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greenstormThere are two things I haven't been writing about. One is the lynx. Instead of trying to do a good job I'll just put it down here.
The easier one is: a lynx has been in the neighbourhood. It's been on top of the covered chicken coop but hadn't got in. The chicken coop pre-exists any of my property planning and it is up against the perimeter fence which means dogs can't keep the outside of it safe: they can't keep the lynx off of it. That means the lynx can hang around, be intrigued, and try again and again to get in.
The lynx gave up on the chicken coop, I guess, and saw the free-ranging geese and ducks out in the yard. Normally the dogs would chase it off, but the lure of the chicken coop meant it spent a lot of time observing and was able to come in when the dogs took a break.
I caught it in the Muscovy lean-to on a dead black duck. I honestly didn't know it was in there, the birds were acting weird, so I stuck my head in and there it was. I hissed at it, it took off, I called Thea over and she chased it off.
That night it was on top of the Muscovy shed where the dogs couldn't reach it. I treed it, bear sprayed it, and threw snowballs (all the rocks are covered in snow and I did not have pellets for the pellet gun). I've been doing patrols with Thea a couple times during the night; once she chased it off and I think they tagged each other: they went back and forth a couple times along the inside of the fence and she whimpered once but I couldn't find any blood. It finally got over the fence. Another time we got it before it came over the fence. I've been keeping the housecats in, which is making them unbearably bored. I'm hoping that with enough unpleasant encounters it stops coming back and recalculates the risk-reward, but: it's had a meal here, it knows there's food.
Three geese also were killed. They seemed fine after the one successful attack, if a little dazed, and wandered around with the rest of the geese. Then, one by one during the day, greenish fluid came out of their beaks and they died in my arms. I looked up lynx attacks and they seem to grab the back of the prey's head with their jaws, maybe this was a spinal issue? Either way, these are the first geese I've knowingly lost to a predator and I'm very sad about it. Geese are beautiful.
Haven't seen it back in 36 hours now despite patrols. I think the dogs know it's important and how to look for it now, since I've been patrolling with them in a specific route. I've also locked them outside at night and brought them a bunch of food etc so they don't get indoor breaks. Fingers crossed.
Meanwhile I've been leaving the outdoor lights on to help the dogs. I hate outdoor lights overnight, but more importantly, the longer "days" have really catapulted the geese into breeding season. At the beginning of the lynx thing I could tell if something was off outside because the geese called an alarm. Now they're wrestling over the water bowls and yelling in fight circles around the combatants. Not helpful, geese.
And I'm not quite ready to separate them into breeding pens (which the dogs can't access) until I know the lynx is gone.
The easier one is: a lynx has been in the neighbourhood. It's been on top of the covered chicken coop but hadn't got in. The chicken coop pre-exists any of my property planning and it is up against the perimeter fence which means dogs can't keep the outside of it safe: they can't keep the lynx off of it. That means the lynx can hang around, be intrigued, and try again and again to get in.
The lynx gave up on the chicken coop, I guess, and saw the free-ranging geese and ducks out in the yard. Normally the dogs would chase it off, but the lure of the chicken coop meant it spent a lot of time observing and was able to come in when the dogs took a break.
I caught it in the Muscovy lean-to on a dead black duck. I honestly didn't know it was in there, the birds were acting weird, so I stuck my head in and there it was. I hissed at it, it took off, I called Thea over and she chased it off.
That night it was on top of the Muscovy shed where the dogs couldn't reach it. I treed it, bear sprayed it, and threw snowballs (all the rocks are covered in snow and I did not have pellets for the pellet gun). I've been doing patrols with Thea a couple times during the night; once she chased it off and I think they tagged each other: they went back and forth a couple times along the inside of the fence and she whimpered once but I couldn't find any blood. It finally got over the fence. Another time we got it before it came over the fence. I've been keeping the housecats in, which is making them unbearably bored. I'm hoping that with enough unpleasant encounters it stops coming back and recalculates the risk-reward, but: it's had a meal here, it knows there's food.
Three geese also were killed. They seemed fine after the one successful attack, if a little dazed, and wandered around with the rest of the geese. Then, one by one during the day, greenish fluid came out of their beaks and they died in my arms. I looked up lynx attacks and they seem to grab the back of the prey's head with their jaws, maybe this was a spinal issue? Either way, these are the first geese I've knowingly lost to a predator and I'm very sad about it. Geese are beautiful.
Haven't seen it back in 36 hours now despite patrols. I think the dogs know it's important and how to look for it now, since I've been patrolling with them in a specific route. I've also locked them outside at night and brought them a bunch of food etc so they don't get indoor breaks. Fingers crossed.
Meanwhile I've been leaving the outdoor lights on to help the dogs. I hate outdoor lights overnight, but more importantly, the longer "days" have really catapulted the geese into breeding season. At the beginning of the lynx thing I could tell if something was off outside because the geese called an alarm. Now they're wrestling over the water bowls and yelling in fight circles around the combatants. Not helpful, geese.
And I'm not quite ready to separate them into breeding pens (which the dogs can't access) until I know the lynx is gone.
