I'm not posting any pictures... but we had 3 sheep killed...At first we thought maybe we had a mountain lion...the footprints around the sheep were huge. We were out of town and my brother, was staying here to feed animals. Usually a predator will keep coming back again and again to a food source. So
every night for 3 nights we had a sheep killed, a fourth one has been attacked but seems to be ok.
In the past
we have had our entire barn, filled with hundreds of chickens wiped out in a single night. The weird part is the predator does not always eat everything, but they will kill everything. Coyotes are rampant where we live, but they don't usually kill something larger than themselves. Often dogs will kill sheep but not eat them. Living in the country is wonderful at best, but you do have to deal with animals dying. It unfortunately goes with the territory.
I remind myself it is not a person...it is an animal...living on a farm makes you put things in perspective.Our neighbor across the street believes he shot the predator during the night...he heard the commotion...came over and shot at the animal...we believe now it was a big dog. It has not been back, so we are not absolutely sure...but we are keeping the animals in a pen closer to the barn at night. We have kept the dogs up at night for this very reason, so that they are safe, they are outside dogs, but we want them safe as well!
We came back and had to reassure my brother (from the city) that it was not his fault, these things happen. He felt horrible...
So the final note is....life is often rough...how you deal with it is important. Do you navigate through rough waters successfully? I try to!
Thank goodness this time I did not have to move any of the animals with my husband...our neighbors did it for us before we got back.
Farmer hubby is already working on getting more sheep, so he has things in perspective. In fact he stayed pretty peaceful....I was impressed at him and proud of him.
Blessings,
Debbie
"Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:6,7
We are still very blessed!