Connecticut!

[TheNuttyChick]

Go figure.​

 

[CTratterriers]

I am so very sorry to hear this. My mother's house in the next town over, Vista, & we are always seeing them there. I hope for everyone's sake that it does not return. Is it illegal to shot a coyote when you are protecting your property?

 

[new chick 203]

I'm waiting to hear back from the DEP to hear what is permitted. I can't believe that if it comes after one of my pets I'm not allowed to defend them. I'll keep everyone posted.

 

[Adenium]

How did the coyote get in? Did he just push his nose up under the tractor or rip through it or what?

We were certainly thinking about the tractor option in addition to our permanent coop/run....this makes me think twice. Thank you for letting us know what happened, but I'm sorry you went through such an awful attack.

 

[new chick 203]

This was a small coyote and he found the weak spot in the design. The house part is solid, the run part is pretty solid, but the part where the ramp connects the 2 parts has a much lighter weight material because it needs to have flexibility to move. We are re-thinking it before we use it again. This is our beloved Bobby back in happier days.

 

[TheNuttyChick]

I wish you and your birds the best!​

 

[Adenium]

That makes sense, and I appreciate your posting the pic. It's a beautiful little set-up. We were wondering how to do the tractor - do we include a coop? How big? How to attach it to the run? Will it be easy to move if we beef it up? Posts like yours are giving us food for thought certainly.

We actually went to Lowe's a week ago all ready to buy wood framing and 1" PVC and hardware cloth for a simple hoop tractor.....then decided it all needs more thought first. Ended up getting metal posts and plastic netting so our chicks can have supervised outings in a little 4 x 10 pen. We don't leave it unattended as it's completely vulnerable. Our coop should arrive this week and then we have to build our super-secure run.

I do love having wildlife in CT, but we have some serious worries cropping up now that we have the chickens. I know there have been bears within a mile of our house, and we have plenty of foxes. Perhaps I'll have to figure out electric fencing? Seems like much more complication. Wish we had the funds to build a second coop and run so I can separate my surprise PR rooster from our silkies and still keep everybody safe.

 

[new chick 203]

It's tricky to balance safety with mobility. The run part of our tractor is 4x10 and framed in cedar. It's just light enough to move every couple of days but heavy enough that nothing can tip it over. It has hinges on the top so it can fold down flat for winter storage. I thought it was great till I saw that this thing was a digger, If it hadn't ripped into the connector material, it probably would have tried to go under. That's the problem with any tractor set up.

I'm picking up a new material ( a heavy duty hex wire coated with plastic) to reinforce my set ups tomorrow and I'll report back then to tell you if I think it's the stuff.

 

[new chick 203]

The coop part is a converted dog house BTW.

 

[Adenium]

It would be significantly less pretty, but I wonder if having a hardware cloth skirt attached to a wooden tractor frame would help deter digging. As it would lay on the grass, it wouldn't keep the tractor from being picked up and moved. In practice it's probably difficult though.