Bobcats

[Jamesthesilkie]

Just learned there's a family of bobcats that probably are 1/4th of a mile from my house in the woods. My problem is not with the mom, it's with one of the younger bobcats. I see him multiple times a day in a ditch just trying to figure out how to get my animals.

Everyone is in a run but it is made as a deterrent for predators and is not able to be made as something that is 100% pred proof.

I became aware of the bobcat issue a few days ago when I had the chickens free ranging in tbe evening. I heard my Pekin duck screaming and I ran out there and he was in my run trying to get my Pekin. I scared the bobcat away but obviously this is not ok.

I am trying to trap the bobcat but it's not working. I don't have a gun at the moment so I can't shoot it. Any tips to at least deter it? I know my chickens are at risk with this bobcat around but they are staying penned up to hopefully stop this bobcat from getting in until I can kill it.

 

[ColtHandorf]

Yes thank you, My coop is really strong however, I don't want (or have) to test it b/c I shoot the predators. And I went through gun classes, and have owned a gun since I was 8 (well bb gun), my point is I am safe, and good at shooting, so like Chicnmom said, my gun is my tool.

I will start this by saying that I am a 32 year-old adult that grew up in rural East Texas on 113 acres with a lot of wildlife. I have also shot many firearms, so I do not have an issue with gun ownership. I do however think they should be used responsibly, when needed. I kept chickens and many other varieties of poultry. I did not lose them to predators. Why? Because their coops and pens were secure and I had outside dogs. Additionally, I find wildlife in general to respect open areas, cleared of debris when they are not accustomed to human interaction. Picking up brush piles, keeping a neat, short lawn, pruning back trees, keeping fence lines clean, etc. all contribute to making wildlife feel unwelcome and uncomfortable. Electric fencing can also be used to great effect. If it takes you an entire weekend to put one up around a single chicken coop you're taking too many breaks, or you don't know what you're doing. If a predator cannot get into your coop then they aren't a danger to your birds. There is literally no reason to shoot them. A gun may be a tool, but your brain should be also.

I am not going to even bother quoting the (insert name here) that suggested putting out poison that would indiscriminately kill anything that drinks it.

And please do not get me started on people who think that because they are humans that somehow entitles them to have 'dominion' over the earth. By that same token one would assume that a benevolent god would expect mankind to behave in a similar matter. Shooting things because you can and finding religious, moral, or other means of supporting the behavior is uneducated and foolish and could in turn be used to justify things far more grave....

 

[cmom]

I have electric wires around my coops and pens, concrete under the gates and good heavy duty netting covering my pens all due to losses from predators in the past. I have dealt with bobcats in the past. One killed 14 of my birds in one night. I had some younger birds in my chick/grow-out coop. I forgot to shut the pop door. It dug under the fence. I put out leg traps inside the pen and shut the rest of the birds in the coop. The bobcat didn't come back the next night but did the following night and I had caught it and eliminated it. Since I have put electric wires around that coop and pens too. I have been seeing another one but it hasn't made any attempts. It probably knows the electric wires are there. Good luck...

Here is the bobcat I have been seeing recently. This is the same coop the other bobcat killed the birds at.

 

[cmom]

In many places it's legal to eliminate predators that are killing livestock.

 

[WindingRoad]

I am not trying to find religious support, nor do I shoot thing because I can, I try to model a Godly life styal (particularly in this issue we are discussing) and that involves killing. Jesus killed sheep to cloth the first man, Adam and eve. I also take it you are not a christian by the way that you don't capitalize the g in God. Which means everything I just said about God and Adam and eve means nothing to you, so we might just need to drop it here.
And btw I don't shoot just for fun, I shoot to protect my livestock and family.

Why didn't you capitalize EVE. Is she not as important as Adam. Says a lot about you I believe.

 

[Mtnboomer]

View attachment 2505158

Very well.

To the OP, keep your birds in a secure pen/coop and you won't have to worry about the bobcat or her youngsters. Secure pens involve predator/anti-dig aprons, a strong roof, ensuring the birds are safely indoors at night or using wire with spacing so small a predator is unable to reach through and strong enough to prevent a carnivore from breaching it. The addition of an electric fence as a deterrent (suggested by cmom) will round out a predator-proof run. If you allow the birds to free-range, predation is a risk you are willing to take. Personally my birds stay penned and enjoy time out when I am outside working and have the ability to keep an eye on them. Two when I can spare them.

I hit the ground with a stick every morning and tell all the animals around me "you shall not pass!"

 

[Tre3hugger]

Reasonable measures are trying to put a hot line or two around your coop first. Not shooting any animal that comes near it. Usually one try at a hot wire is enough to deter a predator. Just my .2 cents. I'm not against killing an animal, but if you live in a wooded area you are pretty much in their living room. At least an attempt, in my opinion, of coexisting should be made before indiscriminate extermination.

 

[WindingRoad]

If an animal is on my property, and clearly has/going to kill my animals then it does not last long, my animals will win in a battle like that: I make sure of it.

The problem with that is a pound of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Predator proof your set up or spend the rest of your days and nights shooting etc.

A lot more effort that just a weekend.

 

[Mtnboomer]

Firearms have their place in home/stock protection from all threats. Gun ownership comes with inherent and immense responsibility. Unfortunately, the news is filled daily with the "bad apples" that reflect poor gun use and give us responsible gun owners a bad image.

I too grew up hunting and have handled Firearms from a very early age. I shoot coyotes every chance I get and try to take at least 1 or 2 fox a year to protect the rabbit population that I hunt and use for food. But that doesn't mean every "predator" wandering by is a threat that requires termination.
I love the fact that I have bobcats on my land and only hope that one day i get to see one in person instead of just on my trail cams. We have grey fox, which in my opinion are the most beautiful of the family. A red fox crossing a snow covered field in late winter with its rusty back and black sox or seeing a 250-300 lb black bear stand on its hind legs makes me pause and appreciate the privilege of living where I do.
Yet, I don't shoot them just because they are there. I shoot coyotes because we are overrun with them. They kill countless fawns and wild turkey poults each year and if we want those populations to remain healthy, the coyotes require management not extermination.

Humans have been the most destructive force our environments have ever seen. If you destroy an animals habitat leaving it no choice but to search for prey wherever it can find it, how can we then blame it when it comes after our chickens?

I'm not saying that you don't defend your property. But if your coop/run are "secure," then how is the predator outside out it a threat?
I have literally watched a bear pulling on the windows of my coop and never once felt that my chickens were in danger. After about a minute or so he gave up and walked off. Why would he need to die? No harm was done.
I'm not trying to be a pompous a$$ here, just saying that like a gun, we have many tools available to deter predators all of which should be exhausted before determining if death is the right answer and, yes, sometimes it is the only option left for determined animals so long as its legal and safe to do so.

 

[Wallygators]

I agree with enjoying my wildlife. Anyone who lives near woodland needs to have a predator proof coop & run.