easy to put up and take down. Just minutes to do. the posts are already attached to the net.
As for your fencing....4 goats don't need a lot of room depending on pasture, etc. but I like hog panels. They are only 34" tall but the bars are very dense on the bottom. you could add a single hot wire.
Another choice is an electric net fence. I use them for a chicken yard and I use them in the spring/summer to keep critters out of my garden. Here's a link to where I have purchased mine.
Electric Fence - Premier1Supplies
The net fencing is very easy to put up and take down. Just minutes to do. the posts are already attached to the net.
Atta girl, Annie!
Glad to hear the good news about Annie. Sounds to me like the neighbor is doing the right thing. Unfortunate that it happened.
Yeah, my brother had a problem with coyotes killing his chickens—and not just one or two chickens, either, but almost all of the flock; one time they came home from church to find that the Chickenpocalypse had happened, with nothing left but a few piles of feathers. He got an Anatolian Shepherd/Great Pyrenees mix, and the dog stopped the coyotes, but man, that dog eats almost as much as his kids.
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