Big Boy

Nah, not this guy...  I wonder what happened to him, though.  As a kid I remember seeing him in front of Shoney's restaurants, if I recall correctly.  On family vacations we'd stop and eat at Big boy restaurants sometimes.  I never see him anymore.

No the Big Boy I'm referring to takes a little explaining.  If you've been keeping up with us we've had a raccoon (we think) that has been killing our chickens.  We've tried this:



A leg-hold trap

And we've tried this...

A big cage-trap in the pasture up against the chicken tractor

And we've tried this...

A medium cage trap outside the pasture against the woods

So far, other than catching the neighbor's cat and an opossum, we're striking out.  Time for Plan B and that is where Big Boy comes in.  I introduce you to Big Boy, our new livestock guardian dog.  He is a Great Pyrenees, an old breed that has been used for centuries by shepherds in northern Spain and southern France to protect their sheep and we are hoping that he will protect our chickens.    

Big Boy, friend of chickens and worst nightmare of raccoons

He is a very gentle and affectionate dog that has grown on the whole family quickly.  A friend knew about our predator problem and just happened to hear that Big Boy was available.  The price tag on Big Boy was affordable - "Free to a good home" and so we picked him up.


I'm a nice guy, really.

So we placed him in the pasture for the first day in his guardian role.  He did not chase the chickens and acted real laid back and just scoped out the territory.


To Protect and Serve

Only one problem with Big Boy, Rosie and Daisy, our two Jersey cows, do not like him in "their" pasture.  They came to check out the newcomer and starting rushing toward him threateningly.  Big Boy started to bark, but it was clear the cows were on the attack.  We had to remove him from the pasture as we were kind of afraid for his safety since, even though he's big, they weigh probably a combined 1,600 pounds more than him. 

Not worried about the two behind the electric fence, but worried about these two bullies charging me in this paddock!

This is going to take a little time to get the cows acclimated to the newest member of the family, but they will.  Each day we've been walking him in the pasture and getting the girls used to him.  It's working.  They're being nicer.  Tomorrow we'll put him back in the pasture and see how it goes.

In the meantime, we keep the cage traps baited until Big Boy completes orientation and starts work full time.