Coyote killing my flock & need help (in NJ) UPDATE

[mrszlopez]

So its been quite a long time since ive been here on BYC & i think this calls for my return. Recently, ive noticed a few free range roos of mine had gone missing. we've had many problems in the past with racoons & whatnot, but havent had any issues for almost a year. i really didnt mind, being that i had planned on selling those roos anyway, but my father called me outside about a week ago, saying that there was a coyote in the yard chasing one of the hens. we've always known of coyotes in the area but had yet to see one. I mean, we live in an area of nj that you wouldnt think you'd ever see one. The coyote had already taken off but, after about 20mins, made its way back around. i scared it away & that was that. we are in the process of rebuilding, & renovating the coops & moving them around, so most of the chickens are free roaming during the day. Today, i had gone out and noticed almost all of my chickens gone. now i dont know where to go from here. i dont own a gun, nor do i know how to use one. there have been many many things on the news in our area in the past few weeks about children & adults being attacked & one even killed by coyotes. im terrified that if i remove the food source from the pack, they will turn to my goats, outdoor cats & even my 4yr old child. how would i go about finding the den, and then what ??

also, i would like to sincerely apologize to anyone that i had previously offended in some of my replies in this section of the forum. ive come to realize that everyone is different, & i cannot always be right

but i would really love some help with this situation.

** Update : so after spending countless hours building new coops & enclosures, DH somehow got dizzy & fell off the ladder & his hand landed on some chicken wire that we were cutting.. long story short, we spent a few hrs in the ER & a bunch of stitches later, we've been instructed to put the building to a stand still until his wound heals. so now im just scurrying around trying to figure out how to get these girls all roomed up....

 

[CCFarms9559]

I live on a farm - and have to keep my chickens put up at all times. No free ranging around here. They have an outdoor pen and an indoor coop. Door on the outdoor pen that gets shut each night.

They coyotes and coons and possums don't bother anything else. I do see prints around the chicken pens - and have to occasionally fill in a hole with rock if they try to dig in... but I just accept that this is there habitat and I have to protect my chickens.

I used to have some feral barn cats and they would disappear sometimes, but my tame cats never have a problem. And I never let my daughter out by herself when she was little. Not a risk I was willing to take.

 

[mrszlopez]

Quote:
we usually always keep them penned up, but after a bad storm here, everything was broken & financially, we're doing our best to get it all fixed up as quickly as possible. we live in a 2 family home (mther/daughter) and my mother refuses to believe that these things will attack & eat whatever they can get. she still allows the cats to roam freely in the woods & whatnot. since the sighting of it, i refuse to take my daughter out with me. im just scared that once i lock all of the chickens up, they will turn to something else for food.

 

[33yardbirds]

I would find somebody that you know who hunts. Here we shoot them on sight. We all know that coyotes will grab toddlers. The rumor is they were imported down here to cut down on deer and car collisions. I don't even walk in the woods without a .357 in my belt, plus I have my 3 yr old grand son in the yard. I really don't care what the hunting season is for them. For me it is 365 days a yr. As it is for every other chicken eatin' varmit. Don't call Fish and Game, their response is "We really can't help you". Really? I'm agast and amazed! Not really.

 

[mrszlopez]

Quote:
a friend of mine has a .357 - i was going to try to call animal control. but im afraid ill get that same response that they cant help. what part of nj are you in ? we are in Jackson.. Im also planning to tell my neighbors & anyone else at risk. ive always been kind of against hunting & killing the wildlife, but when my childs life is at risk, its a different story.

 

[desertdarlene]

Usually animal control is pretty responsive to coyotes in more urban and suburban areas as they are a threat to people, too. If there have been children attacked in your town, then they shouldn't just blow this off. Maybe you can get the news media to issue some kind of alert or heads up.

Can you borrow a large dog to protect your animals? It has to be very large (and have all its shots).

 

[megcpat]

We free range our 60+ chickens on two acres. When we began having horrendous predator issues, we invested in two Anatolian Shepherds to live out with the flock. Awesome!!!!!!! Life is so much better for our birds now; they take full advantage of those two guardians and keep them busy. It has been a LOT of work training the two puppies, but absolutely worth the effort. We do still have to lock up everyone at night, but that's no big deal for us.

ETA: Coyotes would be no problem for Flock Guardian Dogs, they've been known to guard against bear, mt lions, etc...

 

[mrszlopez]

the attacks have been some towns over from us, but i feel that if its happeneing over there, it can happen here as well. people think im making more of a deal of this then necessary, but i would like to prepare for the worst , rather than being stuck in a rut when the worst occurs. this wknd, i plan to take extra measures to protecting my babies & on monday morning , ill be calling animal control to come out. we have a large Pit Bull , but i wouldnt wanna put her at risk also. we only live on about 3 acres so im not sure about the guard dogs. it would be awesome to be able to do it, but i dont think it would work here for us.

 

[megcpat]

Quote:
ve

No big deal, but I was sure that we could not have guardian dogs also because we live on only two acres. In researching I found that small acreage is not enough for Great Pyrenees dogs (another awesome flock guardian dog), but is just fine for the Anatolian Shepherds. That's how we ended up with this breed and so far our two are thriving on our property. Anyhow, good luck. I have been right where you are now and it was not fun! Lots of good advice on this forum from people who have also dealt with this and can tell you how they have solved it.

 

[mrszlopez]

Quote:
ve

No big deal, but I was sure that we could not have guardian dogs also because we live on only two acres. In researching I found that small acreage is not enough for Great Pyrenees dogs (another awesome flock guardian dog), but is just fine for the Anatolian Shepherds. That's how we ended up with this breed and so far our two are thriving on our property. Anyhow, good luck. I have been right where you are now and it was not fun! Lots of good advice on this forum from people who have also dealt with this and can tell you how they have solved it.

i misunderstood what you said lol sry about that. i thought you said you had 60+ acres.. duhhhh. but yes im looking forward to hopefully hearing from a few others. & thanks again