Bobcat!

BorregoMike

Chirping
Jun 30, 2018
46
62
75
I pulled up to our house this afternoon and my chickens, I’ve got 30, were all loudly making a rhythmic cluck I’d not heard before. I looked over to their run, 24 x 16, and there was a bobcat slowly walking along the wire fence, about two feet from the fence. It did not look like it was trying to get at the chickens, it just walked by. As I walked back there the cat walked, but did not run, away, disappearing into the surrounding desert, which has some narrow arroyos in that area. The birds kept making the alarm sound until I went into the run and slowly, with a meal worm treat, calmed them down. Interestingly about half of the birds were in the coop while the others stayed outside within view of the cat.

I have a 1/2 inch welded wire fence enclosing the run on all sides and top. This same wire is also buried out from the perimeter of the fence a couple of feet AND the entire run is surrounded by four strands of electric wire fence starting about six inches off the ground. The cat may have been zapped before I saw it, I don’t know.

I assume the bobcat will come back. Coyotes are seen around here just about every day. They, along with hawks, are probably the main predators, although I have a friend who has lost hens to scorpions. Being chicks they peck and the scorpions sting back. The sting is painful not terribly harmful to people around here but I guess there’s enough venom to kill a bird.

What was interesting in all of this was the rhythmic clucking sound. I am daily amazed by the instinctive knowledge and behavior that is packaged in chickens. In this case they all knew the sound to make and they all knew what it meant.

Just a normal day for a desert flock keeper!
 
That’s a great idea. I’d love to get some shots of those critters getting zapped by the electric fence. I’ve zapped myself accidentally a few times and I compare it to getting hit with a watermelon, it doesn’t hurt you in a serious way but it gets your undivided attention.
 
That’s a great idea. I’d love to get some shots of those critters getting zapped by the electric fence. I’ve zapped myself accidentally a few times and I compare it to getting hit with a watermelon, it doesn’t hurt you in a serious way but it gets your undivided attention.
Ohh dear :lau
 
Good thing you have the pen secured because bobcats tend to dig, I had one kill several of my birds some years ago. It killed and came back but did not leave the second time after killing a few more birds. This was before I put the electric wire up and was the reason I put the electric wire up.
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that is cool yet really scary.

not sure what you can do with bob cats maybe trap it and kill it if you can. (desert cats can bring in a lot of money in the fur market)
 
If it can't get at your birds and you don't have any other animals it threatens, I'd leave it alone. It'll keep the local population of rats and rabbits down some. If it is causing trouble, I know some companies make those cage traps big enough for bobcats, you could trap and humanely dispatch it. If you do wind up killing it, put it to use- maybe try skinning it for the hide, and leave the leftovers out where nature can take advantage of 'em. If you put it somewhere sheltered from large predators, you could get a cool skull and skeleton out of things.
 
Bobcats are smart. I'd bet it returns. My neighbor lost his flock to a bobcat; it managed to get in his run and couldn't get back out. What I learned from him is that a bobcat can squeeze through a much smaller opening than you'd imagine. Your set-up sounds secure, but it never hurts to take another look at it ;)
 

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