Predators on the Homestead

We have to expect that on the homestead, it will be a matter of us outsmarting animals that have a natural instinct to be sneaky and kill livestock without remorse. Predators don’t hunt out of vengeance; they hunt out of a need for sustenance and your goats or chickens simply fits that bill. Unfortunately, many individuals take animal attacks against

If you live outside of the state of Florida, you may have a completely different set of animals that you will need to research but as I’m based currently in central Florida, I’ve narrowed it down to the most common for people in my area.

• Alligators
  These creatures have been known to snatch young children and even large dogs, if they are desperate enough and you have a water source in the vicinity of your homestead, they will target you. Oh, and you should know that they are very capable of climbing all kinds of fences.
• Racoons
  These creatures specifically hunt at night and while they usually prefer the suburban trash bin, your chickens or ducks will do just fine as well. Be aware that if a racoon attempts to kill your animals once, it will continue to hunt them until it or the livestock have been killed.
• Hawks
  These creatures attack from the skies with great accuracy so attempting to free range your fowl or rabbits during the day will find them maimed or snatched away. Don’t allow the size of the hawk to fool you, even the smaller sized ones are just as lethal from above.
• Dogs
  Whether it’s a pack of feral dogs or the neighborhood variety, hunting is what they do and once they get a taste for killing livestock, there is a high likelihood of it happening again until it’s stopped.
• Iguanas
  Not only are these creatures invasive, but they have no problem attacking small or juvenile livestock. These animals are very aggressive and will happily climb up into any chicken tractor and fight to get inside them. If possible, keep chickens inside your home or barn until they are large enough to evade these giant lizards.
• Owls
  Another night hunter that will take every opportunity to grab your small livestock, so make sure that you do not allow your fowl to roost in your trees at night lest you start finding your numbers dwindling.
• Cats
  Many Americans aren’t aware but not only are cats an invasive species, but they are responsible for the extinction of numerous native birds not only in the state of Florida but many other areas as well. Oh, and they love to hunt small livestock as well, so if you see feral cats start coming around your homestead, they are most likely there for food.
• Foxes
  These opportunistic creatures will happily target small goats or sheep as well as any other small animal if they are hungry enough. You’ll find these animals hunt stealthily at night but will day hunt too.
• Snakes
  The state of Florida has been hunting pythons for quite a while now and these creatures are as stealthy and predatorial as the other animals on this list. There have been pythons who have attempted to swallow juvenile deer, so there isn’t a limit on what species they will hunt. We have hundreds of other species of snake to battle, and they love to target the smallest babies on your farm.
• Coyotes
  Believe it or not, these canine-like creatures are found in the state of Florida and while they typically avoid human interaction, they are opportunistic creatures who will happily grab any animal they can snatch off your property.
• Crocodiles
  Many individuals think you only find these in Australia and a few other places, but we have these giant lizards in addition to their alligator cousins, and they are very similar to them in hunting tendencies.
• Bobcats
  These medium sized felines are all too happy to snatch up small to medium sized livestock so don’t allow their adorable faces and bob tails cause you to let down your guard. While these creatures typically stay away from humans, once they discover free food, they will continue coming back to target them.
• Skunks
  Who would have thought a skunk would be on this list? Despite the assumption that these creatures are simply big stinky fur balls, they are predatorial and will hunt small fowls and other creatures.
• Possums
  These adorable fur balls are omnivores and not only have the ability to kill small fowl but have a love for raw eggs and will do anything to get into a coop to eat as many as they can. These animals live in close quarters to humans so they have likely already started scouting your homestead.
• Weasels
  While there are numerous videos of these creatures being absolutely adorable online, they are both day and night hunters that will gladly slip through a crack or crevice in your animal’s structure.
• Humans
  Believe it or not, there are neighbors around you that would happily see your “noisy” livestock end up dead, so be sure you have a decent security system in place to prevent them from coming onto your property as well.

Some options for protecting your animals are electric fencing, motion sensor lights, motion sensitive cameras, sturdy fence wire surrounding the entire sleeping area, and a strong guard animal. I’m sure there are numerous devices on the market today, but the suggestions above are a good start.

Good luck and happy homesteading!