Coyote

[kklowell]

We had our first "visitor" today. From my wife's description, I thought it was a fox or a coyote so I showed her some pictures of both and she says it looks like the coyote pictures. My girls were all in the run, piled up in one corner and screaming so loudly that my wife heard them and looked out the window and saw the thing. She pounded on the window and yelled and it ran away.
I had a shortened screen door as the entrance to the run (from the outside) but after finding the screen pushed in one corner tonight, I speeded up my plans and covered the door in 1-inch mesh chicken wire. In the morning I'm ordering the stuff to add two or three strands of electric wire to the run. I'll also be installing motion detection lighting out there.
I expect it to come back and have a game camera set up to see it if it does return during the night.

 

[pennyJo1960]

keep ears open for tonight it will be back about time you shut off the lights in the house

 

[staceyj]

And they are on patrol until well after dawn.

 

[staceyj]

You need to replace that chicken wire with 1/2 inch welded wire “hardware cloth”

 

[cmom]

I see coyotes, fox and others critters most nights with my game cameras. I ordered another game camera. It's supposed to arrive tomorrow. I have electric around all of my coops and pens and haven't had a breach in years. I do check the power every evening. I have a 9 joule charger at the outer coops and the inner coops, 5 joule. It doesn't kill but does make you heart skip a few beats.

 

[cmom]

In the spring I hear the youngsters test the wire.

 

[cmom]

I had a motion light and they would set off the light night after night. I have a yard light that goes on at dusk and off at dawn. There are a couple of cameras near the pole and I still see critters most nights. They use the road next to our house as their road. It is a dead end and paved to the top of the hill to our driveway next to our house but dirt beyond to the end.

 

[IamRainey]

We live in coyote country too. We have our hardware cloth dug 12" into the ground 360˚ around the covered run. We also used 1/4" hardware cloth.

It's been a year and we haven't had a tragedy yet even though I hear the coyotes howling in our near vicinity about once a month.

 

[kklowell]

You need to replace that chicken wire with 1/2 inch welded wire “hardware cloth”

It's my intention to put it up 4 feet at some point, but the 1" mesh will keep out all but a weasel, especially when coupled with the electric fence I'll be installing after work on Friday. That HW cloth is some pricey stuff!

 

[kklowell]

I did get the motion light set up this evening but then was disappointed to find that the game camera had shut off shortly after putting it out last night.