Am I clear?

[snowboybrown]

Hi folks,

I feel I should preface this post. I have spent my entire life, except for the past five years, living on and around the lands my house sits on. In those twenty seven years I have seen foxes no more than twice, raccoons only a dozen times, but a good many skunks. We have a number of bald eagles that nest nearby, but I believe they keep themselves happy with fish. I don't know that I've ever heard a coyote, but people say they're around.

Specifically regarding coyotes: There was a significant cull of the coyote population in Nova Scotia a few years ago. I'm sure there's plenty in the province but again I've not seen any around here, and I've live here my whole life. The deer population is also quite heavy, which may be an indicator of a lack of coyotes in the area?

We took home 10 brown layers (RSL/Red Star/Commercial Layer etc) about 5 weeks ago. They free range during the day and sleep in a 4x8 A frame tractor covered with a tarp. I have made no effort, other than shutting the door to the tractor at night, to keep them safe from predators. They range over mostly my lawn and the neighbor's, a cleared space probably of an acre or so. I have about 3 acres of thin woods behind me, and they don't seem to penetrate too far into that.

My question is: Am I asking for trouble? If I were to have losses due to my lackadaisical approach, should I have had something happen by now?

I've got 50 broiler chicks on order, and my plan is to keep them in a 10x10 coop in the evenings, but to let them have free reign of the place by day. They're going in a field down the hill, about 300' from my house. That field represents another acre and half or so of cleared land with aspen groves behind. Is this a terrible idea?

If there were predators, would they have turned up by now?

Thanks,

Matt

 

[123RedBeard]

Preditors eat what is the easiest to get to ... If the coyotes can find mice and moles, they are much easier than tackling a deer!

If they are around, they will eventually make their rounds ... They may have easy pickin's in the next valley over now, but they will move on ... Once they see (and taste) chickens ... They will set up camp!

 

[centrarchid]

The predators may not have found you yet. Consider poultry netting if feed dominates forage with respect to nutrition.

 

[Chickenshoe]

Id suggest you do what you can to keep em safe at night.. if there's a chance something can get in, it will.. we have 13 that free range most of the day, I built a very sturdy and well constructed coop and run, they are completely safe when in there... folks that let their birds range understand the threats, its part of the deal, those that lose them at night because of poor coops, that's on them.. that can be controlled....

 

[aart]

Just because you haven't seen them, depending on your outdoor activities, doesn't mean they are not there.

Adding chicken to the mix may bring them around within 'sight'..... sooner or later.....risk is up to you.

If you build strong enough that they can't get in at all, they will probably move on...if they do come around and access a meal, they'll definitely be back.

 

[CanaDawn]

Coyotes are FAR more likely to take chickens than they are to kill deer. They eat a lot of mice, etc, and don't tangle with a lot of large ungulates. As a biologist, I can tell you that culling canids doesn't provide long term population control, as they up their reproduction and territory claims by as soon as the following year, so I wouldn't rely on the cull either.

I would suggest the racoons, skunks, foxes, weasels, etc will appreciate the layer chicks more than the hens, so may become an issue, but as they are largely nocturnal you can focus on your after-hours security, and that should work.

If you haven't up til now had anything yummy and easy to pick in the back yard, you might be surprised at what shows up...especially once you have a lot of broiler chicks, which are small, delicious, and ime, incredibly stupid.

 

[shortgrass]

Just because you haven't seen them, depending on your outdoor activities, doesn't mean they are not there.

Adding chicken to the mix may bring them around within 'sight'..... sooner or later.....risk is up to you.

If you build strong enough that they can't get in at all, they will probably move on...if they do come around and access a meal, they'll definitely be back.

Dealt with this first hand. Yes. They will find them, and IF they get a meal, they will come back and exhaust EVERY effort they have to take it all... If they can't take them, they will scatter them to kingdom come lost a few flocks to a few packs on a mission to claw apart a run and every last chicken, 20+, gone. DURING THE DAY. One cane back 3 days later.

Reinforce rubs, line bottoms of fencing, etc...

They may not have caught on that you have delicious morsels, but once they do, they will persist. Protection is all you can really do.

We leave radios blaring on fence posts to deter them from the lambing barns... Besides a shotgun blast to scare them off, those are my 2 options.

 

[Mutt Farm]

Specifically regarding coyotes: There was a significant cull of the coyote population in Nova Scotia a few years ago. I'm sure there's plenty in the province but again I've not seen any around here, and I've live here my whole life. The deer population is also quite heavy, which may be an indicator of a lack of coyotes in the area?
If there were predators, would they have turned up by now?
Thanks,
Matt

X7 on the replies. Specifically regarding coyotes. They are cunning, sneaky and murderous. To their credit, they have thwarted all efforts to cull the urban populations or stop them from hunting and killing our herds, flocks and pets to survive. They go where there is food. They have ingenious hunting techniques and aren't afraid to attack or slaughter in broad daylight. You're good to go until word gets out that you have an unprotected food source. Do you have formidable stock dogs that could protect them?