Coyote...

[cozycritters]

This morning we awoke in our suburban neighborhood in our fenced yard to see that a single coyote had slaughtered all of our 14 birds (goose, ducks, chickens). He had them stacked in the middle of our yard (not even in the chicken pen) and was eating one when I saw him. He took one look at me and ran away, easily clearing our 6 foot fence without a thought.

We're devastated-- these are mostly my son's chickens, but it also means no eggs AND we don't know if we dare bringing any chickens back into this yard if a coyote is going to be able to break into the yard AND the coop and destroy everything.

The waste is sickening.

 

[ljf24]

Sorry to hear about your birds! Sounds like you need some coyote management.

 

[undermywings]

Am so sorry to hear that!

Are you sure the coyote killed them? Does not sound like their MO.

If dogs killed your whole flock then a coyote will smell that and come looking to eat a free meal making him look like the culprit.

Dogs sound like your problem as they tend to kill entire flocks in a frenzy and coyotes kill what they can eat.

 

[cozycritters]

No dog could get into our yard and I saw the coyote in action, so, yes, this was a coyote.

 

[kikescove.com]

Not sure about Arizona, but anti trapping laws have made this a common place here in Washington, and it makes it awefully hard to catch them. Thank goodness I live out in the country where you can shoot them. Sorry to hear about your loss.

 

[chicamama]

oh man.

Bummer. I'm surprised he killed them and piled them in your yard. Our coyotes grab and run.

 

[G Wiz Ranch]

Quote:
This is what our coyotes do, kill as many as they can and then eat a few.

Sorry for your loss, don't give up, we learn from this and it will only make you stronger, your fences too. Look into an electric wire fence to put on the bottom and top of your run, they have regular 110v or solar chargers.

 

[The Chicken Lady]

What is your coop built with?
Is your chicken run covered?
What kind of wire do you have around your run?
Have you done anything around the run to discourage digging?

 

[adoptedbyachicken]

So sorry for your loss. Yes the coyote will be back if it got a meal there so look into what is allowed for coyote control in your area. As upsetting as it can be keeping the bodies of the birds for now may be helpful as trappers or wildlife management can use them to attract the offender back.

There are many things you can do to make future birds safe depending on your coop and run plans. Don't give up hope on birds due to this, just figure out how he got in and make it better.

 

[blbgp]

Wow, how did it get into your coop??

Coyote killing and stacking birds is very uncommon. They tend to grab and run to safety, especially in uban areas.