Coyote Problem

[chickenchick12]

I live in Eastern Idaho and am 20 miles from the nearest town. The coyote population is booming! yesterday I was taking a stroll with my mom and we saw 2 coyotes running up a hill in front of us. We shouted and yelled at them until they were out of sight and then continued home. Our chickens have not been bothered by coyotes for a long time although we have had graves robbed before. The night after burying a duck behind our chicken house we found that something had turned up the grave and eaten the poor quacker. We suspect coyotes. After returning from our walk we found all was well. For awhile we were in the house watching TV when we heard one of our ranch dogs barking. I ran outside and saw a coyote standing in the yard! The dogs chased it and my mom fired the gun a few times to scare it. The chickens were amazingly Ok. And just a tip if you love your chickens: pray for their good health whenever you get the chance. I believe that is what saved my birds. What can we do about the daring coyotes in our area? The ranch dogs are a slight comfort but I don't think they would chase one away in time. Our chickens are free-range and we have to many to keep cooped up.
Please help,
chickenchick12

 

[thomasboyle]

The normal advice is to keep the chickens locked up until the coyotes move on to better hunting grounds. If this is not an option, you are going to have to rely on the dogs and your shooting skills. I'd start practicing with the rifle so you can take care of them when they come back. They will be back

Let us know how it goes.

 

[Spitzboyz]

Coyotes are amazingly aggresive in their attempts. Keeping birds locked up can help but if you can't then it forces other options.

 

[fultonfamily]

I live in north idaho, I've had a lot of trouble with coyotes in the past. We do shoot them, but I know in our area , the fish and game will come and trap them. Especially when they are that brazen For us, we got a puppy that had some wolf mix. Coyotes and deer quit coming anywhere near the house. They must have smelled the difference even when he was a baby But the down side there , is now that we have chickens, he has gotten 2 chickens and we have to watch him very carefully

 

[jtbass2756]

I live in north idaho, I've had a lot of trouble with coyotes in the past. We do shoot them, but I know in our area , the fish and game will come and trap them. Especially when they are that brazen For us, we got a puppy that had some wolf mix. Coyotes and deer quit coming anywhere near the house. They must have smelled the difference even when he was a baby But the down side there , is now that we have chickens, he has gotten 2 chickens and we have to watch him very carefully

don't know whether it works but heard that you can do several unusual.....

......(not trying to be disrespectful)...have a grown man pee in a bottle and then spray around the coop/run area and 2. spread pieces of a human's hair around the coop/run....

They are logical to me but I haven't tried either...

 

[hendricks115]

We have a problem here with coyotes too. We let our flock out during the day to free range and put them back in the coop at night. Most evenings they are heading back in right around dusk. They like the safety of their coop! Our chickens up to this point have been OK.

Last winter was really bad. One morning there was blood on the ground outside the coop. Turned out one cut its nose (best guess) pretty good trying to get in. We have since doubled our fencing around the bottom of the coop. I've been practicing my shooting because they scare me. I have a 4 year old and make sure she is close when we are out walking. They are very brazen, like on my front porch eating a kitten while my dog is barking at my french doors like a mad man, brazen! We have been talking with people who hunt them and are trying to get a couple large hunts on our property and the neighbors. I'm not comfortable playing outside with my daughter with coyotes who have no problem walking thru our yard while we are sitting around the fire pit!

 

[Ole and Lena]

Funny thing. Around my house, say a 4 mile radius, the coyote's have a healthy respect for their place in the food chain. Might have something to do with my coyote hat, snowmobile mits, wife's coyote stroller jacket, and the Christmas money I get from the fur buyer every year. Point is, the brazen ones don't last long. It's not enough to just fire a few shots at the odd one you see. You need to go on the offensive.

Hunting and trapping them is a very rewarding hobby. The fur is quite good and has some cash value as well in-season. Curiosity kills more than the cat. Besides just thinning the population in general, hunting and trapping will tend to eliminate the most brazen of the animals with the least fear of humans first. Selection favors the more elusive and shy ones that range farther from the coop. Get an inexpensive Savage .223 with a scope as well as a calling setup and make some fur hats!

 

[fultonfamily]

I agree the brazen ones need taken out. When we shot some and got a large dog, they went back to normal coyote behavior. Coyotes can breed fairly prolifically around here and do need managed. That's awesome you make things from the fur! My daughter always wants something made from a fur hide, and I don't know where to begin!

 

[jtbass2756]

I agree the brazen ones need taken out. When we shot some and got a large dog, they went back to normal coyote behavior. Coyotes can breed fairly prolifically around here and do need managed. That's awesome you make things from the fur! My daughter always wants something made from a fur hide, and I don't know where to begin!

I'm not an advocate for shooting for all animals.

...However, you should use a much of animal as possible..food" venison" is absolutely geat! I would love to have a coyote hat...so I will be on the lookout for my coyote.!!

 

[cafarmgirl]

We are overrun with the things too and I agree, shooting them is the only thing they respect. They still eventually come back of course but the boldest ones get shot and the rest take off for a while. Our neighbors have three Catahoula dogs that love to run down and kill coyotes and that discourages them but still doesn't keep them away. Coyotes are also one reason I cannot free range and haven't for years, all those birds roaming around was a constant attraction to all kinds of predators to come creeping around. My birds instead have access to a small fenced pasture right next to the house/barn/shop. And it's not that the pasture is predator proof but it keeps them in close next to all the daytime human activity. They are locked up tight in a good coop at night. Between that and the fencing/hot wire I haven't lost a bird to any predator in many years.