Our Missie will be four this year too…in August. So our LGDs are very close in age.Isn't the warmer weather wonderful? My Maggie is shedding like crazy right now, so I guess it's really and truly spring.Our most recent calf is 5 months old now and feeling very frisky - she keeps trying to play with Maggie and Maggie is game to a point, but that calf is a lot bigger than she is, and her head is a lot harder, LOL! So sometimes I have to "save" Maggie from the evil heifer.
In her guarding duties, Maggie is going above and beyond. She's even chasing our CATS away from the chicken house, and she had never done that before. Maybe it's just because she's maturing more (she'll be four years old in July), or maybe it's because she's on her own and feels like she needs to be hyper-vigilant, I don't know.
But there is good news on the "partner" front! Her breeder called us last month and said she had the first litter of the year, and she was going to offer us pick of this litter, no charge, to replace our dear Conan. It wasn't her fault that he died, and I would never have expected this! I burst into tears when she said she was gifting us a puppy! It would have taken us a couple more years I think, to save up to buy another one. (We had a bad year for vet bills last year, losing two dogs.) So Maggie will be getting a new little brother in a little less than a month now. I'm so excited, and I keep telling her she's getting a new baby brother, but she just doesn't get me. I wish I could make her understand, but it doesn't matter. She'll be beside herself with joy when we bring him home. She doted on little Conan when he was a baby, and I have no doubt she'll love the new puppy just as much.
What I really wanted to say when I got on here today was that Maggie did something really fabulous last night. We were doing evening chores, and had fed the milk cow and her calf, fed the chickens and locked them up for the night, and the Hereford cow (we're borrowing her from a neighbor as a companion for the other cow) was out in the pasture, looking for something to eat, I guess. We brought her hay out, and called, and waited. And waited. My husband said maybe something was wrong, but I said, no, I'd seen her standing and grazing when we came out of the house, but she moves kinda slow, and she'd probably be here soon, and just then, sure enough, she appeared around the corner of the garden hedge and started walking across the corral area to her pile of hay. Behind her was Maggie, walking RIGHT behind her, slowly, not pushing her, but looking for all the world like she was herding her in.
I don't know if she was actually bringing Stinker in from the pasture, but I still praised her with massive amounts of "GOOD GIRL!"s and cookies. I thanked her for "Getting Stinker," over and over, and maybe I was able to make her understand that I was happy with what she did. Now, if she'll just do it again. Wow, then she'd be the MOST perfect dog. Protects us and all our critters, keeps the property predator-free, comes when I call, AND brings in the cows? Be still my heart! LOL! Well, I can hope!
Was Maggie's birth charges cattle? Meaning when she was born and still with her litter was she with cattle or other livestock? At what age was she introduced to cattle? Cattle can be an intimidating charge for LGDs.I have the opposite here, LOL! Charm, the heifer (she's about 5 months old now) is just FASCINATED by Maggie, and thinks they're best buddies. However, she hasn't figured out that Maggie isn't a white calf. She keeps boinging around, trying to play with her, and it scares Maggie. Or when we're sitting in the barn after milking, and I've got Maggie with me (that's our girl time), and Charm comes in and starts licking Maggie all over. Yeah, it's a cow thing, but Maggie just freezes up and tries to become invisible. Sometimes Charm quits on her own, but quite often, I have to "rescue" Maggie. It's hysterical. Maggie will not, under any circumstances, growl or otherwise try to protect herself from the baby, so I have to make sure she doesn't get too stressed before I call a halt to the festivities. Charm is just a happy heifer, trying to be besties with the dog.
Aren't skunks vectors for rabies? Of all the animals on Earth I have a hard time thinking of what use they are.I forgot to mention, I found TWO very large skunks in the garage with baby Donald this morning, eating his kibble. He was hiding under the back of the Bobcat, LOL! These skunks are fairly well behaved (so far) and usually don't spray unless someone is chasing them, and since they haven't really BOTHERED anything around here, it's been a case of live and let live. But now they're eating the baby's food and I can't even imagine how bad it would be if he got a face full of spray. When I came in the garage this morning and turned on the light, they just looked up at me placidly and then went back to eating. Being more cautious than I am brave, I backed out and decided to let them leave on their own, which they did, once they'd emptied the bowl.
I figured they must have a hole under the wall somewhere, since they obviously can't jump over the baby gate across the door, so when I got done with my kitchen work today, I took a walk around the garage, and sure enough, there it was. A nice big round hole going down under the wall. I got a piece of board and a big chunk of rock to hold it down and blocked the hole. I don't know if they'll be strong enough or clever enough to remove my handiwork, but I'll find out in the morning, I guess. I hope they were gone when I blocked the hole...
Skunks are better mousers then a cat, and don't crap in you flower beds.Aren't skunks vectors for rabies? Of all the animals on Earth I have a hard time thinking of what use they are.
they will crap inyour shed/porch/barn though. and they will dig those flower beds up if there are any grubs in the soil.Skunks are better mousers then a cat, and don't crap in you flower beds.
they sure are around here. in 2020 my oldest son was bitten by one (it jumped me too, but my skin is tough LOL) husband shot it and it tested positive. we are all now vaccinated.Aren't skunks vectors for rabies? Of all the animals on Earth I have a hard time thinking of what use they are.
they can climb things like that, though usually they use holes and they can squeeze through some pretty small ones. they are strong too, can move heavy stuff if they are used to getting in somewhere.I forgot to mention, I found TWO very large skunks in the garage with baby Donald this morning, eating his kibble. He was hiding under the back of the Bobcat, LOL! These skunks are fairly well behaved (so far) and usually don't spray unless someone is chasing them, and since they haven't really BOTHERED anything around here, it's been a case of live and let live. But now they're eating the baby's food and I can't even imagine how bad it would be if he got a face full of spray. When I came in the garage this morning and turned on the light, they just looked up at me placidly and then went back to eating. Being more cautious than I am brave, I backed out and decided to let them leave on their own, which they did, once they'd emptied the bowl.
I figured they must have a hole under the wall somewhere, since they obviously can't jump over the baby gate across the door, so when I got done with my kitchen work today, I took a walk around the garage, and sure enough, there it was. A nice big round hole going down under the wall. I got a piece of board and a big chunk of rock to hold it down and blocked the hole. I don't know if they'll be strong enough or clever enough to remove my handiwork, but I'll find out in the morning, I guess. I hope they were gone when I blocked the hole...
That or you might get a puppy...And I'm trying to fill that role... I hope I do a good enough job.
No luck so far on bagging the skunks. They are wily creatures, however, I was talking to a neighbor today and she said two of her girls have been out actively trapping skunks wherever they can find them. I guess someone (the Fish and Game dept. maybe?) is paying $10 per skunk tail, so the girls have been busy. The neighbor said she'd send them over here with their traps and I'm going to keep Donald's food picked up at night in the hopes the skunks will go after the bait in the live trap. We shall see.
I get a lot of them with dry dog food or better yet cat food as bait. empty but not clean can of kipper snacks works great as a dish for the kibble. live trap and a submerging is the least likely way to cause leakage, but it does happen sometimes.And I'm trying to fill that role... I hope I do a good enough job.
No luck so far on bagging the skunks. They are wily creatures, however, I was talking to a neighbor today and she said two of her girls have been out actively trapping skunks wherever they can find them. I guess someone (the Fish and Game dept. maybe?) is paying $10 per skunk tail, so the girls have been busy. The neighbor said she'd send them over here with their traps and I'm going to keep Donald's food picked up at night in the hopes the skunks will go after the bait in the live trap. We shall see.