Rural Living??

[Bird]

<font color=blue>have you ever seen a coon fight!?!</font color=blue>

Pete, I agree with you! I've heard a few folks say they had a dog that could whip a coon by himself, but I've never seen it done. When I was a kid, my dad's best friend raised, trained, and sold coon hounds, so I've been on a few coon hunts as a teenager (don't care for it; too sadistic for my tastes), but I've seen some long fights between one coon and two dogs; usually had to put a third dog in there to kill a coon./w3tcompact/icons/frown.gif

And now my brother and his wife put out lots of corn and bread right behind the patio at their back door and have 6 to 10 coons visit every evening about dusk./w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif Of course, they have birds and squirrels all the time, an occasional opposum or deer, etc. And you'd sure have to fight that woman if you suggested shooting one of those critters./w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif

Bird

 

[Bird]

<font color=blue>What would one do in a live trap?</font color=blue>

In 1966, my wife and I were assistant managers of a big apartment complex in Dallas, and there was a large open field across the street, from which skunks came at night around the apartments. I went to the City's animal shelter, picked up and signed for a live trap (no charge), set it, baited with sardines. It had solid metal top, bottom, and sides, with the trap doors on the ends so you could see through from either end (I'm not sure just how to describe that). Anyway, you could look in the end from a long distance off to see when you had caught one. Then I'd call the city animal shelter and a man would come with a solid metal box that the live trap would fit into. He'd approach the live trap from the side so the skunk couldn't see him, gently lift the trap, place it in the solid box, and close the lid. There was little pipe attached upright to the lid with a cap on it. He would unscrew the lid, pour in chloroform, and quickly screw the lid back on.

Bird

 

[mdbarb]

wWe have a cat door into the house. It took about five years for the racoons to find it. We would block it off for a few days and they would seem to forget for a few months.
Last fall, my wife wakes me in the middle of the night, saying something "big" is inside eating the cat food. I stumble out blinking into the kitchen to within a coupla feet of a big beautiful skunk in our kitchen!
Leaping back around the corner I try to shoosh it back out the cat door. Just then our oldest cat (15 yrs. old!) who is deaf and blind in one eye comes walking in. Amazingly, the big fraidy cat wouldn't get out of the way, the skunk got fed up and SPRAYED our kitchen/living room!!! That stuff is even worse than its reputation. I ran back to the bedroom, towel under the door and hanging out the bedroom window gasping for fresh air.
Our family stayed at a friends house for three days while we tried every remedy know to man. I even took the cabinet doors off and refinished them.
It probably took about two months before friends began to drop by again.

Then there was the time the skunks nested under the house....
and the time the garbage can started moving as I approached it (racoon stuck inside)...
The time a racoon got a pet rabbit...
The mice dancing in the attic at night...
And the time the panicky deer gut stuck between the baulisters on the deck...
The possum in the laundry room...

Cat door is still open though.

 

[Bird]

<font color=blue>Cat door is still open though.</font color=blue>

You got more nerve than I do, then./w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif/w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif

Bird

 

[scruffy]

Bought a place with a pet door once, took about fifteen minutes to find a piece of plywood and screw it on over the backside of it. Far as I know, its still there. Cat's can meow at the door, but coons and skunks ain't never picked up that trick, blue jays and mocking birds sure do though!

 

[mrolson]

We quickly learned that most believe that the coyotes are fair game anytime. And with all the stories you learn to hate them before ya even know them. We saw one every once in a while in the distance and I really enjoyed spotting them, despite the stories. Then they started coming in close right after Christmas. I couldn’t leave my dog out alone. These things were everywhere. My wife thought I was nuts, I am out with my buddy all the time. I was so worried they would get him.

Then one night, my dog was way in the back going nuts. I saw my dog, nope there’s my dog, nope there he is. Four or five actually surrounded him ! Ran back in the house for a gun, ran halfway back screaming for my dog. Well, that’s how it went for two months, never left without a pistol in my pocket in the early morning or at night. Got quite a bit of target practice in (not very good though).

By the end of February, we still saw quite a few, one at a time. I guess it was a hard winter or mating time, or both. Four dogs missing from our area. But I learned, they are not fair game for me, they keep the rodents down and I enjoy watching them. And they are welcome to pass though anytime, one animal at a time. And I guess that I won’t see packs again till next year.


<font color=green>Mark</font color=green>

 

[Boondox]

John -- Besides the deer in my freezer, the only animals I've ever shot were the fisher (mini-wolverine) that killed Microsoft Cat and several chickens, and the porcupine that was chewing the heck out of my forest. Now and then the coyotes get too close, but I shoot the ground and the noise makes them vanish. Used to live trap coons and release them far in the forest, but with the rabies scare I'm not sure what I'd do if one gave me trouble.

My attitude is the forest is theirs. I'm just the interloper in the meadow. If they cause damage or raid the chicken food I have no problem with it. The little red fox up the hill is welcome to the occasional hen. Guess I draw the line when they endanger my dogs or cats.

Pete

www.GatewayToVermont.com

 

[ddl]

I wasn't thinking of the dogs fighting the coons, I was thinking maybe the smell of the dogs would keep the coons and others away. A wild aminal can be spooted with rabis by their rough look, and really sick looking fur. But I do not want to get that close.

Dan L

 

[mbjacobs]

You folks with cat doors and coon problems should check out this site.

http://www.petdoorsusa.com/elecdoor.html

I don't know if they work or not but sure seems like a good idea.

Maury Jacobs

 

[RobertN]

I'm wishy washy about some of this.

I will take necessary actions to insure a animal does not damage the house.

I do not like when people get a dozen barn cats, and they run around my property killing birds and upsetting garbage cans. You can't pet the things, and when you catch and release them, they're back the next day.

I have been having a hard time with Varmits lately. Much talk centered here around animals that affect our smaller lots, 5-20 acres, whatever. But, whether on our small lots or on great big ones, you know, thousands of acres, what makes a varmit or predator a varmit or predator.

There has always been a big stink with ranchers about woodchucks, coyotes, wolves, cougar, prairie Dogs, ect. The property were I hunted wild pig a few weeks ago, the owners abhored coyotes, especially since they had cattle.

Why can't the ranchers and such deal with nature? I can understand they lose money and cattle/sheep/livestock. I really hate to see that. But, why push nature out of the way? For so many years, centuries really, it's been "kill it if it's in our way". Why is that still so?

I have been out priarie dog shooting; had a blast, literally. Generally though, I only hunt what I can/will eat though.

Indecisive and wishy washy,

RobertN in Shingle Springs Calif