One of my goats is gone missing.

mamajohnson · #1 08/14/10, 03:44 PM

And it is just toooo weird. 12 goats were put up in the pen last night, from spending the afternoon in the woods (and 4 sheep) Anyway, about 8:30 this morning I went out to take them into the woods again and there were 11 goats and 4 sheep. OK, I am obsessed, I count my goats. Always. Every time I see them, I count. 11. I had to study them a few min to figure out which one was gone. It is the smallest one, we called him Tiny. about 3 years ago he was the runt of a set of triplets. He has always been,,, Tiny. So, he stands maybe 2' tall (Maybe!) and is just a little goat. (his mom is Alpine, so that has always made me wonder)
Anyway, he also has a tiny voice, and sounds more squeeky than like a goat calling. He was (is?) healthy and robust, horned, etc...

But gone. Very gone. 6 in the family, we lined up across our property and walked 13 acres looking. In the brush, through the woods, all the way to the creek. No sign. None of him, none of a struggle, none.
I walked all the fences. No sign of him being dragged over or under the fence. We have dogs! 3 outside last night. I slept like a log and heard nothing.

I just can't figure it out. It is about to make me crazy trying.
I wonder - could this be a 2 legged predator?
I was thinking maybe a large cat, we have had 3 domestic cats and a few chickens/ducks go missing over the last 2 months. The birds left feathers. The cats (all our babies!) just disappeared like the goat.

Anyone have any ideas what I am dealing with? I may need to sit up in a deer stand by the goat pen tonight....

GrannyG · #2 08/14/10, 03:49 PM

I hope you find him...that would drive me crazy as well, I would want to know what happened, do you have a good dog to check things out for you ?

Backfourty,MI. · #3 08/14/10, 04:08 PM

If you brought them to the barn or pen close to the house I can't imagine anything wild getting him, especially with no sign of trouble or struggle? Doesn't it seem like a coyote, etc. you'd see where the dirt was all a mess or something? Even at 2 feet tall, that sounds pretty big for a wild critter to drag him off easily, any humans close by or that could easily access your goat area?

I would file a police report just in case!
That would drive me insane too, I sure hope you find him, sometimes they hide in the weirdest places too! I always wonder how they get into some of them.

Minelson · #4 08/14/10, 04:32 PM

I hope you find him! That is so sad

and very strange!

Freeholder · #5 08/14/10, 04:32 PM

Cougar. First clue is the goat just going missing -- a cougar can leap a high fence with a dead goat in it's mouth, and you'll never see a sign. Second clue is the missing house cats -- cougar like to eat their small kin for some reason. Whenever there is a cougar in the area, house cats will go missing. Whether or not the dogs would alert on a cougar depends on the dogs. Some would, but others are evidently scared silent.

Kathleen

mamajohnson · #6 08/14/10, 04:45 PM

They come up to the pen and shed by the house every night. We close them into the pen, but it is really just about 1 1/2 acres fenced off. I have only one neighbor that could get here undetected. His property borders ours on the side of the goat's pen. He was my first thought. Don't smell any BBQ yet. I know that he lives in a tent - so he would have to cook outside.

I keep thinking this goat was too big for even a cougar to haul off without a trace. Everything is so dry and dusty, you would think tracks would be easy to see, but I think they just blow away in this sand.

mamajohnson · #7 08/14/10, 04:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BlueJuniperFarm

Cougar. First clue is the goat just going missing -- a cougar can leap a high fence with a dead goat in it's mouth, and you'll never see a sign. Second clue is the missing house cats -- cougar like to eat their small kin for some reason. Whenever there is a cougar in the area, house cats will go missing. Whether or not the dogs would alert on a cougar depends on the dogs. Some would, but others are evidently scared silent.

Kathleen

Really think a cougar could go over a 5' fence with at least 40 pounds of goat?
I have 1 pyr and 2 pyr crosses - huge dogs. I think they would bark. Well, my pyr may not. She is getting old. She tends to stand in one spot and bark a little, then limp over to a more comfy spot and lay down. I think it is time to retire her to being contained at night and let the boys roam.

about 3 weeks ago when I had to go pick my son up from work at 2 a.m. we saw something that I thought was a cougar. It ran across our driveway - about 1/8 of a mile from our house and goat pen. We saw it so briefly in the headlights we kept debating on what it was. That was after 2 cats had gone missing. This keeps happening about 1- 1 1/2 weeks apart on things disappearing.

Any recourse on a big cat other than turning loose the big dogs and sleeping light with a gun by my side???

mary,tx · #8 08/14/10, 04:59 PM

my first thought was coyote, just because I had one come right up to the goat fence the other day, sending mine all scurrying to the barn. And I, at least once, suspected a coyote in a cat disappearance.

But if you've maybe seen a cougar, my bets are on him.

