CoYotEEEE ProOF COop???

[kera!]

So Thanks in advance! we live in town but a small town(5000) the property is my gma and it is about 17 acres and then 17 more with the neighbor and somewhat rural with open spaces here and there anyway the point..What to do to make a Coyote proof coop...they live on the propoerty and we watch them everyyear raise there young and then we have 4 or so that stick aound..but I dfinantly dont want the chickens to be bate or puppy chow...how do I balance htis and what should I do to make them safe and leave the CoYotEEs here....(if Possble)

 

[clairabean]

Strong doors, strong windows, totally enclosed runs. NOT chicken wire, but hardware cloth. Keep all feed inside coop.

And a gun.

 

[Gallo del Cielo]

Hi kera! I would also recommend hardware cloth or welded wire. Remember that they can jump over fences that are quite high so a covered run would be best. Also consider burying an "apron" of wire extending out from the bottom of the run/coop. We have a surprising number of coyotes in my urban neighborhood where shooting is not an option. You can see what I did to prevent predators at the bottom of my BYC page: https://www.backyardchickens.com/web/viewblog.php?id=56638 Good luck!

 

[txhomegrown]

Bows are silent, but deadly.

 

[TomG]

Kera!... There was a thread started yesterday that had a link to an article that might be of interest to you. The thread was at https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=437073[/URL] The point of the article was that if you shoot a coyote that another one will take it's place, so you should condition the coyote you have to not like chickens. You could connect a dead chicken to an electric fence, etc. Anyway, good luck.

 

[woodmort]

They will jump over and dig under but they are also creatures of opportunity. Keep your birds inside at night and behind wire during the day and, as long as they don't develop a taste for chicken, they'll leave them alone. If one does though, you best find a way to eliminate it.

 

[TreeHugger]

I have 6 foot welded wire fencing and the top of the run is enclosed. I ran 2x6s along the bottom to discourage digging. I have a pair of coyotes that I see "hanging out" behind my coop on a regular basis. They can't get into the run (knock on wood) and I'm hoping they are catching some of those field mice that keep invading the coop.