# How to keep a cougar away?



## Nubiansrus1 (Sep 2, 2009)

We are moving into a new house this next weekend... we were at the house putting fencing up and got to talking to one of the neighbors. He said twice a year a cougar comes through the properties and well... he steals meals as he comes through... yikes!! Not a good thing when we have baby goats quite often, and lots of chickens we let free range during the day. I have a donkey and some people says hell help. But... how do I keep him away? Some of my goats have horns, but well... the babies will be defenseless.  Some of the mamas are even hornless... Im thinking Ill keep no one without a few big horned goats around, but how can I keep them safe?


----------



## Shelly Borg (Nov 2, 2009)

The only true way to keep them safe is to look them up at night in the barn. We have cougars around here and even LGD are not fool proof. Good luck.


----------



## SDK (Jun 26, 2008)

okay i know this is entirly inappropriate but i can't resist.

I read the title " how to keep a cougar away" and i though lock up the pretty young men XD

now to be on topic, We had cougars around at our highschool and never once lost a kid or goat or chicken, but we had 8 ft perimeter fences, and then 6 ft fences around individual pens


----------



## deJardine (Feb 24, 2010)

Get a LGD!! They work and will alert like magic. The barking and such tends to turn off large predators from what I have heard.


----------



## Nubiansrus1 (Sep 2, 2009)

SDK said:


> okay i know this is entirly inappropriate but i can't resist.
> 
> I read the title " how to keep a cougar away" and i though lock up the pretty young men XD
> 
> now to be on topic, We had cougars around at our highschool and never once lost a kid or goat or chicken, but we had 8 ft perimeter fences, and then 6 ft fences around individual pens


LMAO Thank you Im so stressed over moving I needed the laugh.

Yeah I figure if maybe I do lots of things like have a tall fence, dogs, the donkey, and all of that maybe they have a chance. Blah... so not what I wanted to hear right before we move in. Im hoping the guys story is exaggerated... blah.


----------



## sweetgoats (Oct 18, 2007)

I would look into a Llama. I really believe they will do a better job against a cougar then a LGD. I do believe the Donkey will also help.

A week ago we heard about a cougar that was near out place. I have never seen it but they too are here a couple times a year. Well hubby and i were taking a walk the other day and I was shocked to see the paw prints of this cougar and they were like right at my place. I have never lost a animal to this cougar, thank the lord.


----------



## nancy d (Oct 5, 2007)

The reality is no fence is going to keep a cougar out. I have no experience with donkey or llama but I will say this; a couple yrs ago one was spotted down the raod. 
At thetime we had a young LGD who was in another pen & dog scaled fence to be with his goats.
Last year we added another LGD for added security. Two may not be able to fight off a large predator but they'd raise a ruckus & die trying.


----------



## Nubiansrus1 (Sep 2, 2009)

Hmm maybe Ill look into the llama... why not we got at least one of everthing else. I wanna do as much as I can to make sure no one gets hurt. These are my babies. Never had a problem with them where we are and its only about 5 miles away, but its out farther into the whats the word I want? More wide open spaces.


Hmm I have dogs already, and I really dont think hubby will let me take in another.


----------



## poppypatch (May 30, 2009)

Have a friend in CA who lost about 5 of her Nigerian does to a cougar a few years ago. She was not home when it happened but the cougar had buried it's kill for later which was a sure sign of a cougar. She heard her two LGDs barking a couple nights after the kill and went out to find her LGDs had run the cougar up in a tree. She called her local ranger and he came out and shot the cougar out of the tree. Thankfully for her she has not had any problems since. It is often an older cougar looking for an easy meal that goes for livestock.
Unfortunately the goats having horns or not is not going to make any difference when it comes to a cougar. Your best bet is to have a good guardian animal to at least alert you but be very careful.... don't think my friend should have really gone out at night with a cougar in the yard.


