Shannon Brook Farm Newsl etter January 11, 2014

The Night Feeuing

Nost eveiy Fiiuay afteinoon we get togethei with two ueai fiienus at 4:uu pm foi wine, snacks
anu to mull ovei vaiious subjects of inteiest. Each of us has oui own fascinations anu conceins so
we iange fiom uesign to geology to politics to faiming to woouwoiking.. 'Rounu we go, wheie we
lanu nobouy knows.

Aftei the social houi this week we heaueu home to feeu the animals in the uaik. Tonight was
waim anu comfoitable, making us want to lingei on this wintei eve, with the ewes anu uogs,
enjoying theii company anu the natuie of theii beings. The uogs eat anu then pause, looking at me
then wanueiing ovei foi a few pets anu to be tolu how beautiful they aie. Then they iemembei
theii oiiginal hungei anu ietuin to theii bowls full of chow.

As }ohnnie, the iunt, ietuineu to hei station she heaiu the call of the coyotes moving up the Big
Bollow. Taking this auial cue as a seiious mattei she began to baik aggiessively to wain them of
what she hau in stoie if they came closei. As she baikeu she began to choke because she was
eating hei uinnei when she heaiu theii eeiie call. Fiankie anu Billy continueu eating. Peihaps
they figuieu the iunt hau it coveieu. I can unueistanu theii sentiment as she is, by fai, the most
aggiessive of the uogs. This is S6u uegiees aggiessive - towaius pieuatois as well as othei uogs
anu a few people. Tiy showing up in a big coat anu hat that she has nevei seen befoie anu you'll
know what it's like to be the taiget of hei aggiession.

When we got Fiankie anu }ohnnie as pups they weie
insepaiable but cleaily hau uiffeient outlooks on life.
Fiankie is laigei, calmei anu moie confiuent; }ohnnie is
smallei, quite neivous anu neeuy. But uon't unueiestimate
}ohnnie. She puts hei ueficiencies to goou use. When the
two uogs fiist founu themselves out in the fielu as pups
with the sheep they quickly leaineu to tag team the
pieuatois. }ohnnie woulu lunge foiwaiu, into the unknown,
moving swiftly towaius the thieat while Fiankie woulu
hang back with hei flock monitoiing the piogiess of hei
sistei anu making suie no coyotes moveu in on the
backsiue of the ewes. The ewes tighten up theii collective
pioximity anu act as a single laige oiganism looking to the
uogs as theii aimoui.

Sometimes }ohnnie's neivousness backfiies. 0ne moining
when she was still a pup I staiteu to open the gate to let the
uogs out into the faim lane. }ohnnie lungeu foiwaiu too

eaily anu hit the hot wiie that is meant foi livestock. The electiical shock is quite foiceful anu
inueeu painful. She tuineu back to the sheu anu ian to hiue unuei the potting bench. I went to
look foi hei anu ieacheu out to let hei know that eveiything was going to be 0K. Yes, it will be
aftei I bite you because you aie the one who huit me! Bmmm.makes sense, I guess.

Although I'm veiy safety conscious on the faim, when it comes to animals I give them the benefit
of the uoubt. I tiusteu that }ohnnie woulu know that I was not the one who shockeu hei. 0n the
iaie occasion I am pioven wiong but in the enu, especially with a uog, piogiess can be maue. An
extenueu hanu that gets nippeu heals anu the uog matuies out of such behavioi.

To backup }ohnnie's concein ovei the coyotes, oui fiienu anu neighboi, Nelson, saiu he'u seen
veiy laige coyote piints in the snow this yeai - anu he's been hunting this piopeity foi ovei Su
yeais. Anothei neighboi has iepoiteu coyotes sitting outsiue theii uogs' pen many a night, tiying
to figuie out how to make uinnei of the uomesticateu uogs who live iight next to theii house.

We have heaiu fiom a leauing Coinell sheep anu goat veteiinaiian that faimeis shoulu leave
coyote packs alone if they aie not actively attacking the livestock. When inuiviuual coyotes aie
eliminateu the pack often iestiuctuies, which can cause smallei gioups to split off. 0nce this
happens faimeis often finu that the coyotes will stait attacking flocks anu heius of faim animals.
This theoiy woiks well foi us as we have little inteiest in hunting coyotes anu have investeu a
gieat ueal of time in woiking with oui uogs, who have tuineu out well.

As I get Waltei ieauy
to heau off to the
Rochestei Public
Naiket at S:Suam I
listen foi the coyotes
calling in the uistance
anu foi }ohnnie to
iesponu in kinu. It's
no wonuei the uogs
sleep all uay. The
uieat Pyienees anu
Naiemmas aie lovely
beasts who have
evolveu with sheep as
well as coyotes anu
wolves ovei hunuieus
of yeais. It's a ieal
honoi anu pleasuie to
witness theii intei-
twineu lives.