Dog Or Fox Attack On Sheep?

[OSoSwift]

Sounds like dog to me and probably one.

Alpaca don't guard that well against dogs and if they do usually end up being badly damaged as dogs hunt very differently to foxes and are usually no where near as afraid.

Hope you get it sorted CAS, it is just awful to lose stock in this way.

Edited May 26, 2011 by OSoSwift

[Amadeus]

Hi Casowner,

I think I live near you. We have had lamb casualties due to foxes, but NEVER adults. This sounds like a big dog to me. I have seen large dog damage to sheep, and it definitely involved neck and stomach.

[Staranais]

That's a very pretty lamb you have there! What breed is it?

[casowner]

That's a very pretty lamb you have there! What breed is it?

Thank you Staranais it is a damara x merino x dorper she has the goat hair type wool

Amadeus what area do you live in? I definately think it was a dog now and we will be looking for it

Edited May 26, 2011 by casowner

[♥Bruno♥]

Sorry, just saw this thread after posting one of my own.

Yes, it could be foxes. We are having major problems with them at the moment. Foxes WILL just crush windpipes to kill. We have had ewes with their lambs literally eaten as they came out of the birth canal, leaving them half in the mother (resulting in the ewe death too). We have also seen a lot of tails and spinal cords been pulled. The foxes are getting more sadistic this year, sadly.

[persephone]

Foxes WILL just crush windpipes to kill.

On adult sheep? I've never seen it , thankfully - but then again, ours are HUGE solid merinos .

[Amadeus]

Casowner - I live in Inglewood.

[shortstep]

I have never seen so many dead foxes on the roads. I think we have a population explosion of foxes this year along with mice and rats.

Last week, mid day, I found a fox in the act of killing a 3 month old lamb in the paddock. The lamb was still warm to the touch, fresh blood everywhere. It was in the act of ripping out the throat. When I interrupted it ran off. No other body area of the lamb had been touched yet.

I went back to the house and had to wait for some help to move it out of the paddock. 3 times the fox came back before I could remove the dead lamb. This fox, though it ran away when it saw me, was not put off by me chasing it off.

Edited May 26, 2011 by shortstep

[merijigs]

Dog or dogs. Not a fox.

[casowner]

Casowner - I live in Inglewood.

Me too

[Loopy Lola]

Sorry about your sheep CAS ........just a thought ......it may be worth checking that any of the tradies involved in your new build aren't bringing their dog to work with them .

[casowner]

Thank you LL my OH is with them up there all of the time and none of them have, he just told me he found another ewe in the paddock next door this morning and her tail was eaten. I think this one possibly died (very old) and foxes have eaten her tail so I don't think it was related

[Steve]

Sounds like dogs to me - big ones. You need a couple of Maremmas.

[lovemymutts]

I used to work on a sheep farm with Poll Dorsets, Dorset Horns, White Suffolks & a couple of merinos. We would go out shooting each week - foxes & rabbits, esp around lambing time & yes we did have some lamb fatalities from foxes, but very few & they would never eat that much. Not once did I ever see a ewe be taken down by a fox & if the whole throat has been ripped out that definitely doesn't sound fox-like to me.

There are a lot of foxes around at the moment though. Also as far as Alpacas go I used to work at a horrible petting zoo type place & we often had peacocks/hens etc. killed by foxes & the Alpaca didn't help one bit so it leaves me skeptical about that. If I was to ever have sheep in a large capacity I would be out regularly spotlighting & have a dog like a Maremma to protect the stock.

I hope you find out what is going on & soon!

[Alyosha]

Sorry to hear about your ewe Cas, I hope it's the last. Be careful though, I've seen powerful dogs (smallish x bred gsd size) take on and kill determined alpacas when they're in a sheep frenzy - not a nice thing at all. If you have got dogs in your area doing this, watch your 'pacas as well as they can also be at risk.

[casowner]

That is what worries me as I have mini ponies including one in her 30s and a really tiny mini cow apart from the others and the female emu free ranges with the camels/stallion and donkey gelding. She is a complete biatch and chases the horse and donkey when she is a mood but I am more worried about her being chased and hurting herself

This is Miss Tiny (lowline) and she is fully grown at 2 1/2 years old and Drummer "playing" with Diego in the same paddock as the ewe was down. I don't think the camels would tolerate anything chasing her as she is incredibly bonded with the bull camel. Everything is weird here, they all bond with strange companions

Steve it isn't fair to post polar bear puppy photos

Edited May 27, 2011 by casowner

[Alyosha]

Love your critters Cas. But you're right, they could be particularly at risk from dog attack. I worry about our old mini, smaller than our dogs, with one eye and 25+ years old. But she seems determined to protect her sheep friends! I know my dogs would bark if something was going on out in the big paddock, but it could be too late by then.