----------



## Nubiansrus1 (Sep 2, 2009)

poppypatch said:


> Have a friend in CA who lost about 5 of her Nigerian does to a cougar a few years ago. She was not home when it happened but the cougar had buried it's kill for later which was a sure sign of a cougar. She heard her two LGDs barking a couple nights after the kill and went out to find her LGDs had run the cougar up in a tree. She called her local ranger and he came out and shot the cougar out of the tree. Thankfully for her she has not had any problems since. It is often an older cougar looking for an easy meal that goes for livestock.
> Unfortunately the goats having horns or not is not going to make any difference when it comes to a cougar. Your best bet is to have a good guardian animal to at least alert you but be very careful.... don't think my friend should have really gone out at night with a cougar in the yard.


Yeah the whole thing makes me sick. Along with goats we also have horses, and I know some that got a horse pretty "messed up" by a cougar. I know the horns wont make any difference. Thats what scares me. I have alot of kids on my property.

Maybe I need a few llamas and a few more donkeys. Blah. This really scares me. I have dogs near the goats, but not with them. But I dont think they could take on a cougar either. Would the barking maybe scare em off at all?


----------



## OhCee (Feb 26, 2010)

If you have a dog who is a good alerter, you just need to be ready to go out and investigate whenever he barks. Worked for us... He's not a protector breed, but he will alert if something's not right. Of course, if your dog likes to hear itself bark... maybe that would result in you not getting a night's sleep... ever. Worth a shot? Unless you can get an already grown/trained LGD... a puppy won't really be able to do much by next weekend =/


----------



## Nubiansrus1 (Sep 2, 2009)

I have four really good guard dogs that Im sure would bark, and the donkey is very good at not making noise at random times. Hes very quiet at night... unless he doesnt like something going on... I had a group the neighbors dogs come over in the night, and go after the chickens, he saved half the chickens cause he went nuts. He is very protective as well. Im hoping that will at least half keep us alerted.


----------



## nancy d (Oct 5, 2007)

In our case the pup, about 8mos old, must have scared him off. The new pup barks alot but its easy to listen to.
We will go out with back up if needed.
Next door donkey goes off at all hrs of the night & day; Im used to it so hardly ever wakes me up.


----------



## Nubiansrus1 (Sep 2, 2009)

nancy d said:


> In our case the pup, about 8mos old, must have scared him off. The new pup barks alot but its easy to listen to.
> We will go out with back up if needed.
> Next door donkey goes off at all hrs of the night & day; Im used to it so hardly ever wakes me up.


Yeah my donkey is so good. I very rarely hear him.


----------



## Shelly Borg (Nov 2, 2009)

A llama will not work against a cougar. A neighbor down the road has lost 3 llama to cougars over last couple years. Please trust me when I say lock them in at night. I have lived in cougar country all my life. A barking dog and a gun will work but then again cougars will kill a dog. The fire chief lost his GSD to one just about 5 months ago. Donkeys and llamas just give them another target.


----------



## Itchysmom (Apr 3, 2010)

Up here, if I had a couger..well, he'd be shot. To me that would be the only way to keep it away for good! In fact, since there are alot of cattle in the area (free range) if one is sighted or tracks are seen, the cougar guy is called and he hunts it down and kills it.


----------



## myfainters (Oct 30, 2009)

A working ADULT pair (or even 3)of LGD's is the only way to keep away large predators ie: Cougars, Bear, wolves. Llamas and donkeys are also prey animals to large predators.... so really you would just be serving up a larger meal. Fences will not keep out Bear or Cougars... they will keep out wolves when electrified. Regular "guard" dogs are also just another meal or a mere annoyance to large predators.... they do not produce the same effect nor are they as cunning as an LGD breed. On this same note... if getting LGD for protection against large predators please, please do not get just one.... the dog will be killed trying to defend his herd without back up and you would likely still lose stock. 

If dogs are not an option then I would set up a secure indoor enclosure (roof, side walls, solid floor and locked door) then just pray they don't come through during the daylight (which does happen)

I know that must sound scary but my mom has 3 LGD's.... 2 Karakachan females and 1 male Great Pyrenees and she hasn't lost any livestock since she got them. She has a cougar that goes through her property as well, it killed some of her 8 month old Boers and jumped over a 5 ft electrified fence CARRYING one of them.... needless to say she got LGD's after that. Her neighbors have lost entire flocks of sheep and numerous miniature horses and donkeys this year to the bears and Cougar but she hasn't lost anything.... not even a free range chicken... her LGD brought her the last fox that tried to get a chicken as a present. LOL


----------

