Coyote trouble

[PirateGirl]

Yep.before the chickens I had a skunk that tried digging under--that is why the stone was put in place.

I do believe the oppossums and raccoons climb the fence and have been in the yard. They live in the trees on the other side of the privacy fence. When I put that femce up I left about 5 ft between the property lines, so I can walk through--that may have helped with the oppossum/raccoon issue. They can jump from the trees to the top of the femce. I did put a ground and hot wire on top of two sides of the run--so if they jump from privacy fence to run--they get zapped.

That's another good point about the trees. People often like to put coops under trees for protection from the elements, but it certainly can make your setup more vulnerable to predators.

 

[llombardo]

That's another good point about the trees. People often like to put coops under trees for protection from the elements, but it certainly can make your setup more vulnerable to predators.

I know for a fact that I had and will most likely have again a family of raccoons and a family of oppossums living in those trees. The raccoons came early on and the Opposums later. A couple weeks ago I had an oppossum at the front door inspecting my packages that were delivered.

I have not saw any prints, other then a cat and a squirrel since it snowed. I have checked that for my own info, so I know what is around.

All summer long I slept with the back door open so my older male GSD and goldrn could come and go. They both did an excellent job of keeping the opposdums and raccoons in the trees on the other side without direct confrontation. I would wake up in the morning and check for dog prints on the fence. It seems they would try coming down and the GSD would lunge at the fence and they scooted back up. I had to change the dogs diet because he was loosing weight due to high activity.

He would lay out there and stare at the trees.

Here is my predator guard dog

My baby raccoons that are literally feet away from the run(my golden found these and alerted by barkjng--he isn't normally a barker) it's amazing that they know what belongs and what doesn't.

During the day my female GSD is on guard most of the time. In this picture you can see how a predator would not be smart to try to enter or try to get in the gate of the run--the dogs are right there. She also has access to the full perimeter to the run--I don't have to worry about her peking on the electric fence..lol

And I also have a dog run directly across the chicken run that three dogs use--all high prey drive dogs that will also keep away predators. The area i between is a free range area for them--that is covered with netting for aerial predators

So I defintely incorporated areas with the thought of predators and the dogs. The dogs never have direct contact with the chickens but they are in close proximity and the dogs have learned the chickens belong and the chickens and ducks are not bothered by the dogs. They have seemed to come to an understanding. I have had the rooster crow in the middle of the night and both me and the GSD go out there. The rooster has not been wrong. He stops crowing when we arrive. It's a team effort here

Here is my boy--sticking by his girl while she lays an egg

This is my plan c or d...lol

 

[moniquem]

Coyotes are bad news for dogs as well as chickens.

We just patched up a 65 pound coon hound cross that tangled with a pack of 4 coyotes.

The owner said that she had been chasing away single coyotes for weeks. On this particular morning she chased a single coyote who was there to draw her away from her yard, out into the open, where the rest of the pack proceeded to try and kill her. Her owner saw the whole thing and was able to save her. If he had not been home she would have been killed and consumed.

As a result she had multiple deep bite wounds to her abdomen and legs that most likely would have caused her to bleed to death. She spent 3 days in our hospital recovering and hundreds of dollars for her owners.

I would put up an electric fence and allow your dog to learn to stay away from it. The alternatives are way to steep....

 

[Rammy]

Thats what coyotes do. One will draw the dog away and the rest are waiting. In BYH, someone posted two of thier Pyrenees chased after a coyote. Only one came back. They still havent found it.

 

[Molpet]

Check local laws before shooting. Some areas don't allow it. Coyotes are pretty protected here. If they kill sonething, they don't go looking for them to kill them. They are more likely to catch, tag and release do they can track them. If you call they tell you how to live with them and what to do if you encounter one. We have the living with them down pat. It's a lot of awareness. One time I was driving with my GSD and we were on our block when one crossed the road--he looked at it, then looked at me like what the hell was that..lol

Here is a picture of mine as the coyotes were coming closer. I could hear them and so could the dogs. I got them all in right after the picture

View attachment 1654797

The coyotes here are not small

View attachment 1654798

must be your local laws against hunting.
as far as the state is concerned : An average of 7,000 coyotes are harvested each year in Illinois. approximately 75% are taken by hunters and 25% by trappers. The trapping season is restricted to the fall and winter months, while the hunting season is open year-round. https://www.dnr.illinois.gov/conservation/wildlife/Pages/Coyote.aspx

I am in an area I can shoot them, and like you said if you kill them another takes their place.. I shoot and scare the bejeebers out of them. I can see them in the fields and during the day they make a 1000 yard circle around my poultry yards. At night they come right up to the house down the driveway... With all the snow the electric poultry net is off and they have jumped in the poultry yard and out over 6' welded wire fence. I think they were just looking for rodents and came with in 3' of one of the ,so far, predator proof poultry coops.
Also my dog is a deterrent, but I stay out when he is loose. He is 110 lbs but we have some coyotes who are almost as tall... I believe they are coywolves... also, according to the dna the state ran, a full blooded pregnant wolf was hit by a car next county over a couple of years ago.

