Coyotes have finally showed up

[janinepeters]

chickortreat said:
" I've killed five grey fox (from my front porch) since I got my chickens nearly two years ago."

Sounds to me like every time you kill one, a new one moves in to fill the vacant niche you have created. We have much better luck chasing them off -- it takes a couple of times for fox. Once they learn it is not worth effort, they don't waste the energy on trying anymore. See hawks, and tracks of fox, coyote, and fisher at edge of woods around our property all the time. Have lost only 2 chickens to predators in 6 years - one to fox, one to neighbor's dog. That's with up to 18 chickens running around the yard at any given time...

 

[Egghead_Jr]

Quote:
Yeah, some say they are a mix of some sort and why we Easterners call ours coydogs. I personally believe they are just a bigger cousin to western coyote. 50lbs here is not uncommon when I think your western are more in the 35lbs range.

 

[woodmort]

Quote:
Yeah, some say they are a mix of some sort and why we Easterners call ours coydogs. I personally believe they are just a bigger cousin to western coyote. 50lbs here is not uncommon when I think your western are more in the 35lbs range.

According to the research done on DNA and skull measurements the eastern coyote may well be a cross with either the gray or red wolf--not dogs. This would account for the larger size and pack-type hunting that the eastern version does. As I've written elsewhere, I've seen adults here and in MT and the ones here are about half again larger.

 

[janinepeters]

Also remember that coydogs are a dead end. Their breeding biology is messed up. Female coydogs may give birth in the dead of winter, a bad time for pup survival, and male coydogs are more like dogs in that they do not help females raise the young. Therefore, if a coydog mates with another coydog, a wolf, or a coyote, the young will rarely survive. There may be a few coydogs around, but this is definitely not the reason we are seeing larger coyotes in the east.

 

[Thunder Bay Chicken]

I for one will look forward to the odd yote or wolf coming by, as I know they are around my property but seem very hard to hunt/call in. I have even tried to bait them.

I too would make a mount if I got one of either.

Now it has been about 3 years this Feb since I've seen a wolf, and spring was the last yote I saw right at the end of our hunting season.

They seem to always come out when your not ready for them!

I have seen scat and tracks this season of yotes while deer and moose hunting, but have seen no predators this year other then the fox, bald eagles, hawks, owls... Heck I didn't even see a black bear in 2010 and we are crawling with the things around here.

We have tons of fox here also, and I know bringing in chickens is just going to make for an interesting spring/year 2011.

I have one mounted fox and one in the freezer to skin.

Around here chasing them off does little even with my dogs which love to and do engaged them.

I have terriers and they hate furry critters.

I have three trails cams I took down at the end of the hunting season... I think I will put them back up around the future coop building/location and see what's around!

 

[gavinandallison]

12 gauge sounds good to me..........

 

[Longview]

Quote:
This echoes my own personal philosophy. I feel it is my duty to make sure predators cannot come in contact with my birds/pets/children. The predators are, after all, just doing what they do.

Every time I read about someone else's experience with losing chickens it makes me think about how I could possibly avoid that problem in the future. I have never lost chickens to any predator, but that doesn't mean I won't in the future. I hope I will chalk up the losses as an opportunity to educate myself. I think my biggest threat out here at our new place will be hawks and other birds of prey, for we border a 3,000 acres grassland owned by the Nature Conservancy and supporting remnants of virgin prairie. Plenty of coyotes, but they are easier to deter.

 

[janinepeters]

Longview, I agree with every word of your post. I know that many people on this forum think predators are a huge nuisance, but to be honest, I so enjoy learning about them that I consider any threat by a predator an opportunity to learn more about their biology and behavior.

And it's not that we don't have many here - this area is teeming with them. I've had many close calls, and as I've said, even a couple of losses. I did just chalk it up to part of raising chickens. I see predators or find their tracks daily, but they fascinate me as much as my chickens do. My attitude is to turn a potentially frustrating situation into something positive. Live and let live. Helps me enjoy life to the fullest.

 

[kera!]

I live in northeastern arizona in the white mountains, and the coyotes here sure have been on steroids to. I have a 35 pound dog and the coyotes that come up on the lawn are alot bigger than her, also hunting and killing in together at least 2 at a time.

 

[CrazyerThanAverage]

kera! :

I live in northeastern arizona in the white mountains, and the coyotes here sure have been on steroids to. I have a 35 pound dog and the coyotes that come up on the lawn are alot bigger than her, also hunting and killing in together at least 2 at a time.

Those might have been Mexican Wolves. They re-introduced them in that area within the last decade. I haven't seen them, but I heard them once from WAY TO CLOSE while sitting against a tree in the early morning mist armed only with the turkey call I had been using for the last half hour. Almost had to change my britches!​