Coyote-Proofing a Run in the Desert

[avjudge]

. . . I don't think the apron would help much in our situation - as I said that coyote dug a tunnel 1.5 feet down and 3 feet across, bypassing all the wire and cinder blocks. They're smart and desperate, and I'm sure they'd figure out a way around any apron.

When you say the tunnel is 3 feet across, do you mean it starts 1.5' away and comes 1.5' in the run? or starts 3' from the run? or is the 3' the width along the fence (left to right if you face the fence)? Is that 3' completely underground tunnel, or is that from the outside edge of the tunnel at one edge to the outside edge at the other so it includes the hole itself? (Makes a difference as to how close to the fence the hole actually comes/where they started digging.)

I'm sure you've filled in the hole now, but if something like this happens in the future you should take pictures and include them with your post - it would help us to get a real sense of what those coyotes managed to do in 45 minutes! (They sure sound like impressive diggers.)

As @cmom says, if you make a wide apron -- a lot wider than where they started their hole -- and cover it with dirt so they don't see an obvious edge to start digging under, they're likely to dig starting on top of the apron and be unable to make a hole. Most predators aren't smart enough at that point to think, "Oh, I have to start farther back," especially if they don't see a difference in the ground - they just note that digging doesn't work.

If they really started 1.5' or 3' back from the fence, and were completely underground at the fence, then electric probably won't help - now that I think about it, the fact that your fence goes 1' below ground means that in going down that deep they may well be well (~18") below the electric line (which obviously has to be above ground) so be less likely to touch it.

Not that I'd ever discourage anyone from putting electric lines on their chicken coops as an additional protection - in our case here, it's because of bear, but it would also keep smaller predators from trying to climb or push through the fence. And with the coyotes, even if it doesn't get them while they're digging, they're likely to get "bit" by the shock as they check things out, and the more discouragement the better!

 

[xochristo]

I have my ground rods in drip lines where the soil is more moist.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/a-treatise-on-electric-fencing.1117877/

Yeah, this is going to be tricky -- soil moisture is completely non-existent in the desert.

When you say the tunnel is 3 feet across, do you mean it starts 1.5' away and comes 1.5' in the run? or starts 3' from the run? or is the 3' the width along the fence (left to right if you face the fence)? Is that 3' completely underground tunnel, or is that from the outside edge of the tunnel at one edge to the outside edge at the other so it includes the hole itself? (Makes a difference as to how close to the fence the hole actually comes/where they started digging.)

They started 3 feet from the run. There's like a 2-foot gap between the outer chainlink fence and the fence around the run. The first time they came, the coyote dug under the chainlink, then dug another hole under the fence to get into the run. So, we filled that gap between the two fences with cinder blocks and cacti. When it came back, it started the tunnel from outside the chainlink fence, under all the cinder blocks and cacti, and into the run. Relentless.

I don't know how the coyote would get under the electric fence without having its back graze the fence and get zapped - that's my hope anyway.

 

[avjudge]

Wow, that is an impressive digger. I really hope you can make the electric fence work! We love them - use them to keep bears of of chickens and bees, and horses and llamas in where they belong - but your coyotes seem a much more resourceful foe than any we have. Fingers crossed that they've met their match.

 

[Ponypoor]

Hi Everyone, I’m in a bit of a quandary here as I can’t seem to keep coyotes out of our run.

Our property has a chain-link perimeter fence and the run has its own wooden fence. As suggested, I dug down about a foot deep and attached wire mesh to secure the base of the run fence.

In addition, I piled cinder blocks around the entire interior fence and covered that in wire and cacti, hoping it would act as a sort of “apron.”

However, the coyote easily tunneled under both fences and killed 14/16 birds. The hole was probably about 1.5 feet down and at least 3 feet across. We also have a large dog that warns us when there's a coyote around, but this all happened in the 45 minutes we left the property to take him for a walk.

Now, I live in the desert and clearly the coyotes can dig as far down into the dirt as they need to gain access. Plus, we have a huge population of coyotes here (we see and hear packs of them almost every day).

So, I suppose my question is, is there any way to proof this run? At this point, I think I would need some kind of secure flooring to be sure that nothing could come up through the ground.

It would seem that an electric fence would be easy to dig under, but perhaps conventional wisdom would be that the predator would trip the wire at some point and be deterred.

Thanks for your help!

Yes electric fencing about 2' from the run fence, pound re-bar as posts and use those screw on insulators. Use three strands at least the bottom one about 10" off the ground then every foot or so next couple of strands

Make sure you put in a decent ground rod, at least 6' depth as your ground is dry.

Good luck!

 

[Ponypoor]

I have electric wires around my coops and pens. I don't live in a desert but my land is open pasture. I also have heavy duty netting covering the pens and concrete under the gates all due to losses from predators in the past. I have a good heavy duty charger (50 Miles). Anything that touches the wires won't do it again. It will hurt but that is the idea. I want the predator to hurt and hopefully not test them again. I have had the wires up for many years and have added coops and pens since I first put them up and have extended the hot wires around the new coops and pens. I believe that the adult predators teach their young that whatever is on the other side isn't worth getting zapped for. My wires test out at 10,000+ volts. There have been attempts to dig under the fence but once they touch the electric wires they abort the attempt. Good luck...

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Exactly! Good for coyotes, fox, wolves, bears and kids (haha just kidding).

 

[McChooky]

You might be better off pouring a concrete slab or laying blocks for a base .You could always put dirt or sand over top of it .

 

[McChooky]

Thanks all for your replies. We're going to get an electric fence and add hardwire cloth to the floor of the run. Plus, we're turning off the automatic chicken door and waiting until we get back from walking the dogs to let the chickens out of the coop. I'm really hoping that will keep our birds safe.

I don't think the apron would help much in our situation - as I said that coyote dug a tunnel 1.5 feet down and 3 feet across, bypassing all the wire and cinder blocks. They're smart and desperate, and I'm sure they'd figure out a way around any apron.

You may need multiple ground rods .

 

[McChooky]

You can lay welded wire fencing or chicken wire on the ground all along the outside perimeter of your electric fence .Then attach your ground wire to it. Anything that walks on it and touches the hot wires at the same time will get zapped.

 

[cmom]

Exactly! Good for coyotes, fox, wolves, bears and kids (haha just kidding).

The kids will learn. I put a cutoff switch on the coop under my fence charger but most of the time I simply unplug it from where it is plugged in in my barn which is behind the coops.

 

[cmom]

I have one 8' ground rod for each of the fence chargers sticking out of the ground around 6"+/-. I also have them in drip lines where the ground stays moist. My voltage has reached around 15,000 volts but averages a little over 11,000.