I'd love to keep a few chickens in the back yard for the eggs but despite being on the outer fringe of a small, somewhat rural town we're not zoned agricultural. I seriously doubt the city'd even care as long as we kept it to 2 or 3 hens and stayed in our lane, but we have an abundance of feral cats in the immediate neighborhood too, some of them rather large. There's also coyotes out in the woods.
The Pet Thread
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I'd love to keep a few chickens in the back yard for the eggs but despite being on the outer fringe of a small, somewhat rural town we're not zoned agricultural. I seriously doubt the city'd even care as long as we kept it to 2 or 3 hens and stayed in our lane, but we have an abundance of feral cats in the immediate neighborhood too, some of them rather large. There's also coyotes out in the woods.
We've got foxes. RIP Bonny. She was called that before I got a Bonneville! Still, better to have a free-roaming life than a longer caged-one.
They tell funny jokes, do chickens.
And the eggs are much better tasting than from the shops.
Live in the city now. Allowed chickens anywhere, although I think the government now require them to be registered and have banned them from free-roaming anywhere, so not much fun in it anymore.
We got foxes here too, Red and Gray, but the cats keep them out of town. They'd only be a real threat to chicks and I'm not interested in raising those. Coyotes are another story. They can get 30-40 lbs and 2' at the shoulder, and cats do not deter them. Only large dogs and .223 Remington do.
Bobcats are not unheard of around here either. They will SHRED a chicken.
Bobcats are not unheard of around here either. They will SHRED a chicken.
Poor ol' coyotes! You're lucky the US has a lot of large-mammal wildlife. We don't, mostly gone.
Poor old coyotes my arse. They are one of the smartest, resilient animals out there. They're not native to Eastern Canada but have spread quickly and adapted and even cross bred with dogs and some say wolves in the Northern regions. Decimated our rabbit population and hit the deer population hard years back.
Lot a people think that way, and I totally get it. It can be hard to get past the cute, cuddly puppy thing when looking at one. But make no mistake- they are ruthless opportunistc predators. They'll drag your cats off one by one and are also canabalistic- small pet dogs are on their menu as well. They'll send in a female that's in heat to lure your dog out then once they got him the rest of the pack strikes. That's why I said you need big dogs to deal with them, like Rottweilers, Beaucerons, Mastiffs, large Pitties, large Alsacians, etc. Personally I've never zapped one, but if I saw one on my property and I had a few chickens and a couple goats I wouldn't hesitate. They're there to kill your animals.
Another thing about Coyotes most people don't realize is that they're an invasive exotic species in most of the lower 48 and like @Qship said, all of Canada. They're native to the SW and were transplanted to the rest of the country like 60 or so years ago to control the Mule Deer populations. The Auto Insurance Industry was behind that one after they got tired of paying out claims filed by people hitting dear out on the highways. That plan failed. So that's a big reasons it's pretty much open season on them throughout the country.
You guys had Wolves and Bear in the British Isles centuries ago. IIRC there were various widcats too. Unfortunately despite supposed sightings over the last 300 years, it's pretty much accepted that they were all killed off by the 1700's. There's reintroduction programs going on elswhere in Europe where they've all also dissappeared but there's currently no plans for it in the UK. The good news is - you've been having increased sightings of the European Wildcat in the UK over the past 20 years and there's some robust plans in the works to help this species prosper. They're not much bigger than house cats so you can be looking right at one in town and not even realize it's a wild animal. People have been feeding them thinking they're strays and they've been interbreeding with domestics. So the UK wildlife authorities are working on land reserves and other habitat programs for them. Keep your fingers crossed.
Thanks for the comprehensive reply.
I understand livestock needs to be protected. And introduced-evasive species might need reducing or eliminating.
However, seems unfair dislike a species on the basis they are highly intelligent, and work together (to eat). Their stature, built for survival, might be a bit frightening, but is impressive.
Not that I've ever seen a coyote. Those bobcats look impressive too, bit more exciting than a European Wildcat.
There's no similar "varmint" that I know of in the UK nor has there been for some time so it's hard for folks across the pond to relate(some of you guys are hard on those foxes though).
I'll tell you a quick story...
I was quite fond of a buddy's Ginger Tabby some years ago. For some reason I've always had a thing for the gingers. Theenie's the first non-ginger cat I've had in many years. Anyway, whenever I stopped by this "mate's" ranch out in the woods I would seak the little guy out to say hi, give him scratches and he'd jump up on my tailgate to hang out with us while we nursed cans of cheap beer. Then one visit the cat wasn't there and the dude told me he had bad news. I assumed it'd been run over. He then showed me a disturbing trail-cam pic of a 'yote trotting off with that cat dangling from his jaws. Now I'm very strict about killing only what I intend to eat but from then on I knew I'd have no problem dropping one if it ever comes to it. They're basically formidable pests. That Coyote ultimately met it's fate very soon thereafter during another foray into my buddy's land looking for more cats. He used a bolt-action suppressed .22-250. He kept the pelt and the skull.
