My backyard has

[Wiped Out]

become a death trap for birds and other animals not fast enough to get away from our furball, Ella.

Tonight I picked up the third dead bird in about 5 weeks. Thankfully this year so far she hasn't gotten any rabbits or squirrels or mice, etc.

Who knew we would get such a hunter in Ella? Those of you with furballs, do they go after and catch so many animals/birds?

 

[GoingNorth]

My indoor/outdoor rescue cat is a phenomenal hunter. His specialty is rabbits and rodents.

He does hunt birds, but in all honesty his real forte' is as a ratter.

I don't feel he's really damaging the environment up here, though I do worry about him getting eaten by a coyote or bobcat.

He gets plenty to eat, very high quality food, too.

He was a feral originally and while I am sure he hunts for sport; he also hunts because he much prefers the taste of fresh-caught rodent to that of kibble.

 

[Hound dog]

Sharon we often get "presents" from our outside pride of strays.

When Shadow was alive she was an avid hunter. No mouse stood a chance in the house......nor outside. Once in a while she'd get a bird. But she surprised me one day when she went after a squirrel. She didn't catch him though.

I don't mind our gifts from the pride. I haven't hear a mouse in the house since we started feeding the strays. Skinny Minnie, now known as Minnie, never leaves the yard these days. She's claimed us it seems. And a lovely black male cat seems to have done the same. I think between the two of them a mouse doesn't stand a chance to get inside. lol

 

[Wiped Out]

We've never had any rodents indoors but I know Ella would take care of them! I just thought it was more cats that did these things, Ella is a dog. I'm just squeamish about picking up the dead animals-I often tend to find them when I'm mowing the lawn. Also Ella often tends to get sick after trying to eat them.. The worst was when she brought in live baby bunnies. The kids managed to save two of them. We love Ella, we're just surprised that she does so much "hunting" as we always thought that was more of a cat thing.

 

[Hound dog]

Sharon some breeds are more prone to hunting than others. My best mouser by far was a beagle we had named Lucky. He also got a baby bird once, but somehow managed not to hurt it. He was from champion breeding stock for hunting, although we never used him for that. I think his *hunting* was as much playing as it was true hunting. Maybe that's what Ella is doing?

 

[timer lady]

Better your back yard than mine..... I'd be chasing your dog down with a hose. My back yard is a sanctuary for birds. kt chases cats out of my yard with a hose so the birds hang out.

I hate hate hate dealing with dead rodents, birds, etc. When we lived in Seattle our cats Fritz & Jasper would brings us bits & pieces of moles; or they bring in live garden snakes. Drove me nuts.

Sharon, you must have a hunter on your hands - just bred in. I guess it's a harmless past time for your Ella. It's just icky for you.

 

[DammitJanet]

When we had the chickens, we always had to worry about dogs. Many dogs and birds just dont go together. Lots are just born hunters. Think bird dogs. Some are also small game dogs such as squirrel and rabbit dogs. Cats are lethal to birds, especially baby birds. We would lose at least half of our babies to cats that run wild in the neighborhood. Newborn chicks are just so vulnerable.

I made the mistake a time or two of bringing home a bird dog thinking we could train it out of him...NOT!

 

[Wiped Out]

Lisa-You might be right, I think for her a lot of it is playing!

Linda-I've often thought how bad it would be for Ella to get in your backyard.

Janet-I always feel a bit sorry for the birds in our backyard-I don't know how she manages to catch so many. She is one fast dog though. She is a black lab mix but we don't know what she is mixed with.

 

[witzend]

Bubba got a fledgling bird once. Mandy almost got a squirrel the other day, and would have if I hadn't distracted her. Rodents carry rabies in this area. Even with shots, I don't want to take chances.

Often when we find birds, it's right by the windows. They fly into them and stun themselves. Sometimes they die from it, but if the dog is outside they would get it for sure, because the birds will sit for anywhere from a minute to ten minutes to get themselves together. You should put something up on big picture windows that identifies it as something other than open air to the birds. I use plants and hummingbird feeders.

 

[Abbey]

haha, Linda. At least she's using a hose, not a BB gun.

Abbey