New Sheep Collor Reduces Coyote Kills

New Sheep Collor Reduces Coyote Kills LIVESTOCK Sheep/Goats 27-2-17 Every year predators kill thousands of sheep in North America, with coyotes accounting for about 60 percent of the total. A new sheep collar shows promise in the fight to reduce those losses. The King Collar consists of a heavy duty polyethylene protective barrier that fits around a sheep's neck. A plastic strip goes around the back side of the neck and fits through one of three slots on each side of the collar. The collar can be adjusted to different size animals. The Department of Animal Science at Utah State University is conducting a trial of the collar on a Wyoming ranch to test its effectiveness against coyotes. "The collar is designed to substantially reduce the coyote's success rate and encourage it to look for easier hunting opportunities," says John Hill, who's with InterTrade, a Provo, Utah, company that's importing the collar from South Africa. Hill is also working with the rancher on the trial. "The collar has been been used for four years in South Africa where it has proved to be very effective against jackals. We think jackal and coyote hunting habits are very similar so the collar should work equally well here." In the trial, 900 sheep were outfitted with the collar while 2,500 sheep were not. "So far we haven't lost any collared sheep to coyotes, but we have lost 50 or 60 sheep without collars so we know the collar is working," says Hill. "In many cases we could see teeth marks on the collars when we took them off and examined them." An important feature of the collar is that it extends up onto the animal's cheek. "A coyote will first grab the animal's cheek in order to slow the animal down, and then go to the neck. With the cheek area protected, the coyote can't grab hold of it. The coyote can go for the back of the sheep, but there it faces the higher risk of getting kicked in the head. If the sheep does get injured on the hindquarters it normally survives. "The collar sells for $2 plus S&H and we know it will last at least four years, if not longer. That translates to an annual cost of only about 50 cents." What happens if all of your sheep are protected by collars? "Coyotes may take the risk of going to the back of the sheep and kill a few of them. But we expect the number of sheep will be substantially reduced," says Hill. "We think the collar will be cost effective for producers who are experiencing anything above a 0.75 percent loss of sheep to coyotes." The collar is available in two sizes - one for lambs from 1 to 6 weeks and the other for bigger sheep from 6 weeks to 18 months. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, John Hill, InterTrade, 152 Woodside Drive, Provo, Utah 84604 (ph 801 344-8770; E-mail: intertrade-inc@earthlink.com).

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