 

[llombardo]

must be your local laws against hunting.
as far as the state is concerned : An average of 7,000 coyotes are harvested each year in Illinois. approximately 75% are taken by hunters and 25% by trappers. The trapping season is restricted to the fall and winter months, while the hunting season is open year-round. https://www.dnr.illinois.gov/conservation/wildlife/Pages/Coyote.aspx

I am in an area I can shoot them, and like you said if you kill them another takes their place.. I shoot and scare the bejeebers out of them. I can see them in the fields and during the day they make a 1000 yard circle around my poultry yards. At night they come right up to the house down the driveway... With all the snow the electric poultry net is off and they have jumped in the poultry yard and out over 6' welded wire fence. I think they were just looking for rodents and came with in 3' of one of the ,so far, predator proof poultry coops.
Also my dog is a deterrent, but I stay out when he is loose. He is 110 lbs but we have some coyotes who are almost as tall... I believe they are coywolves... also, according to the dna the state ran, a full blooded pregnant wolf was hit by a car next county over a couple of years ago.

It is. Urban areas with coyotes do not have this option. The City of Chicago, in the actual City there are plenty too. When they speak of this hunting and trapping, it's definitely for those with land and considered more of farm area. It does not help those in "residential" areas where coyotes are quite common.

We do have fields around but it's still urban. I have watched them playing in the field chasing leaves, stalking geese, etc. Right down the block, kids waiting for a school bus witnessed a coyote eating a deer.

 

[Molpet]

It is. Urban areas with coyotes do not have this option. The City of Chicago, in the actual City there are plenty too. When they speak of this hunting and trapping, it's definitely for those with land and considered more of farm area. It does not help those in "residential" areas where coyotes are quite common.

We do have fields around but it's still urban. I have watched them playing in the field chasing leaves, stalking geese, etc. Right down the block, kids waiting for a school bus witnessed a coyote eating a deer.

chicago said they were good because they ate the rats and to leave them alone a few years ago .. There have been confirmed coywolves in chicago. at least that's what I remember from a pbs documentary.
my cousin doesn't have a gun so they use a boat air horn to scare them away from the yard.
I used to chase them... they run until I quit chasing and then they try to sneak back.. I chase them again until they took off.. it would work for a month or so..got tired of that when it was hot and humid, ...keep a gun by the door now.
have to make them afraid of people again.

 

[MidnightMaran]

Oh no! I just found out that electric fence is against my neighborhood laws. I do agree that it is my best option, but we were worried that we were pushing it when we put up a dog shock collar fence system. (Which was a waste of time and money, our previously abused rescue dog didn’t blink an eye) however, neighbors have been complaining about coyotes getting cats. Our usual coyote-killed-cat count was about 2-5 per year. 2018 was 7.there have been 2 animals killed this year. Fingers crossed that we can change this neighborhood rule!

 

[Rammy]

If the neighbors cant see your fence you could at least fortify your coop. Or maybr get that premier1 fencing for around the coop. Then you can take it down and hide it if you need to.

 

[PirateGirl]

Oh no! I just found out that electric fence is against my neighborhood laws. I do agree that it is my best option, but we were worried that we were pushing it when we put up a dog shock collar fence system. (Which was a waste of time and money, our previously abused rescue dog didn’t blink an eye) however, neighbors have been complaining about coyotes getting cats. Our usual coyote-killed-cat count was about 2-5 per year. 2018 was 7.there have been 2 animals killed this year. Fingers crossed that we can change this neighborhood rule!

Ugh. We are not allowed electric in our neighborhood either. I think it's partly a safe/nice neighbor thing and partly due to our wildfire danger in summer. Hopefully some of the other suggestions in this thread will help you out. I know I always stay in the loop on these threads in hopes of getting some great new idea on a line of defense I hadn't thought of/heard of. The coyotes were at my house again last night