You see a Coyote on your land, you kill it. Full stop.
Anyhoo- How 'bout livening things up a bit with some more pet pics, eh?
I'll tell you a quick story...
I was quite fond of a buddy's Ginger Tabby some years ago. For some reason I've always had a thing for the gingers. Theenie's the first non-ginger cat I've had in many years. Anyway, whenever I stopped by this "mate's" ranch out in the woods I would seak the little guy out to say hi, give him scratches and he'd jump up on my tailgate to hang out with us while we nursed cans of cheap beer. Then one visit the cat wasn't there and the dude told me he had bad news. I assumed it'd been run over. He then showed me a disturbing trail-cam pic of a 'yote trotting off with that cat dangling from his jaws. Now I'm very strict about killing only what I intend to eat but from then on I knew I'd have no problem dropping one if it ever comes to it. They're basically formidable pests. That Coyote ultimately met it's fate very soon thereafter during another foray into my buddy's land looking for more cats. He used a bolt-action suppressed .22-250. He kept the pelt and the skull.
You see a Coyote on your land, you kill it. Full stop.
Anyhoo- How 'bout livening things up a bit with some more pet pics, eh?
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That's a nice dog! I thought it was a coyote getting friendly with a cat until I saw the eye patch. Really is a nice dog. Would suit a pirate.
Fox hunting is very unpopular amongst the general population here. Not just because it's cruel. It's absurd as well, toffs in red jackets and tight white trousers. They used to hunt in the fields around my house. Used mobile phones to keep track of where fox was running, ejiits. Dug fox out before hunt. It's not sport. Anyway, it's banned now.
Fox hunting is very unpopular amongst the general population here. Not just because it's cruel. It's absurd as well, toffs in red jackets and tight white trousers. They used to hunt in the fields around my house. Used mobile phones to keep track of where fox was running, ejiits. Dug fox out before hunt. It's not sport. Anyway, it's banned now.
Blue Heeler/Australian Cattle Dog.
Best breed out there if you have the time for them. If you can't spend copious time with a Heeler pup, don't bother getting one.
It's the Mad Max dog.
Owen's the second one I've had. Note my avatar.
Yeah, I'm not down with the Fox Hunt thing. I despise any hunt activity that's intentionally cruel. Jaw Traps and Snares are despicable. When I bag a kill, 9 times out of 10 that animal is expired before it even hits the ground.
Best breed out there if you have the time for them. If you can't spend copious time with a Heeler pup, don't bother getting one.
It's the Mad Max dog.
Owen's the second one I've had. Note my avatar.
Yeah, I'm not down with the Fox Hunt thing. I despise any hunt activity that's intentionally cruel. Jaw Traps and Snares are despicable. When I bag a kill, 9 times out of 10 that animal is expired before it even hits the ground.
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Bacon! LOL
The people across the road have chickens and a cock. Some people living around here have complained but I actually really enjoy hearing them doing there thing.
One of the neighbors woke up the one night and found a Serval in their house. Not sure if it was attracted by the chickens in the area but I have never seen one as yet.
https://www.awf.org/wildlife-conservation/serval
I've never had any problems with Roosters either, but there's always "that guy" in the neighborhood. Those things have been stirring people out of bed for centuries. They can be fairly effective watchdogs too. I find Rooster calls quite pleasant… as long as they're not perched right on my windowsill.
I can pretty much guarrantee you that Serval was homing in on those chickens. It could've been distracted by other smells coming through an open window but its likely target was some fresh chicken dinner. Wild animals have 2 drives- food and mates, and not much else.
And I just remembered, speaking of Coyotes… Blue Heelers are part Dingo, which are Australia's quasi-Coyotes.
Here's Thena guarding the fridge…
I can pretty much guarrantee you that Serval was homing in on those chickens. It could've been distracted by other smells coming through an open window but its likely target was some fresh chicken dinner. Wild animals have 2 drives- food and mates, and not much else.
And I just remembered, speaking of Coyotes… Blue Heelers are part Dingo, which are Australia's quasi-Coyotes.
Here's Thena guarding the fridge…
Pikku Myy, took me about a year and a half to work her into an indoor kitty! She runs the house!
On our bed!
Lounging wherever she wants!
On our bed!
Lounging wherever she wants!
Piki, our panthera domesticus, a totally spoiled little monster! My niece found him behind her door and uncle ended up with him! LoL.
Lap time!
Black cat black table!
Lap time!
Black cat black table!
Cats rule, dogs drool....LOL
For those cat lovers I just found this YouTube Channel and it seems to have some really nice cats content.
https://www.youtube.com/@ThePurringJournal
https://www.youtube.com/@ThePurringJournal
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