New addition to the farm today!

[matt walker]

Some gross photos coming....sorry for the gore.

Here's how I found the ram yesterday morning...



And, guess what? They got it! I'm conflicted, I feel at ease regarding the livestock and I'm relieved, but man, what a bummer to be the reason this beautiful animal was destroyed. Ugh. They assured me that once the cat had taken to living off the easy livestock kills there was no other option, but still...ugh.

Anyway, yep, it was a Tom. It dragged the carcass about a quarter mile last night and left a clear trail of wool down to my neighbor's pond. The dogs picked up the scent and they treed it just above my property. Here he is...

[mannytheseacow]

Dang, what a big cat! I know what you mean, it's kind of a double edged sword. You don't want that thing around getting your livestock (or you) but those cats have been around since way before we came. Either way, I'll bet you'll sleep well tonight.

Any sign of Pearl?

[matt walker]

Oh, yeah, Pearl came home last night and I kept her in the house hoping the cat would come back for the ram carcass. I think Pearly would have for sure kept him away. She was going nuts and keeping her in the house was no small task. She was whining and panting and small barking for hours, but I just went to bed and eventually she did too.

[SilverFlame819]

[SilverFlame819]

[SilverFlame819]

Wow, you weren't kidding when you said he just left the head and wool!

I feel conflicted about the wild animals too. If you hadn't provided him with a lambchop dinner, he wouldn't have eaten it. Why would he choose to chase deer when he can eat a sheep? That sounds like a stupid decision. It's too bad we don't know if cougars can pass down information to their children like ravens can... Tell stories about what something looks like, and why they should be afraid of it, so that even if their children never see the thing in question, they've heard about it and choose to stay away... But again, I've been on the other side of that, when the predators are just taking out your stock, and it's the most frustrating thing ever. I got to the point where I would lock my animals up at night, and let my BC's run the fields. They're not programmed like an LGD is, but they certainly got the job done. A few skunk sprays, and a dead mink later, and I stopped losing my chickens. But those damn eagles... *shakes my fist* Not much you can do to stop an eagle when your flock day ranges.

[SilverFlame819]

And I really despise the inability to edit. Typos drive me crazy! Not complaining that you should change it, because I know why you did, but... ugh. Just a whine.

[mannytheseacow]

[SilverFlame819]

Aah, okay. Didn't know you raised goats. My thought process was - Doesn't look quite Boer, doesn't look quite Nubian, and nobody raises mutts (or bucklings) for anything but pets, right??

So... what is it that you have there? I just Googled Boers, and turns out they're also being bred in red and black now, so I suppose it's possible that's what you've got there, but I didn't see anything about banded Boers, so... some kind of cross? Your boy also looks a bit more delicate than our Boers did.

So yeah, I'm curious. What is the little guy, and what are you planning to breed him to?

[mannytheseacow]

Yeah, I suppose if 4-H ribbons and money tasted better I might be concerned. Nope, he's 100% boer. Traditional crossed with a red. As far as delicate, he's only a couple of days old in those pics... being a triplet and a bottle baby doesn't help, but he's been gaining almost a pound a day since we got him. He's going to breed back to Alpine-Boer crosses. The alpine-boers put on weight faster than straight boers, better mothers, and not as finicky. Again, maybe not show winners, but that's not my deal. My big thing with these goats is 1. no investment (other than some milk), 2. good teats for production, 3. hearty, and 4. good browsing. We've got a lot of people interested in grazing goats for invasive species control in natural areas around me, but no-one offering the service. Doubt I'll retire on it, but again, that's not really my deal.