- Joined
- Jul 8, 2007
- Messages
- 47
This was crazy. Not over yet. Someone asked a question and we answered.
Hi. Really enjoying reading your blog, but I'm curious about something. What do you do about the wildlife? In other words, don't you worry about bears or wolves or larger predators killing off your chickens or, even worse, being a threat to you? How do you deal with bears and wolves? Aren't they attracted by the garden or the smells from your cooking? I'd really like to know how you handle that?
A bear walks through our yard in the spring every few years. This winter we had four wolves running and playing on the lake. I was within 100 feet of one. It had no fear, my heart was racing, it had no intention of coming closer.
A young bald eagle attempted to take a chicken one spring. We chased it off. That was 3 years ago and it hasnt come back. A pair of bald eagles live here. They stand on the tops of tall fir trees.
A weasel killed a couple of pullets last year. Opened their throats and drank their blood. It never came back. We suspect our dogs and cat were on it.
May 7th 2011
He shows up at our place at 9 in the morning looking for 30 missing pigs. No greeting, straight to the point. Have you seen my pigs?.
A new neighbour, Brad moved onto an abandoned homestead about 1.25 kms away, unnervingly close since our closest neighbour until then had been a lone old timer 4 kms away. We knew Brads parents, old timers. His father had been an old time leather artist. In fact he had shown Aki how to braid. They were a nice couple, he died a few years back, she is close to 90 and healthy.
June 20th 2011.
Called for lunch, I came around the corner of our cabin and was confronted by a 400 pound pig A pig. No idea where it came from at the time. I was dumbfounded but also a bit excited about the prospect of having an easy hunt.
I remembered it must be a neighbours pig. What was it doing here?
I yelled at it and tried to get it to move on. It did not move. It just stared at me. Kai and Aki came out the door and we joined together in our hollers. As we bent over to pick rocks it began to move slowly toward the forest and disappeared.
After lunch I went back to work in the shop on the grinder.
With my headset on and leaning into the grinder I could hear yelling. With a start I looked to the door and caught sight of a herd of pigs running by. Three astride and 7 or 8 animals long. 20, 25 pigs.
For the rest of the day we defended our gardens, fruit trees, berry bushes and bees.
We learned that day that dogs have no effect on pigs, pigs dont give up, even for a grain of rye seed. Breaking into our chicken runs for the seed.
The pigs divided into two fronts. Some 8 or ten half grown pigs, a sow and 3 or 4 adult pigs. The second herd was lead by a huge boar standing at least 4 feet. Then there were a few who seemed to wander between fronts.
We would drive one group off and start on the second and the first would come back. It looked as if we were going to loose a battle at some point. They were getting closer to the gardens. They could smell them I guess.
Kai grabbed his pellet gun and began to hunt them. They didnt like that. He would hide. Wait and then within 15 feet hit their sides. With their thick skin the landed pellets seemed to have a slight smart pain but was enough to drive them off. So it seemed.
This could happen again. We realized the only reason they left was to get back before dark.
I hiked through the bush toward our new neighbour. All through the bush the pigs had been digging. This man had been ranging his pigs on Crown land. When I got to his place there was no sign of him or any kind of human dwelling. All the pigs were there, in a yard with no pen or fence just one strand of wire with no power running through it. I nailed a note to a post at his covered gated area in plain sight. Could not miss it.
Hi Brad.
Your pigs are trying to get into our gardens.
Could you take care of this please.
Regards,
Aki and Scott
No response
For a few days there was some chain sawing over there. The pigs didnt come back.
September 16th (harvest)
The boar and 5 adults with a dozen or so smaller piglets.
They were eating apples off our small apple trees, spent the whole day fighting off pigs. Everything was threatened, carrots, potatoes, cabbage, parsnips, fava beans we grow enough food in our gardens to sustain ourselves all winter and into the next year. Jam from our berries, sauce from our apples, dried greens from broccoli and kale, sauerkraut and kimchi from cabbage and a full root cellar.
