Advice needed on raccoon vs hawk vs coyote

[HollysFlock]

Since you both stated cat/bobcat, I did some more research. Apparently there are bobcat where I live - I had no clue and so thought my only options of that size were fox and coyote.

We do have tons of coyote, and I feel pretty sure that's at least what took my last three given their close howling that evening.

It sounds like I can stop catching raccoons then, eh? I've now caught three in the past week, right next to the coop.

I'm not yet a good enough shot to hunt and neither long-term confinement nor dogs are suitable options given our current layout. We will be moving next year and those options will be requisites for the new spot. In the meantime, I'm going to continue to try trapping and work on getting game cams. Any helpful references for trapping canids would be appreciated.

Thank you both for your input! And certainly for helping me discover that we actually have bobcats, which I've never even considered.

 

[subhanalah]

I thought it was a big cat...house cats take more than one sitting to eat a 7 week old cockerel.

 

[chicknshrimp]

Sounds like coyotes or a bobcat. If you can do it livestock guardian dogs are fantastic, we have a tibetan mastiff mix that hangs out with our girls during the day and we have had no issues and have all the predators you've mentioned.

We use an electronic chicken door on our coop which has been a literal lifesaver. We open and close the main door when we feel like it to let them free-range but the girls are always totally locked up with their electric door at dusk. Before we got it (and the dog) the coyotes would jump on the side of the coop and scare the girls into a tizzy at night. We got ours from http://www.chickendoors.com/products.htm. Good luck!

 

[ChickenFrenzy]

I had a similar incident very recently. A hen had stayed in the barn instead of returning to the coop at night which sometimes happens. Usually I will carry them back to the coop if I can get to them. This hen was behind some equipment so I let her stay. Mistake. In the morning I returned to find a large pile of feathers exactly where I had left the hen. I found three different types of tracks leading into the pasture along the fence line. The third appeared to be cat like with a round foot pad but the nails were distinctly visible as well which says canine. Opossum and racoons are prolific here.

 

[HollysFlock]

I thought it was a big cat...house cats take more than one sitting to eat a 7 week old cockerel.

Yes, my apologies! I had absolutely no clue we had bobcats here and I was so fixated on the silly barn cat I'd accidentally caught (and just paid to neuter) that it didn't occur to me to look further into this until it came from more than one person. It seems we don't have many in my area, but any is more than I expected. Yikes! If a house cat takes more than one sitting to eat a 7 week cockerel, how long might a bobcat take?

ChickenFrenzy, sorry about your hen. I wonder if a coyote would attack hidden in a barn like that? Seems it'd be more likely raccoon territory? But alas, I'm here because I can't figure out what's killing my own birds so I'm sadly unlikely to help you. At least the solution is easy: take them back to the coop if you can. We once had two cockerels that decided they'd rather sleep in the giant walnut tree than the coop. We tried and tried to get them down, but alas, they just kept going higher than we could reach. Clever little critters were lucky enough to survive several weeks up there, but unfortunately they all aren't. Good luck!

 

[subhanalah]

Yes, my apologies!  I had absolutely no clue we had bobcats here and I was so fixated on the silly barn cat I'd accidentally caught (and just paid to neuter) that it didn't occur to me to look further into this until it came from more than one person.  It seems we don't have many in my area, but any is more than I expected.  Yikes!  If a house cat takes more than one sitting to eat a 7 week cockerel, how long might a bobcat take?

ChickenFrenzy, sorry about your hen.  I wonder if a coyote would attack hidden in a barn like that?  Seems it'd be more likely raccoon territory?  But alas, I'm here because I can't figure out what's killing my own birds so I'm sadly unlikely to help you.  At least the solution is easy: take them back to the coop if you can.  We once had two cockerels that decided they'd rather sleep in the giant walnut tree than the coop.  We tried and tried to get them down, but alas, they just kept going higher than we could reach.  Clever little critters were lucky enough to survive several weeks up there, but unfortunately they all aren't.  Good luck!

fast enough that you can't catch them in the act!

 

[thomasboyle]

I had similar experiences when I started free ranging my ducks and chickens. A pile of feathers here, a missing duck there. I purchased several Browning game cameras, and found out I had a bobcat coming around. I finally had to limit their free ranging to behind a 48" electric net fence. So their free ranging area got smaller, since it is behind electric fencing, but I have not lost anyone since putting up the electric nets. Here is a shot of the bobcat. The camera is mounted to the side of the coop, about 15' from him. The electric fence now protects all of the area shown in the photo.

 

[HollysFlock]

thomasboyle, thank you for sharing your story. I'm glad to hear that electric netting has kept your birds safe. I'm still not sure how I'll manage to put that up in my current location, but I guess I"ll have to figure something out.

Having a bobcat in the area also likely explains the reduction in mice and rats in the outbuildings as well as the unidentifiably shrieks at night. I wish I'd thought of this earlier. Thank you all for the suggestion!

 

[HollysFlock]

Sounds like coyotes or a bobcat. If you can do it livestock guardian dogs are fantastic, we have a tibetan mastiff mix that hangs out with our girls during the day and we have had no issues and have all the predators you've mentioned.

We use an electronic chicken door on our coop which has been a literal lifesaver. We open and close the main door when we feel like it to let them free-range but the girls are always totally locked up with their electric door at dusk. Before we got it (and the dog) the coyotes would jump on the side of the coop and scare the girls into a tizzy at night. We got ours from http://www.chickendoors.com/products.htm. Good luck!

chicknshrimp, I overlooked your comment earlier. I'd love to have a guard dog someday, but for now I have an arthritic shar pei/pit mix - she may look scary, but that subsides when you realize how slowly she moves. Our next dog will be a working dog. Glad you were able to find your solution.

 

[subhanalah]

chicknshrimp,  I overlooked your comment earlier.  I'd love to have a guard dog someday, but for now I have an arthritic shar pei/pit mix - she may look scary, but that subsides when you realize how slowly she moves.  Our next dog will be a working dog.  Glad you were able to find your solution.

if your pitpei is good with the flock, it'd be a good idea to get your replacement while she's still around. Probably be better off adopting a 2-3 year old dog as well, so you suffer fewer losses of your flock during the training process.
Shar Pei's are fantastic livestock/general purpose farm dogs. That was their original intention in China. If not for dogs, civilization as we know it would not exist. http://www.sharpeirescue.com

Lots of very good dogs out there that are already good with cats/small children.many dogs are in a foster environment, but not all of them are that lucky and live in runs/cages. Sorry...I have a passion for dog rescue and especially the Shar Pei breed.