With 175 potentially delicious girls out on pasture it was only a matter of time before all the skunks, raccoons, red fox, hawks and dogs came out for a dinner of chicken. We lost a few girls two nights in a row and knew we needed some added protection for our precious free range chickens. Enter Kitty our wonderful Great Pyrenees momma.
Although we have trained many of her babies to guard chickens we have not tried to put grown dogs in with the chickens for fear of the exercise being misunderstood as a chicken banquet beyond their wildest imagination. Kitty has been charged with caring for cattle for years.
Well desperate situations called for desperate measures and we decided to try Kitty out with the girls for added protection at night. What we found in the morning was Kitty surrounded by chickens who seemed calm and alive but a beautiful Kitty with the strong stench from an angry and thankfully disappointed skunk.
She has been out with the chickens for 2 weeks now and we have not lost a single chicken to predators although we have detected skunk scent each and every morning.
Stop by anytime and take a look at Kitty doing her job faithfully and diligently.
Although we have trained many of her babies to guard chickens we have not tried to put grown dogs in with the chickens for fear of the exercise being misunderstood as a chicken banquet beyond their wildest imagination. Kitty has been charged with caring for cattle for years.
Well desperate situations called for desperate measures and we decided to try Kitty out with the girls for added protection at night. What we found in the morning was Kitty surrounded by chickens who seemed calm and alive but a beautiful Kitty with the strong stench from an angry and thankfully disappointed skunk.
She has been out with the chickens for 2 weeks now and we have not lost a single chicken to predators although we have detected skunk scent each and every morning.
Stop by anytime and take a look at Kitty doing her job faithfully and diligently.
we are enjoying one of those very babies, beatrice. she is doing an excellent job at making sure our perimeters are secure. she is such a sweet watch dog...that sounds contradicting but i like it that way...plays with children by day...faithful watch dog at night. the best of both worlds.
ReplyDeleteI love this post - Rose loves your farm and especially loves the dog and orange cat. We have Norwegian Elkhounds and they are not as calm as your baby is when we have been at Windy Acres.
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