Coyote trouble

[MidnightMaran]

I have known that the area outside of my yard is home to several coyotes ever since we got this house, but in the 2 years we have had chickens here, they have never been any trouble, except for annoying howling on summer nights. However, a few days ago, a coyote got inside my garden beds. Our dog’s fur was bristling, and when we let her outside she started barking like crazy. She ran right up to the coyote and scared it off, but not before we got a good look at it. It was early morning, so the chickens were in the coop, roosting. It scared us. Our coop and run are very secure, and our dog is a great watch dog, but our chickens free range all day, and our dog can make herself sound like a vicious canine twice her size, but she’s just a sweet German shepherd that wouldn’t hurt a fly. After that first sighting, we didn’t see another for a while, until last night. THREE came up to the garden bed fencing right before the hens went to bed. Our dog scared them off again, but I don’t know how long that will last. None of our girls has any injuries yet, but I’m still very worried. Our gardens line one side of the backyard and we have a 4 foot fence separating our garden from the backyard, but I still think a coyote could get into our yard if he really wanted to. They get through the heavy barbed wire separating our property from our neighbor’s to get to our garden, so I don’t know exactly what they can or can’t do. I want to be able to let my girls free range without the threat of coyotes. Any advice would be appreciated.

 

[Trish1974]

Can you run a few lines of electric fence around the perimeter? That would be your most effective line of defense.

 

[MidnightMaran]

I did briefly think about it, but my dog has a very bad habit of trying to climb the fence. She has succeeded multiple times, and even though we want to break the habit, I’m a softie and don’t want to harm our sweet dog. I don’t know whether to do it yet, and I was thinking of it as a last resort.

 

[MidnightMaran]

B.T.W. The dog looks hilarious when she climbs the fence, like a slinky/bad gymnast LOL

 

[Bamabexchicks]

Sadly, you can't have your cake and eat it too on this one. Just start teaching your dog to stay off the fence and take the sound advice that's been offered. She will touch a hot fence exactly one time if you dont succeed in teaching her to avoid it, and you can get charger boxes with low voltage that will sting less than one made for livestock.
Also, how do you describe "last resort"? When the coyotes actually start killing your chickens? Once they start they dont stop, and will resort to extreme measures to get to them.

 

[PirateGirl]

The coyotes will be back. The coyotes can easily hop a 4ft. fence or dig under. They probably come around more often than you realize already, day and night. Continue to haze them, air horn, air rifle, paintball gun (where you live will determine what you are legally allowed to do and your sheriff should be able to tell you). Fencing for your chickens is the only relatively surefire way to keep them safe. I'm not sure how big an area they have or how big your yard/property is, but you could look into "coyote rollers" which can be purchased or you can find an online DIY tutorial and they can be added at the top of any fence to make it more difficult to scale (I believe they have to be at a certain height as well). This may be one way of modifying your existing setup to make it more secure. Whether or not you are allowed to trap or shoot a coyote on your own property is something you will have to ask local law enforcement or DOW about, however, this will only stop the particular coyote at that time, it doesn't protect your bird from others in the pack or future attacks, whereas investing in making your setup more secure from predators will help against numerous pests for years to come.

Two nights ago I came home from the store to a healthy coyote in the street in front my house and coop. I know it can be nerve wracking, but it is their home too, and as you said, most of the time they are not a problem, most of the time they are just passing through and doing their own thing, but it's the times they aren't passing through that we worry. We had another coyote this winter that was a problem animal and actually attacked two different large neighbor dogs, among other things. You are right to worry. Good luck, and fingers crossed your flock is safe.

 

[Trish1974]

The zap from an electric fence is more a startle and scare than a pain response. Yes its unpleasant, but the reaction you see is mainly out of fear. Not to sound mean, but let her get zapped. Like Bama said it will only happen once and its a small price to pay to protect your flock. Chickens are very vulnerable prey animals for just about everything and when we choose to own such vulnerable livestock we need to do everything we can to protect them.

 

[MidnightMaran]

Thank you so much for the info. I will definitely look into these suggestions. I will do pretty much anything to keep my girls safe, and the coyotes are a huge threat. They haven’t been a problem until now, so I didn’t know what to think. Again, thanks for everything!

 

[N F C]

I'd also encourage some hot wire. In addition to it protecting your flock, it may keep your dog safer too. A pack of coyotes might be too much for your single dog to tangle with.

 

[MidnightMaran]

Thank you!