Maremma Memoirs

By Shane Shepherd

First there were ducks; lots of ducks.
Then there were foxes.
Soon, there were no more ducks.
Now... Maremmas!

'Maremmas are dogs. I like dogs. How hard could it be to have a maremma?'

Maremma Memoirs recounts the first year of learning about, training and loving the 'Great Whites' as the author establishes livestock guardian dogs on her farm.

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• Language: English
• Publisher: Publicious Book Publishing
• Release date: Jul 20, 2016
• ISBN: 9780994642219

Book preview

1

THE FALL OF THE MUSCOVY NATION

(IT’S A GREAT PLACE FOR FOXES!)

Afriend had come to visit me on my little farm.

We went for a walk to the orchard, where the Muscovy Nation rules supreme.

The Muscovy Nation had started out as three magpie ducks and one big white drake called Kevin. The Magpie Girls and Kevin had been very successful producing and raising clutches of wee muscovelings. This first colony was joined by other choice ducks and a trio of beautiful drakes: Elvis, Ned Kelly and Iron Man.

Yes, Ned Kelly and Iron Man. This is what happens when you let children name animals.

The Muscovy Nation flourished over time. The ducks grew big and strong free-ranging the orchard, gorging on fallen fruit and clover, grasses and bugs. It was good times for the Muscovy Nation and the numbers swelled to over 120 individuals, including dozens of wee ones, from yellow fuzzballs to ungainly half-feathered goons. I had dispatched and eaten a number of ducks over the months and found them to be delicious.

My friends agreed; delicious!

With the idea of producing genuine free range duck on a small scale, I tended the Muscovy Nation with happy care.

Then things changed.

My friend and I arrived at the orchard to view the Muscovy Nation.

"You are a country chap, you know about animals. Tell me, what causes a duck’s head to fall off?’

I explained that I have been losing ducks. Of course there is a certain natural attrition with free ranging animals. I certainly know about the 2-metre python that is resident in the orchard, and the massive goannas that nip in under the fences on occasion, both of which are partial to the odd duckling. Lately, though, I had been finding a duck or three in the yard in the morning, dead, and with the head a little distance from the body. A gruesome way to start the day. Duckling numbers were dwindling, too.

I had my suspicions, and my friend confirmed them.

‘Sounds like you have a bad case of foxes’ he grinned.

‘Why are you grinning? This is hardly a laughing matter! But why so many dead ducks, not eaten or even with a bite out of them. What’s that about?’

‘I reckon you don’t have a fox, hunting. I reckon you have a den of foxes, and the adults are bringing the cubs up here and showing them how to do it. Those dead ducks were practice ducks for fox cubs.’

I contemplated what that meant. No poultry can ever be safe there. Not only a Buffet for Foxes, but a Fox Training Facility, priming the new generations of duck killers. A place where elder foxes pass on to sharp toothed youngsters the secret fox knowledge of where to get under the fences and through the nets. I could imagine the elder professorial foxes overseeing the efforts of the young ones.

‘No, no, you silly cub. You take the back of the neck in your jaws, like so; bite and twist, see? Now go get another one and try again’

What to do?

I do not like the idea of placing baits around my organic property, and foe or no, I do not like the idea of pressing horrible painful death on any creature. Poison baits are out.

Fencing against foxes is only marginally less complicated and resource heavy than the NASA Space Program. I do not have the financial resources or manpower to sufficiently fence my acres of orchard against foxes.

Trapping would need to be an ongoing, never ending process which I do not fancy.

Suggestions from the hippy-heavy alternative community around about seem innocuous. I like being under the full moon, I enjoy the smell of burning herbs. However, the efficacy of ritual cleansing and crystal energy against foxes does not have a lot of evidence in support.

While the Muscovy Nation dwindled day by day to a small remnant community, then to a little group, then Elvis, then none, I searched the interwebs for ideas, solutions, strategies, feral farm designs; something to let me hope I could save my poultry from foxes. Steadily, through the pages of opinion, evidence and discussion, the answer came into focus. A chorus of angels sang a single musical word into my ear and I knew the True Answer was contained in that single word.

And the word was: ‘Maremma’.

2

WHAT IS A MAREMMA?

Ilike dogs. I have had dogs around me all my life; mine, other people’s, strays on the street. I am confident and comfortable around dogs, and feel I know them pretty well. I was lucky enough to have the best dog ever, the wonderful kelpie ‘Roo for 17 years, and learned so much from her about how to be a good Boss. A maremma is a dog. Incorporating a maremma into the life of my small farm should not be too much of a task. I started reading everything I could lay my hands on about maremmas, combing the internet and talking to people who have had, or know about, the breed.

I learned that maremmas are a member of the Livestock Guardian Dog group. I know dogs have many work roles through history; herding, hunting, retrieving, tracking, and more. I had not heard of Livestock Guardians Dogs.

Livestock Guardians are a group of dogs developed by shepherding people in various parts of the world over thousands of years to live with, bond to and guard flocks of sheep and goats from whatever indigenous predators prevail in their area. I was impressed to learn this includes defense against wolves and bears. Fiercely protective, powerful and full of intention, they are a formidable animal. The primary weapon at their disposal is their bark, and all of the information behind it. They bark to warn predators away, to drive back threats, and to alert the shepherd to anything that may affect the flock. They set up an intimidating display, roaring and bristling their shaggy coats up. If a threat ignores the warnings, the dogs are more than capable of following through in attack with teeth and claw. What makes the Livestock Guardians different to other non-guardian breeds is their capacity to become part of their flocks, to live amongst and have relationship with the animals in their care. The breeds have had their prey drive decreased through selective breeding over millennia, and their behaviours are none threatening, often nurturing, towards their stock.

The dogs in their working context generally work in teams, and have a distinct designation of roles. Alpha dogs take up the majority of the patrol duties, marking and barking the territory and are the first to go forward towards a threat. The lead dogs are supported by any number of scouts, who back up the lead dog in whatever he or she is doing and provide perimeter security. Nursemaids are the dogs that stay most closely amongst the stock, and when a threat is alerted, will gather the stock together and move them away from the threat if necessary. Unlike herding breeds, livestock guardians do not chase and push stock, rather the stock moves when the dog says so because they trust the dogs and are bonded to