But I never immediately suspect something/someone other than Nature. I doubt that your neighbor ate the cats.

bee · #9 08/14/10, 05:00 PM

40lbs over a 5 foot fence...noooo problem! To a cougar that size goat is just a small deer....
The spacings of your losses sounds like a cat going thru his territory; bet if you got with your neighbors and compare losses you can tell where he strikes after leaving your place.
Sad to say, but it will be back. I would contact your DNR and see what they say..may have an answer/program.

Tallabred · #10 08/14/10, 07:27 PM

We had a Florida panther(cougar) leaning up on our chicken coop - VERY close to our house. I know when he is on our property because he screams/barks like a dog that is dying and in need of immediate attention. The more our dogs bark the louder he screams - when the dogs get put away he stops. It is how they draw their prey.

A cougar would have no problem clearing a 6 foot fence with a goat. Sounds like you have some hunting to do!

beccachow · #11 08/14/10, 07:41 PM

I am just so sorry

. My bet would be on a predator as well...

Wonderland · #12 08/14/10, 11:20 PM

I'm so sorry.

Whether it was a predator or a human, though, I do have a suggestion. If I were you, I would lock the area the goats are in. I keep all my goat fences and the main pasture fence, as well as my rabbit hutch and chicken coop, locked. We have had kids come into our horse fence several times. (It's a good thing our horses are gentle!) Also, this winter our horse Sam had colic when there was fresh snow on the ground, and while I was walking him I noticed adult-sized footprints leading out of my pasture. I was home alone and it was dark, so you can imagine how that creeped me out! One year I also found my rabbit hutch with the door open, and my rabbits had gotten out and been killed by dogs. The only way it could have been opened was if a human did it, and I know none of us did.

Anyways, what I'm trying to say is that I highly recommend locking animal enclosures whenever possible. My biggest concern here is a kid opening the gates to see the animals without permission when we're not here, and then not latching it back properly (which is what I think happened with my rabbits). Someone stealing or purposefully injuring my animals still concerns me, just not as much. We don't live in a bad area, but our land is highly visible and on a popular road, and there are subdivisions nearby with curious children. It's all just an accident waiting to happen.

I look forward to the day that we have more land (currently only have 5 acres) in a less populated area, but I will still be locking all my gates. Better safe than sorry!

secretcreek · #13 08/15/10, 08:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mamajohnson

Really think a cougar could go over a 5' fence with at least 40 pounds of goat?

Our house cat once caught a full grown rabbit; had it in it's mouth when two neighbor dogs began to chase the cat. That cat carried the rabbit straight up a tree 15 feet to escape the dogs....so I think it would be nothing for a cougar to carry a 40lb goat by the thin part-the throat? Heck, we could ...so why couldn't a 150lb cat-animal built for jumping...etc... Any goat hair on the fence line?

Cougars grab-n-go and sorta cover up their stash somewhere else. The carcass could even be up in a tree.

Are your goats acting jumpy and/or hypervigilant to any particular direction that they are watching for movement? I have coyotes and one of my wethers will refuse to drink his water out of a deep bucket if it means his eyes can't watch over the top--and if it's situated by the far back door forget it...he deems it too risky. I totally trust the body language that my goats exhibit. They've alerted me to stray dogs and once to a snapping turtle LOL... well before I heard or saw them on my own.

-scrt crk

mpete · #14 08/15/10, 11:49 PM

I am also thinking a cougar.... I had one that carried a about a 60 lb goat over a 6 foot fence. The only sign was a small patch of hair and his foot prints left in the mud. Fish and Game came out, filed a report and verified cougar prints.
I know how it feels to "not ever know".
Get a motion sensored water sprinklers. Set them by whatever openings you could get through.

thaiblue12 · #15 08/16/10, 11:43 AM

I am sorry, I had this happen and it is awful. I kept hoping I would find the goat kid or any signs of her but nothing

I searched for 3 days.
The not knowing is what gets to me. Also a lady claiming her family found it and probably had her made it worse. I found out where they lived and did go to their house...twice! But she was not there.
I hope you have a better outcome, or at least find out what happened.

If your goats are acting freaked out and/or they are all staring at one spot go and investigate. Mine will all stare at the direction of a coyote or a snake and not move. As soon as I see that I head out and look around.

mamajohnson · #16 08/16/10, 02:43 PM

We have about decided on a cougar.
I have been watching the goats and sheep's behavior. That first night after, the sheep were sooo spooky. They jumped and ran at every noise. I turned my big dog loose. I usually keep him on a chain, because the neighbors are afraid of him. I decided it was safer for my herd to have him loose. Since he is older, he doesn't roam like he did as a pup. (he is St Bernard/Pyr)

My goats also refuse to go deep into the woods. They are staying closer to the house. I thought that odd the first day, but now I just trust them and keep an eye on them. My DH went out in the woods yesterday and they stuck with him. Wish my dogs would stick with the goats. But pyrs just don't do that too close. They like to patrol a wide area.

Thnx for all the input. I will be very vigilant, and toward the end of the week we may all take turns sitting in a dear stand, watching. I have a small ewe that I figure would be the next target. And the dummy isn't scared of much of anything.