Hi I’m Mike, farms and ranches are homes
to many different types of wildlife, and most are welcome but when you are raising what
some might consider a quick and easy meal, then something has to be done as we take a
look at predators on the ranch on our Wyoming life. Welcome back to our Wyoming life, and thanks
for joining us as we explore the ranch life and escape the ordinary 3 times per week,
right here. Please subscribe and join us. We post videos 3 times per week straight from
a real working Wyoming ranch, and bring you along as we work, learn and live every day. From the pastures to the gardens we invite
you to become a part of a community that cares about not only agriculture but the people
that make this life possible. Spring time is the era of new life on the
ranch, but its not only calves and baby chickens out there waiting every morning for their
breakfast. There are also many other animals hiding in
the wings of the ranch. Many we don’t even see and yet we know they
are still there. We find evidence of their trespassing, and
sometimes that evidence is heartbreaking and difficult to deal with. For a predator the ranch can be seen as a
buffet. Over thousands of acres many animals fall
into the prey category, from cotton tail rabbits slinking through the pasture, to prairie dogs
darting in and out of their underground liars. Grouse work their way through the grass and
even a baby antelope away from its mom might be seen as an easy opportunity for some other
hungry and determined animal. The ranch is a system of give and take, for
everything out here, even for the rancher. Everything from the grass to the animals and
that is the reality of things on the western plains. Occasionally though the rules of the pastures
and plains invade into the domestic life of the ranch. In and around the main part of the ranch,
the buildings and the houses are where animals should feel the most protected. Most predators wont venture close to people
and when they do, it means they are hungry and looking for an easy meal. Its very uncommon to see a mountain lion,
a coyote or even a fox brave enough to dare get too close, but it does happen. The prairie encroaches on the homestead, or
maybe it’s the other way around. Domestic animals are sometimes seen as easy
pickings for our larger predators of the area. If a mountain lion is seen in the area, we
call our neighbors or our neighbors call us, advising to get smaller dogs and even their
smaller children inside and into protection, out of the line of site of this shy but sometimes
crafty hunter, but that is very rare. More than likely its going to be a coyote
or a fox that brings havoc to the ranch and when they do the effects can be quick and
devastating. This is the chicken house, in it we raise
our birds, not for eating but for their eggs. Egg production is a big part of our farmers
market business. Often, farm fresh eggs are a great way to
introduce new customers to the value of buying food, including vegetables, meat and other
products directly from the producer. We call farm fresh eggs the gateway food and
if you have never tried a farm fresh egg, I urge you to find a local producer and try
one. Farm fresh eggs are only days old by the time
you get them and compared to grocery store eggs which can be weeks or months old in the
store, well the difference is amazing. You’ll thank me later. For us to produce our eggs we need chickens
and depending on demand, we need a lot of them. Most of our chickens will produce close to
one egg a day, and even a few dozen eggs a day is sometimes not enough to fill the orders
we receive. This year we added 60 new chickens to the
flock, and for the first part of their lives they lived in the shop, then in a wagon train
of their own sort they were moved to the chicken house to live in their own room inside. Complete with water, food and shelter. While they continue to grow they will stay
inside, protected from whatever may be waiting for them outside. And for good reason, while these little ones
are getting used to their new habitat, our older chickens, the ones that produce eggs
for us now are enjoying the spring weather. While the days last longer the chickens get
braver. During the winter months they are eager to
get back inside to the warmth of the chicken house but during warmth of the spring they
are out exploring and often getting them inside is a fight. Its this time of year that disaster usually
strikes and it doesn’t take long before a predator finds our flock and begins picking
them off, one by one. When you have 50 or so chickens, its hard
to see them go missing. They tend to spread out, they don’t flock
together but soon it becomes apparent that something bad is happening. Even with the danger of a hungry predator
coming around, the new chickens in the chicken house still need to come outside. They are getting bigger by the day, and they
can’t stay cooped up all the time. They need to get out but still be safe and
that’s where a chicken run comes into play. The chicken house is divided into halves,
each half has a door that leads to the outside. One leaves for free range chickens and the
other leads into the chicken run, where the chickens have some protection from whatever
is hunting them. Over the winter, the weight of snow will damage
the chicken run somewhat, and after a few minutes of repair and checking all of the
fence for holes, for either something to escape, or something else to get in we can call the
chicken run safe for habitation and let the chickens have access to the outside. For the first time in their lives, they can
cautiously move out into the world, the big bad dangerous world. As for our predator, hunting the area nightly,
we finally have an ID. A small fox, who has been sneaking in every
night. The chickens have taken to living in the barn
for some protection but even then, she still moves through the flock and does her damage. Traps are set, which do no good. A fox is worst case scenario for us and when
it comes to predators of the ranch, a fox is probably the most smart, cunning and sneaky
of the bunch. As she moves through the pasture with a pup
in tow it’s easy to realize that she, just like the ranch, is trying to provide for her
family but we can’t allow her to provide for hers but taking away from ours. Eventually though she is trapped and she will
be relocated by out county officials who take care of these sort of things, hopefully taking
her far far away from here. They also found her den and relocated her
pups as well. This doesn’t chance our plan with the new
chickens however, because where this one fox there are a hundred and for now we are playing
it safe. Other predators are welcome to stay, like
the cats of the barn who keep mice and other smaller predators away. Or the badger who dines on prairie dogs. The ranch is an ecosystem and we all work
together, just stay away from the chickens and we will get along just fine. When we talk about how smart a fox is it reminds
me of a story my dad told me when I was a kid. A young cowboy is out checking and repairing
fence, when all of a sudden, he realizes he dropped his hammer somewhere. You can’t get much fencing done without
a hammer and he frantically goes back down the fence line to look for it. If he doesn’t get this fence done today
then the boss is going to chew his butt and he might even lose this dream job he’s been
wanting for years. So, he works his way back down the fence,
he spies a fox walking toward him. With his hammer in her mouth, she walks up
and drops the hammer and the young cowboy looks up at the sky and proclaims, “it’s
a miracle”! "Not really," said the fox. "Your name is written right there on the handle." Thanks for coming along with me today, with
the ranch safe for another day we move on with our chores like collecting eggs from
our few remaining chickens. But we will rebuild, that’s a given, it’s
the human spirit and just that bull headedness that comes with the hat. Please subscribe and continue with us, branding
is just around the corner. Haying will begin here soon and I would love
to have you along for the ride. While you are at it, hit that little bell
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find anywhere else and until next time. Have a great week and thanks for joining us
in our Wyoming life.
