[Jacob-list] predators

[Linda Bjarkman]

What's a swift?  The only swifts I know of are chimney swifts - it would be rare 
indeed to have one of them kill a lamb (smile). 

On the same subject - what are the statistics on hawks killing lambs?  Every year 
when our lambs are born, the red shouldered hawks that nest closeby will come and 
roost and watch the lambs.  Our Jacob lambs tend to be in the 6 to 9 pound range 
(sometimes smaller) and that's about the size of an adult rabbit, which the hawks do 
take.  

We also have coyotes and bobcats, but there have been very few livestock kills in 
our neighborhood.  Abit farther south, there have been lots of lamb kills.  My 
thought was that because we border national forest and there are lots of free 
roaming neighbor dogs, that the coyotes prefer to prey on the abundant wild rabbit 
population instead of local livestock.  The wild rabbit population last spring was 
rather amazing.  They were everywhere!  I fenced my garden to keep our chickens and 
dogs out and flabbergasted to find that a wild doe had taken advantage of the 
protection and had built her nest and kindled under the cucumbers!

Linda

On Tue, 30 Dec 2003 17:04:28 EST, Jacobflock at aol.com wrote:

>We have coyotes and bobcats.  However, the SID Sheep Production Handbook (p41
>seq.) says "Of the three manin types of fox (red, grey, kit or swift), the red
>fox is known to attack sheep most frequently (generally only lambs).  In rare
>instances, a swift may also kill lambs." ... "Fox often hunt in pairs."   Fred
>Horak


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