Chickens and coyotes...

[mddorange]

We have always kept our chickens fenced in with an electric fence around that but even that doesn't always protect them. What we got to keep the coyotes and bobcats away from the chickens were 2 donkeys.

While they keep those away, they also keep the dear away. I used to always get at least one each year and some years as many as three. Now my neighbor up the road gets two or three on his land every year. I went in with him to do food plots with my tractor so I get to hunt there also.

 

[STx]

I have a dozen chickens, we let them range during the day and they stay in the fenced yard. They could clear the 3' fence if they wanted to and every once in a while one does but they then frantically run the fence line trying to get back in so I have to grab them and throw them over. Every day at dusk, they head into the coop and roost up on the sticks I put in there for them and we close and lock the door for the night, letting them back out first thing in the morning. We have dogs that hang out in the yard with them during the day and sometimes sleep outside at night so predators don't bother anything around here. We have coyotes, bobcats, opossums, raccoons, feral cats, neighbor dogs and so on running around but, so far, haven't lost any birds. I've got to cull a couple of roosters out and know that at some point I'll probably lose bird(s) to predators but, I got them primarily to help control bugs around the house and they can't do that if they're in the coop so we lock them up at night to keep them as safe as we can.

 

[kidr]

If a person can't use common sense to protect his flock, and feels the need to kill everything in sight, then maybe he doesn't belong in the country.

 

[greenmojo]

If a person can't use common sense to protect his flock, and feels the need to kill everything in sight, then maybe he doesn't belong in the country.

You implying I don't have common sense or that I don't 'belong' in the country? Pretty rude.

I'm not offended by the 'killing everything in sight' comment, because I enjoy that part.

~Moses

 

[greenmojo]

I have a dozen chickens, we let them range during the day and they stay in the fenced yard. They could clear the 3' fence if they wanted to and every once in a while one does but they then frantically run the fence line trying to get back in so I have to grab them and throw them over. Every day at dusk, they head into the coop and roost up on the sticks I put in there for them and we close and lock the door for the night, letting them back out first thing in the morning. We have dogs that hang out in the yard with them during the day and sometimes sleep outside at night so predators don't bother anything around here. We have coyotes, bobcats, opossums, raccoons, feral cats, neighbor dogs and so on running around but, so far, haven't lost any birds. I've got to cull a couple of roosters out and know that at some point I'll probably lose bird(s) to predators but, I got them primarily to help control bugs around the house and they can't do that if they're in the coop so we lock them up at night to keep them as safe as we can.

I was hoping the dogs would keep the coyotes back a bit further like yours have done for you. However, with the house some 150 yards from the horses and chickens, the coyotes feel nice and safe molesting the chickens during the day. I could relocate the coop with some effort much closer to the house, but since the chickens spend most of their time in the cow and horse pastures, not sure that would help.

In the end, I'll probably end up building a really large covered run for them, so they can lay eggs in peace.

Coyotes are still fair game.

~Moses

 

[Piston]

My neighbor across the street from me has lost two chickens to a coyote. Just yesterday she lost another one. Our chickens are out all day everyday but have never been bothered (yet).

I believe it's because we have 3 large dogs that would quickly maul a coyote(s) if one ever came into the yard. I think the coyotes stay away both by sight and smell of the dogs.

The ironic part is, they would quickly eat the chickens too if they could get to them, but the coop is right on the other side of the fence and they know not to go mingle with the dogs.


We are going to be moving soon, further into the country, and I'm thinking about putting in a large fenced area for the dogs, and then within that, another fenced area for the chickens. I would be pretty much guaranteed nothing would get to them then.

 

[GLyford]

My neighbor across the street from me has lost two chickens to a coyote. Just yesterday she lost another one. Our chickens are out all day everyday but have never been bothered (yet).

I believe it's because we have 3 large dogs that would quickly maul a coyote(s) if one ever came into the yard. I think the coyotes stay away both by sight and smell of the dogs.

The ironic part is, they would quickly eat the chickens too if they could get to them, but the coop is right on the other side of the fence and they know not to go mingle with the dogs.


We are going to be moving soon, further into the country, and I'm thinking about putting in a large fenced area for the dogs, and then within that, another fenced area for the chickens. I would be pretty much guaranteed nothing would get to them then.

Well, except hawks. And of course the only problem with netting to protect from hawks is snow pulls the netting down...

 

[greenmojo]

My neighbor across the street from me has lost two chickens to a coyote. Just yesterday she lost another one. Our chickens are out all day everyday but have never been bothered (yet).

I believe it's because we have 3 large dogs that would quickly maul a coyote(s) if one ever came into the yard. I think the coyotes stay away both by sight and smell of the dogs.

The ironic part is, they would quickly eat the chickens too if they could get to them, but the coop is right on the other side of the fence and they know not to go mingle with the dogs.


We are going to be moving soon, further into the country, and I'm thinking about putting in a large fenced area for the dogs, and then within that, another fenced area for the chickens. I would be pretty much guaranteed nothing would get to them then.

Thats what it was like up here... My neighbor (about 1000 yards away) has 4 chickens and a goose, and they have run about for more than a year, they only lost one to a stray dog from some other neighbor.

 

[STx]

I was hoping the dogs would keep the coyotes back a bit further like yours have done for you. However, with the house some 150 yards from the horses and chickens, the coyotes feel nice and safe molesting the chickens during the day. I could relocate the coop with some effort much closer to the house, but since the chickens spend most of their time in the cow and horse pastures, not sure that would help.

In the end, I'll probably end up building a really large covered run for them, so they can lay eggs in peace.

Coyotes are still fair game.

~Moses

If you do give them a fully enclosed run, cover it and the coop up with hardware cloth, not chicken wire. Chicken wire keeps chickens in a coop well but is about useless at keeping predators out if they want the birds.

 

[nybirdman]

I have raised gamebirds for the last 20+ years,pheasant,chukar ,bobwhite ect.I have tried all sorts of gimmicks.NightGuards ,IMHO do not work.I am in constant battle with four legged and air borne predators.
The best you can do is build a strong pen;hard wire on the bottom extending a foot out and three feet up.I use soft net for the rest of the sides and TOP(at least seven ft . high).
Two strands of electric fence around the outside.Keep a shot-gun handy and a few leg hold traps around.