Rodents, projects, progeny, predatory tendencies

It looks like I will have to go on an aggressive campaign to get the rodent population on our little farm back under control. I have a practice of keeping a live trap set in the main wellhouse to catch any rats that scamper through the opening they have gnawed in the frame of the door to the wellhouse. We have not had a rat show up in the trap for quite a few months – until yesterday. She was another big one. I almost think she was the one I almost caught by hand in the goat barn last Saturday, but there is no way to be sure. Yesterday afternoon Mama scared a young squirrel out of the coop. So, after I get the secondary wellhouse built in the barn lot I will cover the points of entry I left in the coop to discourage both forms of rodents. The raccoons and the mice are a different issue.

The problem is that I have to use live traps instead of poison because the chickens and the goats might eat the poison and that would not produce the results I am looking for. Too often though when I have set up the live traps a chicken will get itself caught in the trap. Case in point; I had a live trap set behind one of the coop doors and Mama discovered one of her chickens caught in the trap. That would not have been so bad but when she freed the hen there were two eggs in the cage as well. Meaning? The chicken had been trapped for at least two days before Mama discovered her. We have unintentionally caught a variety of creatures in the traps including, large toads, snakes and little pigs. Somehow, I will have to strike a balance and steer toward setting and placing the traps so my preferred prey is captured.

Having finally firmed up in my mind just how I am going to build it, I will start on the secondary wellhouse this week. I almost purchased the materials last weekend but held off because I still had not settled on a design. I do not want to build another nondescript shed on the property. I wanted something with a little bit of character. The idea came to me last night. It will actually take less materials than the bland box I had been planning for, so I think Mama will be pleased. It will be easier to insulate and a bit more functional when assembled according to the updated design. I am looking forward to getting the project underway. And it is high time it got done.

We still have not gotten Daisy back onto the farm. She shows up every now and then for Mama to treat her to some sweet stock or range cubes but there has not been a calf with her during any of her recent visits. We are still not absolutely sure she has a calf, but our neighbor is not in a particular hurry to run her off and the two calves we have in the barn lot seem content to be there. Mama and I are both curious about the suspected calf because once, weeks ago, Daisy showed up with a little heifer calf in tow. Once and only once. Another heifer would be nice although it will present some breeding challenges for the two offspring of the bulls on our neighbor’s property.

Victoria has been working with Kobe and Kira to dissuade them from ever harming our goats again. I am not sure if she is willing the battle of the wills because instinct is a powerful motivator. In order to help with the issue, I will rerun the electric fence in the back yard. Since I have the shop wired and ready I will originate the fence there versus coming out of the garage. The last time I had the fence powered up Kobe got a good shock from it, she did not want to go into the back yard at all after that; much less attack anything. We will see if it is as effective this time – since she has now gotten the taste for blood. It would be sad to see her go, but if we cannot sufficiently suppress her desire to kill, I will not allow her to stay.

Oh, the joys of farm living!