Marge, we hardly knew ye

Marge
April 28, 2009 - September 1, 2009
R.I.P.

Marge, our beautiful golden chicken was snatched from us this morning leaving only some feathers to mark the spot where she last foraged for bugs. Marge will be fondly remembered as the free-thinking chicken who found a spot in the centre of a rather large juniper bush to lay her eggs, much to our chagrin. The prime suspect is the rather bold coyote who has been previously described. Unfortunately, the daily routine of the remaining five hens has changed as a result of this daylight attack. It's tempting to confine them to their chicken tractor for their own protection, but they obviously get so much pleasure out of their unconfined chicken lives, we'll still let them free range in the afternoons. I'm sure the coyote will soon be on to our new schedule, but we'll be supervising activities in the yard very closely from here on.

It's a dog eat dog world (almost)

This morning Meg and I were looking for a ball to play with. Meg was looking at the edges of the mown area where the balls roll out of sight. I looked up to see Meg trotting towards the vegetable garden followed a few feet behind by what at first glance appeared to be a playful dog, but what I soon realized was a coyote stalking her. It was the size of a lanky German Shepherd and the colour of a dark Golden Lab. When it saw me, it stopped and looked for what seemed like quite a while, perhaps evaluating the threat I posed to it, before heading into the long grasses towards the woods. I had the distinct impression that it did not find me to be threatening, it just didn't feel like sticking around. When Meg realized what had been so close, she put on a short brave show of some weak barking and lots of sniffing, then came running to me.

I admit that I've not been terribly sympathetic to the people who are occasionally featured in the paper calling for the extermination of the local coyote population because their cat or small dog was killed by one. In fact, I always side with the coyote whenever they come into conflict with pets. Now I have to refine my opinion slightly. Now I side with the coyote, except if it's eyeing my pet for breakfast.

Update August 13: Meg was spayed today and when we picked her up we mentioned the coyote incident to the vet. Our vet is also a sheep farmer so I respect his opinion on coyotes. He said it is possible that the coyote wanted to play with Meg as this is not unheard of. Apparently, they will also mate with dogs, but that potential has been removed as of this morning. I think it is always safe to assume the coyote's intentions are not honourable.

Meg is recovering comfortably at home.

No wonder the puppy is nervous outside at night

I found this lovely artifact of a coyote meal not far from our driveway. Given the sheer volume of deer in the area and the frequency with which we hear coyotes yipping or howling or see their scat, it's not surprising that we'd find something like this close to the house eventually.

I have to say that although I find amputated limbs to be not particularly pleasant, I'm definitely on the side of the coyotes in this life and death struggle. The deer are so numerous they're destroying the forest by eating every green thing they can reach and not allowing regeneration.

There is a local rumour that the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources released 5 cougars in the area a few years ago to help control the deer population. The rumour is that this was done secretly to avoid the inevitable public outcry such a thing would cause. Almost everyone around here knows someone who claims to know someone who has seen a cougar.

For my own sanity while standing outside with Meg while she does her thing outside after dark, I'm going to assume that the cougar rumour is false. And I'm going to assume that any coyotes would find me to be sufficiently imposing that they wouldn't want to mess with my puppy.

Waiting for coyotes

L went out to the marsh three nights in a row, at dusk, to see if he could spot some of the wildlife who've been leaving tracks everywhere. Nights one and two provided only a view of the vegetation. M and I joined him on the third night, and were rewarded with a sighting of two coyotes. We assume we saw a male and a female, judging by their sizes. We were spotted by the female, who stood motionless for a while before returning to the woods. Alas, the picture was taken on night one.

Coyotes!

I was alone at the Shack the other night. I had just settled into bed when I heard what sounded like a lot of coyotes just outside the window singing me a lullaby. I have to say that I didn't find their song all that soothing. Quite exciting, actually. I was grateful that I had made the last trip to the outhouse for the evening. I didn't find any fresh tracks the next day, so they were obviously farther away than they sounded. There is a slightly older coyote track that runs right across the path to the outhouse but we haven't heard them close by before.