The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Sheep => Topic started by: ellisr on February 26, 2011, 07:00:13 am
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We had the arrival if 2 ewe lambs last night. Mum and lambs doing really well this one is a time served good mum. Worrying moment as she had them in the field as I like but 5 mins after the second was born the foxes started barking and I spotted 2 at the top of the field so OH had to rush to muck out the stable and the horse had a night outside. Lots of work today emptying the junk from the field shelter for new mum and orphan lambs.
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:o I'm glad you heard the foxes in time!
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Glad they are ok. Will you put a pen around the field shelter to keep them in, or does it close up with a door? What are your plans re letting them in / out?
:sheep:
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The field shelter is actually on my drive so I have converted it into stables so it has a door on half and I'm building the other today. I am walking them across the drive so they can play in the home paddock through the day
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Well done for spotting those foxes, please take some photos so we can see them?
andy
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Here they are in Blue's stable because of the foxes, hopefully I'll get the other stable cleaned out tomorrow as I think Blue is a bit upset having to stay out
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ahh they look really good, great stuff, have you any more due?
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yes we have about another 5 ewes still to go, 2 look very close and I am not sure if the others are still carrying after the fox attack at xmas
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ohhh fox attack, thats sounds horrid !!!
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Yup lost 3 of last years lambs and a couple of my rams/wethers were left with puncture wounds. Pretty horrid to clean up as there were just bones every where
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ellisr.....that cannot possibly be a fox attack.....not on large sheep!!!
Did you actually see the fox attacking the sheep?
In all my years of keeping livestock (30 +) I have never ever seen or heard of foxes attacking older sheep. They will take lambs no doubt and I have lost lambs to fox and also a piglet.
If older sheep are attacked and left savaged and with puncture wounds its 100% certain to be a dog (or 2)!......quite probably one that is curled up asleep in a basket in a house somewhere near your property!
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thats what I originally thought because this has happened to the ram/wethers a couple of times but my neighbour is adament it was a fox as he stood and watched and didn't do anything
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mmmmm has your neighbour got a small brown dog....... ::) Foxes just wouldn't do that....got to be dog...honest!
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I have to agree totaly with wooly shepherd never seen or heard in nearly 50 yrs only time ive seen a fox attack is when a sheep was trapped in a bog,even when ive watched 2 foxs trying to take alamb from its mother they kept well away from her.Dog attacks are differant lots of bites/tearing as they hang on and while a fox focuses on 1 animal (except poultry) dogs or dog go crazy injuring /killing/chaseing
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this neighbour that seen the attack is that the same one that is giving you bother and does the one that is giving you bother have a dog or dogs
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no it wasn't the same neighbour and horrid neighbour has no animals or children. I don't know of anyone except me that has that colour dog in the village and I know it isn't my boys as they have a dog run to play in and are always on a lead when out. I'm putting CCTV cameras up today to stop my horrid neighbour coming onto my land and rifling through my stuff then ringing the animal welfare because I hadn't put a bag of food in the container.
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You will see some interesting things on CCTV when you do a fast replay. Mine has a lot of fine adjustment on the DVR for movement detection so it only records when something happens. Overnight the foxes come in really close. As do the neighbours....