Protecting our Flock
Our newest flock
It seemed to us a bit miraculous that our flock of chickens had never been victims of predators, especially with our homestead being basically in the woods. We knew there were hawks, owls, SO MANY RACCOONS, amongst other predators, but for whatever reason they’d never gone for our birds. However, we shouldn’t have been surprised last Spring when a fox saw our all-you-can-eat chicken buffet and decided she’d stay awhile.
This fox was bold. We saw her all the time. In no way, shape, or form was she afraid of us or our little dog Mags. After just a few days of our newest flock members getting to taste the freedom that is free-ranging, the fox took out all 12 of them. Quite a massacre.
We knew we wanted chickens again, as my toddler put it, “I miss being a chicken farmer.” It took us awhile to reconcile that we may not be able to keep chickens where we are, UNLESS…
And it’s a big unless. Unless we got a Livestock Guardian Dog. An LGD. But that would take so much training, so much time, and who knows if we’ll be successful? What if we invest in this dog and it ALSO eats our flock? We went back and forth about it for the last year. Then we decided we were going to do it. We’d travel up to Minnesota in June to grab our puppy from Stonybrook Farms, breeders of the gorgeous and majestic Maremma Sheepdogs. I’ve been researching these dogs for about 2 years.
Polar bear paws
So why a Maremma over another LGD (Great Pyrenees is a popular one for example)? This breed is supposed to stay closer to the animals they protect, wandering less than most. They also supposedly bark a little less (jury’s out). The Maremma breed has been kept from the mainstream here in the states, they are Italian mountain dogs and are not recognized by the AKC. The Maremma Club works hard at maintaining the integrity of the breed, and many breeders will not sell to you if you’re looking for a housedog. This dog lives for the sleet and snow, to bark at anything on 4 or 2 legs that it deems doesn’t belong, and it doesn’t hurt they’re beautiful.
Well clearly we didn't wait until June for our puppy. Daisy appeared on a Maremma Sheepdog page I had joined. Her owners had gotten her from a farm near Columbus at 7 months, they’d had her for 5 in their house, and they thought she was depressed. A one year old Maremma is hard to find. Demand for her was high, but I beat them to it and won us a Daisy.
Now the big task is ahead. We have no experience training an LGD, and I’m under no illusions it will be a quick or simple task. Daisy has been bred to think independently (you should have seen the side eye I got all the way to our house after I picked her up). This big polar bear is going to take some time, but I think it will be worth it (🙏).