They Were Cute

Lambing season is just about over.  The initial number of births was good.  And, like always, the little lambs are always so cute.

this old ewe delivered triplets, so to ease her stress I am bottle-feeding the mostly white cutie

 

newborn lambs love to sleep

Unfortunately, we have had a major problem this season…coyotes, hungry coyotes, at that!

 

Since introducing sheep to our farm three years ago, we have always had coyote predators and a few local dogs reducing our flock. But, this year, that reduction has increased drastically. Those cute, little lambs do not look so cute dead, headless and half-eaten.  (You would think the coyote could be considerate enough to eat the entire lamb rather than kill and nibble.)

 

Glenn has tried hunting, moving the flock closer to the house for the night (when the deadly offenses take place), and obtaining advice from locals with more knowledge of these ‘killing machine’ animals.  Nothing, to date, has deterred our coyotes.

 

The latest modus operandi is keeping the flock with the cattle (usually we separate the ewes away from the cattle during lambing - those cows easily step on those tiny lambs) at all times, hoping that the cattle would provide more protection.  Our donkey Jenny, obtained for that purpose, has been ineffective. But, combining the cows, calves, ewes and lambs does not seem to have slowed the coyote(s).

 

Our potential future options would be:  1. Liquidate our sheep flock - but, we like the sheep.  2.  Get a guard dog - but, we think such a dog would become more of a family pet than guard dog. 3.  Refence all our sheep enclosures with tighter mesh fencing to prevent the coyotes from going through the fence - of course, they could still dig under it.  And, 4. Spend the entire night among the sheep - after all, that is what ‘real’ shepherds do. Matt is the only one willing to follow through on option four, but he is not available.

 

We are still considering these options.

 

In the meantime, the flock gets smaller, and smaller, and smaller.