Coyotes

[Jharper]

Ok, so we live out in the country and we have coyotes. What can I do to keep my precious chickens safe. Will lights keep them away. Or are they really curious?

 

[patty12]

I don't think lights will keep them away. a good stock dog migh help at least let you know if something was wrong . a good sturdy house and them locked up tight at night....

 

[Jharper]

Well we have a doxin. We fired a couple of shots from our 22 to see what they did. Well it went quite. I haven't heard the since.

 

[Vamvakas]

Get a male human and save his urine and put it around the coop walls. This may sound gross but foxes/coyotes back out when male human pee scent is around. If you have racoons, the pee thing wont work as well cause they don't care as much as foxes/coyotes.

 

[Jharper]

That is interesting? Thanks

 

[chickortreat]

Get a male human and save his urine and put it around the coop walls. This may sound gross but foxes/coyotes back out when male human pee scent is around. If you have racoons, the pee thing wont work as well cause they don't care as much as foxes/coyotes.

Okay, so where would one get a "male human"? Walmart doesn't carry them, as far as I know......

Sorry, I couldn't resist. The way that was worded was too funny.

 

[jdywntr]

Coyotes are typically very timid. It does not mean that they cannot be bold though.
I was free ranging my chickens in a 10 acre pasture (they only ever went in about 3 acres of it) when my ~12 week old jersey giants started getting picked off. Some of my older hens would get out of the pasture fencing and come up around the house and about a week ago I was sitting at the table at 4pm CST and saw 2 chickens run by with a coyote hot on their tail. It ran off before I got a shot off. The next day at 2 pm, I heard a chicken in distress and again the coyote was in the front of the house, got a shot off but didn't hit it. The day after that I saw the coyote a few acres out in the pasture in the late morning.

I have stopped ranging the birds. They have about an acre outside of the pasture that is fenced. I have not had any losses since stopping free ranging.

So, coyotes will come out during the day. They avoid, typically, open areas (we need to get the pasture cut). They should be frightened by sudden lights at night ( I have read that in studies, losses are much lower with night lighting). I am going to get a plug in motion sensor light for the coop area, just in case. My husband has also borrowed a rifle (we only have a handgun) and I keep something with me whenever I'm outside.

Your best bet is secure fencing, at least 6' and very secure night time housing.

 

[Jharper]

Thank you so much. That helps a lot.

 

[zazouse]

Last time i marked territory this is what happened, sill fox marked in the same spot LOL

This is what i use to keep wild critters at bay.

 

[Oregon Blues]

The coyotes around here have no fear of humans. They will be out and about night or day and will trot along on the sidewalk right in the middle of the city.

If you are going to use dogs to keep the coyotes back, use extremely big tough dogs and use more than one of them. Coyotes eat dogs and the coyotes here attacked my neighbor's Rottweiler. My opinion is that a good strong pen with a cover is your best bet on foiling the coyote who wants to eat chicken.

I've got a large pack in my neighborhood and they swing by a couple of times a year to see if the birds are still securely penned, but they don't waste time staring at food they can't get. The rest of the time they are doing their best to control the cottontail population and I am pretty sure they take out a few raccoons. They also deal with abandoned cats and dogs dumped in the country so that I don't have to deal with them. So, as far as tradeoffs go, I have to pay for fencing and they do a very good job of local pest control.