Chat
09-06-2016, 09:05 AM
Great topic. Hope you don't mind my adding to this old thread.
"Security" is an important & fun topic to discuss because it can encompass so much of our lives. My current location is at a ranch that I work for, & they own the house & all the other barns & shops here. I can't build moats & traps here for that reason, but I try to secure everything to the best of my abilities under the parameters set by the owners, & while maintaining the lovely appearance of the place.
Cameras & signs are a great & fairly cheap deterrent for a lot of thieving degenerates. Padlocks are good too, but can be easily defeated by simple tools, & fences can be cut the same way. Preventing someone from wanting to get into that pen is the key.
My goats are always with at least one dog in their pen or when they're outside free-browsing, & all of them tend to bark at strangers. If you didn't know them, you wouldn't want to join them behind that fence to try & take their goat buddies. My "big dog" (heeler, hanging tree cowdog mix) is usually resting on his cot watching the place when I'm gone, but he barks & growls at strangers until I tell him to knock it off, which is a great deterrent for a lot of opportunistic-criminals that might just want to take a peek in the house or take the goats because nobody human was there to stop them.
Security on a large acreage is tough. Even though I have a neighbor come by every day to feed & check on them, I worry about the goats & horses (& chickens) if we go away for a few days, because they're all friendly & love treats, & it's hard to secure thousands of acres of pasture against thieves. In the current state of affairs, it's not likely, but what if we are in a bad economic downturn? (Like Venezuela, for example.) If people are hungry, they will steal our pets & livestock to feed themselves, because it's easier than trudging around trying to hunt for yourself, & most people don't have that skillset anyway. Just something to keep in the back of our minds "just in case", & have a plan B at least percolating in your mind.
I think not advertising that you're not home & keeping people guessing, as well as a reputation of being a little bit nutty & not scared to shoot a bastard that threatens you is helpful in this aspect of life. Friends have told me that they sometimes warn other people that are coming to visit here for the first time "she always has a gun on her hip, but don't worry...she's really nice". I like that.
High dog/goat ratio.
"Security" is an important & fun topic to discuss because it can encompass so much of our lives. My current location is at a ranch that I work for, & they own the house & all the other barns & shops here. I can't build moats & traps here for that reason, but I try to secure everything to the best of my abilities under the parameters set by the owners, & while maintaining the lovely appearance of the place.
Cameras & signs are a great & fairly cheap deterrent for a lot of thieving degenerates. Padlocks are good too, but can be easily defeated by simple tools, & fences can be cut the same way. Preventing someone from wanting to get into that pen is the key.
My goats are always with at least one dog in their pen or when they're outside free-browsing, & all of them tend to bark at strangers. If you didn't know them, you wouldn't want to join them behind that fence to try & take their goat buddies. My "big dog" (heeler, hanging tree cowdog mix) is usually resting on his cot watching the place when I'm gone, but he barks & growls at strangers until I tell him to knock it off, which is a great deterrent for a lot of opportunistic-criminals that might just want to take a peek in the house or take the goats because nobody human was there to stop them.
Security on a large acreage is tough. Even though I have a neighbor come by every day to feed & check on them, I worry about the goats & horses (& chickens) if we go away for a few days, because they're all friendly & love treats, & it's hard to secure thousands of acres of pasture against thieves. In the current state of affairs, it's not likely, but what if we are in a bad economic downturn? (Like Venezuela, for example.) If people are hungry, they will steal our pets & livestock to feed themselves, because it's easier than trudging around trying to hunt for yourself, & most people don't have that skillset anyway. Just something to keep in the back of our minds "just in case", & have a plan B at least percolating in your mind.
I think not advertising that you're not home & keeping people guessing, as well as a reputation of being a little bit nutty & not scared to shoot a bastard that threatens you is helpful in this aspect of life. Friends have told me that they sometimes warn other people that are coming to visit here for the first time "she always has a gun on her hip, but don't worry...she's really nice". I like that.
High dog/goat ratio.