We begin to run out of food in June of the next year timed with the garden production for that next year.
Thats how we live. We spend our time growing our own vegetables and dont eat a lot of meat.
We had two pellet guns. Both Kai and I hunted them, surprised them and finally they left Only because it was the end of the day. There was some damage but not a lot. We considered ourselves lucky had fended them off. For the next three days we harvested everything early. It had been a wet spring and summer so the harvest was ok. It could have been great.
As I said we had known his parents. I decided to visit his mother.
Kai and I drove as far as we could down Brads muddy road to leave him a note. Left a sign on a young aspen sapling we fell across his road. We stated he must deal with his pigs or we were going to.
Kai and I continued on, driving to his mothers some 20kms away.
Good visit. We told her the story and asked if we could meet with him over some dinner if he wanted but definitely do something to keep his pigs away. She understood. She said she saw him two or three times a week and would tell him. I was sure after talking to his mother the issue would be resolved.
No response.
October 22
The pigs terrorized us again. We drove them off 3 times.
We were at the end of our patience.
Winter came. Lots of great sun.
February 16th 2012
I was forging in the shop that morning. Between the hammer blows I could hear someone yelling hello in our yard.
When I looked I had no idea who it was. A guy about my age,50, going on about how his friend didnt return his generator, he had no money , truck wouldnt start and could he borrow a car battery. Then I realized it was our neighbour Brad.
I gave him the piece of my mind that had kept me up nights. He apologised, told us how hard his life was and said he had gotten rid of most of his pigs and was getting out of the pig business.
We invited him into our cabin, had a coffee and caught up on the neighbourhood gossip.
We lent him our backup battery and drove him to the road into his place. Didnt want me to come in.
He returned the battery that afternoon
February 28th
Brad showed up again. Needed to borrow the battery again. I was not there. Aki lent it to him.
Three days later he returned it.
April 19th
Two adult pigs are on our road ready to come in. We hit them with a barrage of stones, sticks, pellets and drove them off. According to what Brad had told us the situation was going to end. We could deal with his two pigs.
April 20th
Four adults and 7 or 8 piglets. We are late this time. 8 oclock in the morning! They have dug up two smaller apple trees, our asparagus patch, the freshly seeded lower garden, damaged the raspberry and blueberry bushes and dug up our lupins and irises. We fought them the rest of the day driving them off at the end of the day.
Now were pissed. Weve given the guy the benefit of a doubt, chances, 5 strikes we talked to his mother.
We have pictures. Weve documented the events. How do you sue this guy? Well complain to forestry and conservation.
April 21st
Two adults and a piglet show up in the chicken run eating the rye seed. We seed the run, let the rye grow. We hit them again with a barrage of stones, sticks, pellets and drive them off.
April 22nd
Brad shows up at our door at 9 in the morning looking for pigs. I tell him how pissed we are, the damage his pigs have done and now we are going to the authorities. He apologizes and tells me of his hardships. Hes lost some piglets. Hes getting out of raising pigs. It wont happen again.
April 24th
A truck races down our road. Its Brads truck. Aki is in the sauna, Kai is in his room. It is 8:30 am.
I open the door.
He yells, You f_____ son of a b____ you stole my pigs. Tells me the police are on there way.
We go back and forth. It was ugly. He says we shouldnt be here. Were city slickers. Weve got to go.
He demands to look around.
I tell him he is out of line and to get off our property.
As he leaves he tells me if I wasnt a cripple hed beat the shit out of me and says he is going to do something.
Ive a slight balance challenge, no big deal.
So now hes been reported to the police, conservation, forestry and agriculture.
We should have taken action last summer.
We have 36 acres surrounded by crown land. The pigs have been all through it like excavating machines.
Theyll impound his pigs maybe.
So to answer the question about how we handle situations with wild animals.
We seem to be able to co-habitate with the wild animals around us. We let them pass through, maybe with a nudge. Domestic animals like pigs and cattle are the problem. Then again it's the people who own them.
Life in the bush?
Later...
