Gaia is our Great Pyrenees livestock guardian dog. Her job on the farm is to protect our livestock, and in particular, our meat chickens. On a recent morning, the young crew went out to do their chicken chores, and Gaia was at the end of her chain jumping and excitedly barking. They let her go and she sped off to investigate a broken two-wheeled cart that is stored close by.
An older son was in the area and came to investigate. As Gaia ran around the cart, our son pushed down on the back so that she could snoop around under the front.
Something flashed out from under the cart…
…but Gaia was there to face it.
Yes, there is one less chicken thief in the world now. While it is sad to think that the fox could not satisfy its nutritional needs with the rabbits and squirrels that thrive nearby, we are glad that Gaia did her job protecting the livestock.
Good job, Gaia!
(Note from The Farmer’s Wife – We raise our animals – cows, pigs, chickens – outdoors in a natural environment. Other animals – coyotes, foxes, rats, weasels, possums – also live in the greater farm area. If we are not careful, they will try to eat our animals because our tamed animals can be easier to catch than other wild animals. So we have a livestock guardian dog to protect our animals and to deter predators.)