BOBCAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Richieii]

I cannot have roosters in my neighborhood, I do keep bees in a bear dense area. I found the electric fence alternating pos and neg baited works wonders. One tip with electric fencing is have high strength wire close enough together that a predator's head cannot get in between the wires. Glad you solved your bobcat problem with a rooster.
Rich

 

[16 paws]

make sure there is no spaces in your yard for the bobcat to hide in. lock your chickens up at night. did the cat attack during the day or night?

Daytime everytime

 

[Rainier]

Hi there w8ing4eggs,
I know this sounds funny but if you can have any males pee around the perimeter of the yard that helps too.
marie

We have been told the same thing. We actually have our lab/great dane male dog mark the fence surrounding the chicken run. For good measure we have all the male dogs do it. We keep the female out of the chicken run/coop area though. We have not lost any of our chicks to the coyote that we saw in the field next to our house, although we do hear him at night. We lost one silkie chick to a coon but our dog had not been in run/coop area for a bit due to the birth of some kittens who he was convinced needed his protection.

As soon as we started making him go back there a couple times a day no more attacks.

We have our ferret run around and play in the area where feed is stored .. no mice or rats. The neighbors keep telling me to watch out for them but we've never seen them or any evidence that they are getting into our feed.

 

[w8ing4eggs]

Hi there w8ing4eggs,

Just an update on my Bobcat issue, I started this thread a while back when I had some hens taken. We ended up getting chain link fence but the bobcat took a couple polish hens right through the fence. I havent had anymore losses since I have been keeping a full size rooster. He warns the girls if any danger is near. Do you have a rooster on patrol? I know this sounds funny but if you can have any males pee around the perimeter of the yard that helps too.
marie

We do not have a rooster. I was hoping to have only hens, but I may try a rooster!

Since my last post we have lost yet another hen. The original bobcat was no longer a threat, but as another poster suggested a new one followed in short order. I have since not let the hens out. Have been reading about chicken guard dogs. Have not had the best of luck training dogs though.

We have donkeys (also considered livestock guardians) in the front pasture, so have considered extending their grazing area...

 

[16 paws]

We do not have a rooster. I was hoping to have only hens, but I may try a rooster!

Since my last post we have lost yet another hen. The original bobcat was no longer a threat, but as another poster suggested a new one followed in short order. I have since not let the hens out. Have been reading about chicken guard dogs. Have not had the best of luck training dogs though.

We have donkeys (also considered livestock guardians) in the front pasture, so have considered extending their grazing area...

Yes, I would try that also.The donkeys may scare off the predators. I only let my flock out of their covered run space 2 hours before they go to bed. That seems to be the safest time here for our girls. I havent had one taken since we started that and also keeping a couple roos.

Good luck and let us know how it goes.
Marie

 

[Popsy]

We just lost 2 hens today to a bobcat right in front of my husband. He came home from work early and let the hens out as we always do. They always run up to our backyard, and my hubby had only been in the house 5 minutes and he heard squawking. Ran out and a young bobcat had my speckled hen on our patio. He grabbed a patio chair and hit the bobcat and it dropped the chicken, but she was dead. He chased the cat away and started cleaning up feathers. Heard the Buff hen squawk and a bobcat had grabbed her about 2 feet away. We decided it was a mom and her kittens. We've seen a bobcat occasionally drinking from the bird bath, so we should have been more cautious. We live in a rural, ranching area. I don't want to shoot the bobcats, so will be looking for ways to protect the girls.

 

[16 paws]

We just lost 2 hens today to a bobcat right in front of my husband. He came home from work early and let the hens out as we always do. They always run up to our backyard, and my hubby had only been in the house 5 minutes and he heard squawking. Ran out and a young bobcat had my speckled hen on our patio. He grabbed a patio chair and hit the bobcat and it dropped the chicken, but she was dead. He chased the cat away and started cleaning up feathers. Heard the Buff hen squawk and a bobcat had grabbed her about 2 feet away. We decided it was a mom and her kittens. We've seen a bobcat occasionally drinking from the bird bath, so we should have been more cautious. We live in a rural, ranching area. I don't want to shoot the bobcats, so will be looking for ways to protect the girls.

So sorry for your loss. Do you have a good fence?

 

[Popsy]

The coop has good fence, but they like to free range around our ranch. They usually spend most of their time in the backyard which only has a picket fence. The two I have left are staying in the coop today, as I fear the bobcats will be back.

 

[16 paws]

The coop has good fence, but they like to free range around our ranch. They usually spend most of their time in the backyard which only has a picket fence. The two I have left are staying in the coop today, as I fear the bobcats will be back.

Yes, that is for sure, they will be back. My husband and I had several big runs built onto the coop so they have a huge area to be in most of the time. The top is covered with wire also. One run has a built in roof. Then we let them free range for 2 hours before bedtime. I also recommend keeping a rooster as well. Our roos know when something is out there and they give out a very loud warning call.

Here is one of the runs, this also goes along the whole back of the coop.
This is a picture of the back run
The last picture is of the covered run we just built. All these runs are connected so they can have all the space to roam around in.
Marie

 

[w8ing4eggs]

We just lost 2 hens today to a bobcat right in front of my husband. He came home from work early and let the hens out as we always do. They always run up to our backyard, and my hubby had only been in the house 5 minutes and he heard squawking. Ran out and a young bobcat had my speckled hen on our patio. He grabbed a patio chair and hit the bobcat and it dropped the chicken, but she was dead. He chased the cat away and started cleaning up feathers. Heard the Buff hen squawk and a bobcat had grabbed her about 2 feet away. We decided it was a mom and her kittens. We've seen a bobcat occasionally drinking from the bird bath, so we should have been more cautious. We live in a rural, ranching area. I don't want to shoot the bobcats, so will be looking for ways to protect the girls.

Sorry about your loss! We've lost 4 to bobcats over about 4 months. They will definitely be back!