Scott
There are pictures here http://aki-and-scott-fireweed.blogspot.ca/
Hi. Really enjoying reading your blog, but I'm curious about something. What do you do about the wildlife? In other words, don't you worry about bears or wolves or larger predators killing off your chickens or, even worse, being a threat to you? How do you deal with bears and wolves? Aren't they attracted by the garden or the smells from your cooking? I'd really like to know how you handle that?
A bear walks through our yard in the spring every few years. This winter we had four wolves running and playing on the lake. I was within 100 feet of one. It had no fear, my heart was racing, it had no intention of coming closer.
A young bald eagle attempted to take a chicken one spring. We chased it off. That was 3 years ago and it hasnt come back. A pair of bald eagles live here. They stand on the tops of tall fir trees.
A weasel killed a couple of pullets last year. Opened their throats and drank their blood. It never came back. We suspect our dogs and cat were on it.
May 7th 2011
He shows up at our place at 9 in the morning looking for 30 missing pigs. No greeting, straight to the point. Have you seen my pigs?.
A new neighbour, Brad moved onto an abandoned homestead about 1.25 kms away, unnervingly close since our closest neighbour until then had been a lone old timer 4 kms away. We knew Brads parents, old timers. His father had been an old time leather artist. In fact he had shown Aki how to braid. They were a nice couple, he died a few years back, she is close to 90 and healthy.
June 20th 2011.
Called for lunch, I came around the corner of our cabin and was confronted by a 400 pound pig A pig. No idea where it came from at the time. I was dumbfounded but also a bit excited about the prospect of having an easy hunt.
I remembered it must be a neighbours pig. What was it doing here?
I yelled at it and tried to get it to move on. It did not move. It just stared at me. Kai and Aki came out the door and we joined together in our hollers. As we bent over to pick rocks it began to move slowly toward the forest and disappeared.
After lunch I went back to work in the shop on the grinder.
With my headset on and leaning into the grinder I could hear yelling. With a start I looked to the door and caught sight of a herd of pigs running by. Three astride and 7 or 8 animals long. 20, 25 pigs.
For the rest of the day we defended our gardens, fruit trees, berry bushes and bees.
We learned that day that dogs have no effect on pigs, pigs dont give up, even for a grain of rye seed. Breaking into our chicken runs for the seed.
The pigs divided into two fronts. Some 8 or ten half grown pigs, a sow and 3 or 4 adult pigs. The second herd was lead by a huge boar standing at least 4 feet. Then there were a few who seemed to wander between fronts.
We would drive one group off and start on the second and the first would come back. It looked as if we were going to loose a battle at some point. They were getting closer to the gardens. They could smell them I guess.
Kai grabbed his pellet gun and began to hunt them. They didnt like that. He would hide. Wait and then within 15 feet hit their sides. With their thick skin the landed pellets seemed to have a slight smart pain but was enough to drive them off. So it seemed.
This could happen again. We realized the only reason they left was to get back before dark.
I hiked through the bush toward our new neighbour. All through the bush the pigs had been digging. This man had been ranging his pigs on Crown land. When I got to his place there was no sign of him or any kind of human dwelling. All the pigs were there, in a yard with no pen or fence just one strand of wire with no power running through it. I nailed a note to a post at his covered gated area in plain sight. Could not miss it.
Hi Brad.
Your pigs are trying to get into our gardens.
Could you take care of this please.
Regards,
Aki and Scott
No response
For a few days there was some chain sawing over there. The pigs didnt come back.
September 16th (harvest)
The boar and 5 adults with a dozen or so smaller piglets.
They were eating apples off our small apple trees, spent the whole day fighting off pigs. Everything was threatened, carrots, potatoes, cabbage, parsnips, fava beans we grow enough food in our gardens to sustain ourselves all winter and into the next year. Jam from our berries, sauce from our apples, dried greens from broccoli and kale, sauerkraut and kimchi from cabbage and a full root cellar.
We begin to run out of food in June of the next year timed with the garden production for that next year.
