A common practice for many sheep and goat producers is to avoid use of pastures where predation is severe until lambs and kids are several weeks old. This practice may reduce exposure of individual flocks or herds to predation, but it is not always effective. It may, however, cause predators to shift their attention to livestock owned by other operators.
Eagles prefer relatively open areas in which to take their prey. Lambs and kids are much less vulnerable to eagle predation in brushy and wooded areas. While use of such pastures may not completely prevent eagle predation, it may help to protect lambs and kids up to 4 to 6 weeks of age. Predation by eagles is seldom a problem after lambs and kids have reached 6 weeks of age.
Herding of livestock, where feasible, usually will reduce eagle predation because humans tend to frighten eagles. Herding may be only partially effective, however, because eagles, like other predators, adapt to existing conditions.
Shifting the lambing and kidding seasons to an earlier or later period may also help to reduce or prevent eagle predation, but the decision must be based on the availability of pasture, plant phenology, season and weather, availability of labor, marketing constraints, and other considerations. In some areas, such a shift may cause increased exposure of young livestock to other predator species.
Shed lambing and kidding is effective in preventing eagle predation during the confinement period. Its limitations include the availability of space, the quality and costs of feed necessary to ensure and maintain milk production for lambs and kids, and the length of confinement. Unless the young are confined up to a month or more, shed lambing and kidding will provide protection when the chance of eagle predation is lowest. Eagles generally take older lambs or kids that are running and playing some distance from flocks, not the younger ones, who usually stay close to their mother and within the flock. Predation is most severe on young that are at least 2 to 4 weeks of age. Confinement of sheep and goats also may be a very costly management decision for forage utilization where high-quality forage is available in pastures and weather does not present a constraint to the use of that forage.
Carrion removal may help limit the size of local eagle populations. Eliminating the eagles’ food source may force a potential problem to move elsewhere. It may, however, encourage the eagles to kill lambs or kids. If eagles depend heavily on carrion in an area where young livestock are to be protected, the eagles must either have an alternative food source or be persuaded to move.
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Eagles
