Bobcat - Chicken Predators - How To Protect Your Chickens From Bobcats

Bobcat

General Information & Description

The bobcat is a member of the Felidae cat family. Bobcats have brown spots on a grey coat with black tufted ears, black bars on the forelegs and a stubby, black-tipped tail. Bobcats have been heavily hunted for their furs over the centuries. They breed between winter and spring with 2-4 litters that grow into adults in less than 24 months. With a 12-year life expectancy, bobcats are typically twice as large as the largest alley cat. They are often found in forests, swamps, and semi-arid terrains.

Range

Find out if you have bobcats in your area by checking with your local ranger. Just like domestic cats, bobcats are instinctively territorial. They are known to mark their territory with their claw marks, droppings, and urine deposits. They also attack alone and may be seen slugging it out with other bobcats intruding in their spaces.

Methods of Kill

Bobcats are known to hunt any time of the day, but are commonly observed to do so during twilight hours of dawn and dusk or early evenings. Just like cats, low light is not a hindrance since their keen eyes can spot prey at night. They have acute senses of sight and smell, and will go for the kill using their sharp claws and incisors. Bobcats generally prefer rabbits and hares, but will settle for insects, rodents, chickens, and small deer, depending on what the food chain offers in its habitat. Bobcat kills are often easy to identify as they leave claw marks on the shoulders, necks, and backs of the chicken. They usually start feeding on the dead or dying victims around the ribs and shoulders with clean marks on the flesh and bones. Expect their prey to have been dragged around and covered with dirt and twigs.

Prevention & Treatment

Bobcats are among the most cunning feline predators and are generally difficult to trap. However, there are commercial traps and snares that can maim or capture them unharmed. Bobcats are attracted to the raw meat of dead birds, squirrels, or cows. They also enjoy live bait like pigeons or chickens. Once a bobcat is trapped, dispose of it according to the laws in your state. Typically, as long as they are a menace to any livestock, bobcats can be pursued without much interference from the state. Whether your chickens are free ranging or secured in coops, it is still best to construct electrified, solid wood, or concrete fences. Another way to protect your poultry from bobcats is by using human urine around your chicken coop. You can also train Great Danes, Dobermans, Great Pyrenees, or any other large dogs to get along with your chickens to discourage foraging bobcats and other predators.

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