Hello,
I'm a new member and I'm looking for some advise. First let me give you
some background on myself. I'll be a senior at Purdue University this
fall but will be doing a super senior year too. My major is Animal
Science. My future plans are to apply to Purdue's vet school and grad
school this coming fall. My home is a 60 acre farm in southeastern
Indiana between Cincinnati, OH and Indianapolis, IN. I raise and show
pure bred poultry. The poultry I raise include several breeds of bantam
chickens, Maran chickens, Call ducks, Rouen ducks, Ebdem geese,
guineas, and two varieties of turkeys. I've been raising and showing my
poultry for ten years. I also have 6 pygmy mix bred goats, 10 barn
cats, one beagle and one pomapoo dog. The beagle lives outside in a
large lot and the pomapoo lives inside of course. The goats live in a
large lot with a large barn. My geese live in the barn lot with the
goats. Some of my Rouen ducks live in the barn lot with my goats and
geese. The rest of the ducks live in several lots with houses. Since I
show my guineas they are kept in lots so they can be caught easily. My
chickens and turkeys are also kept in lots or cages because I show
them.
Over the years I've had raccoons, opossums, hawks, weasels, and
neighbors dogs kill my poultry. We've learned to build our pens and
houses like fortresses but sometimes we miss a lose board or hole etc.
This spring we had 3 fox families move into our woods and my neighbors
old barn. We have never dealt with foxes before. My neighbors barn is
about 300-400 yards behind my barn with my goats, geese, and Rouens.
There is a creek bed that runs from my neighbors barn to my barn. The
fox were using this creek bed to hunt my Rouens. We had to pen my
Rouens up so they wouldn't get killed. The fox never bothered my goats
or my geese. The Rouens were killed with the geese and goats in the lot
with them. My father used to trap fur bearers when he was in high
school so he bought some traps but they never caught any fox. Currently
the foxes have moved to different dens away from my farm but I'm sure
they will come back in the spring to raise their pups.
I'm considering getting a a livestock guardian dog to help stop
the fox from killing any more of my poultry. I've read a few articles
about different livestock guardian dogs but would love some advise from
people who actually own them. I am looking for breed suggestions,
training advise, etc. I am a person who doesn't like getting a new
animal/pet with no background on them. I consider myself a very
responsible pet owner and want to be well informed before I purchase
any livestock guardian dog.
I
have also read the discussion on this forum from another person who was
wanting advise on getting a livestock guardian dog for poultry. The
advise about getting geese, turkeys, and guineas to protect chickens
and ducks is not completely accurate. I have had guineas killed by
raccoons, for example one roosted outside of its house one night
because my brother was taking care of my poultry and didn't realize it
was still out. My Rouens were killed by the fox when my geese were
with them. Turkeys are not very brave or aggressive especially the
hens.
Thank you very much for any advise you can give.