Another feeder break

Notch and Pink are still putting their feet into the feeder.

The other day I discovered that one of the three boards in the cattle feeder next to the barn was broken. *sigh*

This was a strong sturdy board. I made a temporary fix to it. When the cattle leave the corral and go on grass I will replace the board.

I now have trapped more pocket gophers this year than regular gophers: 35 versus 27.

The regular gophers are still moving around to avoid the traps. Today I discovered about ten new holes south of where I had my traps. I moved some of my traps to the new holes. Hopefully the effort the gophers made to create this new complex will encourage them to "fight" and not move to new holes.

Today I discovered one of my pocket gopher traps is missing. The trap was in the middle of the line of traps and also relatively near another trap. The marker pole is still there and the hole is open, but no trap.

I looked around and around the area but could not find the trap. As the gopher is caught inside the trap I never have had a hawk swoop down to take the gopher and the trap. And I never had a gopher 'walk' off with a trap. If for some reason the gopher was not killed by the trap, the trap is in the hole so it would not be possible for the gopher to climb out of the hole with the trap. As the traps are now near the rental house south of the hayfield I wonder if one the dogs or kids that live there got curious and took my trap?