Thats how we live. We spend our time growing our own vegetables and dont eat a lot of meat.
We had two pellet guns. Both Kai and I hunted them, surprised them and finally they left Only because it was the end of the day. There was some damage but not a lot. We considered ourselves lucky had fended them off. For the next three days we harvested everything early. It had been a wet spring and summer so the harvest was ok. It could have been great.
As I said we had known his parents. I decided to visit his mother.
Kai and I drove as far as we could down Brads muddy road to leave him a note. Left a sign on a young aspen sapling we fell across his road. We stated he must deal with his pigs or we were going to.
Kai and I continued on, driving to his mothers some 20kms away.
Good visit. We told her the story and asked if we could meet with him over some dinner if he wanted but definitely do something to keep his pigs away. She understood. She said she saw him two or three times a week and would tell him. I was sure after talking to his mother the issue would be resolved.
No response.
October 22
The pigs terrorized us again. We drove them off 3 times.
We were at the end of our patience.
Winter came. Lots of great sun.
February 16th 2012
I was forging in the shop that morning. Between the hammer blows I could hear someone yelling hello in our yard.
When I looked I had no idea who it was. A guy about my age,50, going on about how his friend didnt return his generator, he had no money , truck wouldnt start and could he borrow a car battery. Then I realized it was our neighbour Brad.
I gave him the piece of my mind that had kept me up nights. He apologised, told us how hard his life was and said he had gotten rid of most of his pigs and was getting out of the pig business.
We invited him into our cabin, had a coffee and caught up on the neighbourhood gossip.
We lent him our backup battery and drove him to the road into his place. Didnt want me to come in.
He returned the battery that afternoon
February 28th
Brad showed up again. Needed to borrow the battery again. I was not there. Aki lent it to him.
Three days later he returned it.
April 19th
Two adult pigs are on our road ready to come in. We hit them with a barrage of stones, sticks, pellets and drove them off. According to what Brad had told us the situation was going to end. We could deal with his two pigs.
April 20th
Four adults and 7 or 8 piglets. We are late this time. 8 oclock in the morning! They have dug up two smaller apple trees, our asparagus patch, the freshly seeded lower garden, damaged the raspberry and blueberry bushes and dug up our lupins and irises. We fought them the rest of the day driving them off at the end of the day.
Now were pissed. Weve given the guy the benefit of a doubt, chances, 5 strikes we talked to his mother.
We have pictures. Weve documented the events. How do you sue this guy? Well complain to forestry and conservation.
April 21st
Two adults and a piglet show up in the chicken run eating the rye seed. We seed the run, let the rye grow. We hit them again with a barrage of stones, sticks, pellets and drive them off.
April 22nd
Brad shows up at our door at 9 in the morning looking for pigs. I tell him how pissed we are, the damage his pigs have done and now we are going to the authorities. He apologizes and tells me of his hardships. Hes lost some piglets. Hes getting out of raising pigs. It wont happen again.
April 24th
A truck races down our road. Its Brads truck. Aki is in the sauna, Kai is in his room. It is 8:30 am.
I open the door.
He yells, You f_____ son of a b____ you stole my pigs. Tells me the police are on there way.
We go back and forth. It was ugly. He says we shouldnt be here. Were city slickers. Weve got to go.
He demands to look around.
I tell him he is out of line and to get off our property.
As he leaves he tells me if I wasnt a cripple hed beat the shit out of me and says he is going to do something.
Ive a slight balance challenge, no big deal.
So now hes been reported to the police, conservation, forestry and agriculture.
We should have taken action last summer.
We have 36 acres surrounded by crown land. The pigs have been all through it like excavating machines.
Theyll impound his pigs maybe.
So to answer the question about how we handle situations with wild animals.
We seem to be able to co-habitate with the wild animals around us. We let them pass through, maybe with a nudge. Domestic animals like pigs and cattle are the problem. Then again it's the people who own them.
Life in the bush?
Later...
Scott
There are pictures here http://aki-and-scott-fireweed.blogspot.ca/
