Sheep Versus Coyote

http://www.free-extras.com/

Hubby and I have often contemplated getting some sheep for our farm instead of just cows.  A few things have held us back so far.  In these parts, there are some pretty scary stories of coyotes attacking.  They are supposed to be afraid of dogs.  Not true anymore.  They kill dogs by one coyote luring the dog away from the safety of the farm buildings then the rest of the coyote pack circle in behind the dog, cutting off its escape route and killing the dog as a group.  Our 2 dogs are our pets and I'm not willing to risk their lives.

We've been told that coyotes will stay happy for awhile, as long as there is small game such as gophers, rabbits, groundhogs and the like.  As soon as that food supply is gone, your dogs, cats, chickens, sheep and any other animal around become the next best food source.  Coyotes have been seen riding on the back of live, running calves and eating the calves alive until the calf drop.

Fencing against coyotes can be a real joke, an expensive joke at that.  Barbed wire, electric or a combination will not keep a hungry coyote out.  They'll go over, under and through, electric or not.  One woman around here had tried everything to save her sheep and nothing worked.  She decided to camp out with the sheep like an old-world shepherd, with her gun.  A choice only if you can and want to handle it. 

The only things that I've ever heard of working are donkeys, llamas and the barn.  Coyotes are supposedly terrified of enclosed spaces and will not enter a building but then you have to keep your sheep inside all the time or at least herd them in every night and outside again every morning - and nothing says that the coyotes will not kill them during the day.  Donkeys can bond with the sheep herd or at least, think they own the space around them and therefore become very protective.  The agent who sold us this farm had a sheep farm but went out of the sheep industry after he lost so many sheep that he finally quit.

Would still like to have sheep but at what cost?  Have to think this one through a little longer, I guess!

Don't want to meet up with that!
http://www.examiner.com/