Retribution!

After discovering the carnage to my Pigeons, I began setting traps. The one above is the only one that I set that is lethal, instantly. Therefore I set it so that the only thing that could be hurt was a varmint that intended to kill pigeons. I set some "Dog Proof traps where the Coons could access the area.

Having Dogs and Cats I have to of course be careful about how I trap and where. There is an area behind my captive Chicken house where Racoons have traditionally entered the area. There is a rock wall with a gap that they have used. That one has a Steel trap, but a Dog couldn't use it. The Dog Proof traps are basically a steel pipe that can only be triggered by grasping toes stuck in there. Racoons use their front paws a lot like hands, and these traps take advantage of that. I sometimes catch Ground Squirrels that are inside trying to get the bait with them.

I had just about given up hope of catching the Coon. It had been so long and there was no real reason for him to go into the Pigeon House. Nothing there but a few bones. Not even the surviving Pigeons were going in there.

These traps are very effective and scary as well. They are so strong I wouldn't be surprised if there weren't a few bones broken in this critter. As you can see the trap jumps forward when triggered. dIt is a major chore to set the darn thing and worthy of a bit of sweating, but there is no messing around or suffering with this type of trap. There is no way to remove it without a special tool to do so. That is why I am so careful about where I set it.

I am a happy camper, revenge is always sweet.

Tan Rat

Well I finished the Rat today, and she turned out pretty well. I had some problems with her tail when I was splitting it during the skinning process, I split the skin but didn't realize that about two inches of it didn't have a bone in it. That part was pulled off. Crap, but stuff happens. Then after it was tanned and I was making it soft and  flexible, I broke another little bit off, by being to aggressive with the process of breaking down the drying fibers. Sigh! She still looks good and feels amazing, but still, their tails are quite striking.

Varmint revenge

I had thought that things had gone pretty well at home while I was gone. There were of course many things that needed catching up on.

I knew the Dogs had missed me, but the cat was a surprise.

On the surface things seemed to be just fine. One of my little "Old English banties" had hatched four chicks in the garden among the radishes just before I got back.

 As usual with these types she was insecure with babies among all the giant Buff Orphingtons, so she was hiding outside with them at night.

 I also noticed that the Pigeons were not eating all their food. Deer were trashing all the trees in the yard. I also noticed some quite large Pack Rat turds scattered all over the back porch. On the face of things, all was in fair shape, just needing a bit of my personal attention to return things to normal.

The Deer showed up in the early afternoon of the first day home. So I did a bunch of yelling and firing a shotgun over their heads. They didn't seem to be too impressed, so when they got out about 80 yards, I lowered my aim. They finally moved off, although reluctantly. The next afternoon about 5 PM here they come again. Four Does walking up the hill headed for the house. I got the shotgun and again shouted and fired the shot gun over their heads. Same evening back again, so this time I burned a few of them. Next day here they come again as if it was all a mistake. All in all it took 5 times with me progressively peppering them with shot, before they finally seemed to take me serious. It finally got to the point that I had a hard time keeping from dropping the lead doe permanently. Its a good thing that Karen had already put a Deer in the freezer. I finally was apparently able to convince the Does that the place was off limits. This morning while standing outside searching the area for the Coyote that I fed the last coons to, I saw this Buck down by the creek.

 It is the peak of the rut for Deer. To say they get a bit distracted from the normal world is a bit generous. The dogs and I were standing in plain sight by the pool, and he walked to within 50 yards of us, only leaving because Brick began barking at him while I was getting the camera.

Now for the Pack Rat. I baited the "Gangplank with a fresh half of an apple, then proceeded to winterize the place as we seemed to be on a fast track to cold weather. The Fifth wheel went pretty well, I blew out the lines, dumped the black and grey tanks, emptied the hot water heater, then flushed the lines with RV antifreeze. Blew out the sprinkler system and insulated the distribution lines.

Then I discovered that the reason that the pigeons weren't eating all their food was actually due to the fact that I only had 12 birds left.

When I opened the loft, I found only bones and feathers. The Raccoons had killed all but 12 birds that were not sleeping in the loft because it was so crowded. I estimate that they killed over 70 birds total. They also killed the mother hen and her babies. Now there are traps covering the entry area, with another 1/2 dozen "dog Proof" traps coming. I will be running a trap line for Coons this fall. Its too bad they aren't worth something as furs.

I checked the water trap the next morning and found that the apple half was totally gone, but no Rat.

 This happened for three nights. I finally began to wonder if it was actually a Rat, or something else taking the apple off the bait wire. I decided to put the trail camera out there to make sure. The rascal was walking the edge of the tub and eating the Apple right off a 12 inch welding rod. Unfortunately I erased the disc, but it was for sure a Pack Rat, and a HUGE one at that. This one was a trophy, so I retrieved one of my Hava Hart traps. That proved to be her downfall, and she woke me up the next morning rattling around in the trap. I put her out in the hanger to keep the dogs away from her.

I decided that this one would go on my wall, so I needed to keep the hide in as good shape as I could, so guns, and dogs were out of the question. The quad and a spare vacuum hose solved the problem.

After running the engine for about five minutes I melted the vacuum hose, so I cut a slit in the bag to see how the Rat was doing. She wasn't, she had fortunately succumbed to the fumes nicely.

The sucker was as big as an Eastern Grey Squirrel. I have spent the last three days tanning her pelt. Soon he will join my other trophies on the wall.

I have finally got Jessie down in weight to the point that we can start training. I flew her to the lure on a creance last Friday. Today she was close enough to her weight that I turned her loose. She is pretty weak, but seemed to enjoy the chance to fly. When I threw the lure, she struck it three times, just to show that she could I guess.

I was quite pleased, she is acting better than she has in years. Her manners are as close to perfect, as Jessie ever gets. She came to the fist with no hesitation, every thing was perfect. I decided to give her an entire quail since I wouldn't be flying her for another two days. Then she freaked me out by not being able to hold the entire quail. I have never seen that before. I have seen her eat almost an entire Pigeon. Now I will worry for the next two days that something is the matter with her.