Creative coyote deterrents?

[avocadoeggs]

Hi all,
I live in Northern IL and have a small (6) flock in my residential backyard. We have always had coyotes around on some of the more open land that surrounds us, but lately they have been running circles around my coop/run and scaring the chickens. The chickens are fully enclosed in hardware wire which is aproned and buried, so I'm not actually concerned about the coyotes getting in. The coyotes do have a taste for chicken due to a farm nearby that has a free range flock.
However, two coyotes are visiting my yard 4-5 times during the day (I only ever see them between 10am-4pm) and are less and less deterred when I go out to yell at them. Yesterday they approached when I was out in the yard already. We cannot shoot, can't electrical fence, I don't want my herding dogs chasing them for fear a fight would be a costly vet bill...so, I'm looking for anyone who has creative, legal ideas for doing something to scare the coyotes further.

I should mention, I feel the need to do something because I have small children to protect, and my flock has a few minor injuries from bumping into things as they are chased around. I have added a tarp to one wall of the run to help them/make them less accessible.

Thanks in advance!

 

[bobbi-j]

I would like to jump in here to state my opinion. I am not fond of coyotes, either, but I am also not in favor of poison or any other long, torturous death of a predator of any kind. Let's face it - if a coyote gets to our chickens, it's generally because they're free ranging and that loss is then on us. I free range, I have lost birds to coyotes. (It's not quite the same as something like a raccoon who will spend ALL NIGHT working on getting into the coop.) When we're ranging our chickens, they are an easy meal for just about everything. My problem with poison is the unintended targets you may kill. A lot of animals are attracted to the sweetness of the antifreeze. Your own cats or dogs, for instance. Or a neighbor's pet, or other wildlife that has had no interest in your chickens. And the treble hook method - I'm not even going to go there. You can hate an animal, but to kill so cruelly is totally unethical in my opinion. I am not against eliminating a persistent predator, but do not believe an animal should suffer, either. I think part of our responsibility as humans is to kill as cleanly and quickly as possible. In the OP's case, those coyotes are a danger and a menace. If OP is not in a position to eliminate them, I would suggest hotwire around the perimeter of their property until state or local wildlife officials can get rid of them. They've become way too used to humans if they just trot off a ways when OP goes out and yells at them. As far as cats and chickens go, lock up what's left for awhile until the coyotes realize that the buffet is closed and move on if you can't kill them quickly and humanely. Otherwise, be prepared to continue to suffer losses.

 

[bobbi-j]

We had a cornfield right next to our house this year. Several times during late summer, I'd hear a coyote yipping - starting in the pasture, the dog would head out that way, and the coyote would move into the corn, come even with the house and go toward the other side of our building site toward the barn, the dog following. It wasn't running away, just moving through the corn. I'd go outside and call the dog, the coyote would keep luring him, and the idiot kept following. The only way to get the dog in was to fire a shot to scare the coyote away. The dog loves to hunt, so he'd come running to us. We have neighbors who believe their dog was lured to the pack and killed that way.

 

[BBQJOE]

There are many ways to deal with coyotes.
Some are more grueling than others. It depends on how serious you are about it.
Does your community love coyotes? If so, you have no recourse.

Otherwise, there are leg traps, pitfalls, fishing techniques, electricity, poison and others I'm sure.

People might think of me as cold, but anything that wants to disrupt my lifestyle or food supply is subject to eradication.

 

[Tumbling K]

I would look into rules concerning electric fence. They're a good deterrent. Kids and dogs learn real quick to avoid it. If your kids are very young, you can always unplug the fence when they are out playing, but I'm not sure I'd even let my small children out to play if the coyotes are that brazen. Calling animal control or DNR to report the behavior is also a good plan. I wouldn't mess with a BB gun. Unless you're closer than would be comfortable in the first place, it wouldn't penetrate the pelt enough to phase them anyway.

I've shot at feral or stray dogs with a red rider from 100'. It's very effective. The sound when you pull the trigger and anything unexpected that hits near or on them will scare them away.

 

[avocadoeggs]

Update from original poster:

Well, after a few weeks of all my yelling and chasing and throwing things (and possibly making my husband pee out by the coop), I am happy to report that our last two coyote sightings have simply been one walking past at a distance of 100 ft or so, not even attempting to come close. The chickens seem to have caught on that I will come out if they make a ruckus, so they've been good "alarms." Also, since the last two sightings were singles only, I'd say there's a chance somebody else shot or caught one of them (they had been running as a pair).

Our local newspaper just ran a story on the increased sightings of these bold, suburbanized coyotes, so at least I know I'm not alone (and it's also not just the hens, as we had coyotes in the yard before we got chicks hence why we built a very secure coop). I still have my guard up and will even more so in the late winter when they get more desparate, but things are okay for now. They seemed to have targeted my yard as a kill zone for about a week or two, and now have learned it's not worth it I hope. We are feeling much better about it anyway!

Thanks for all the suggestions and I hope this thread will be useful to others seeking solutions to coyotes as well!

 

[aart]

Quote: Only takes one zap and/or some training to deter that.
Plenty of folks with kids and dogs use hot wire.

 

[aart]

I am concerned about the kids and dogs, although I haven't looked too deeply into using hotwire, as I imagined it probably isn't permitted in a residential neighborhood but I could be wrong. Our lot is about a half acre, but perhaps if it is allowed I could run it only around our coop area via an extension cord? The coop is about 20 feet from lot lines.

I may call the county or DNR if they approach me or my family when we are out in the yard again. For today, I'm armed with disc golf frisbees and a rested yelling voice. I was just hoping that this hazing would get less involved over time rather than the coyotes seeming to become used to me.

I wouldn't hesitate to call and report the coyotes behavior for the record, they are after all harassing your birds even tho they haven't eaten one.....
....and they may be aware of the problem and have some solutions/ info for you.

 

[Free Spirit]

I understand your not wanting to use hot wire - I'm assuming for the protection of the kids and pets. On the other hand I would be extremely worried about the kids being outside if they are coming so close. Especially if they are coming around in the daytime. I have seen coyotes in my area during the daytime but mostly at twilight and after dark is when they are naturally most active.

But you can get hot wire that doesn't have a continuous current but a pulsing current. The reason is that if kids or pets accidentally touch or grab it they will be very unhappy but won't get hurt or trapped on the wire. But the first time a coyote sticks his nose on it they will think twice about coming back.

I currently have a pulsing electric fence. I have touched it a few times by accident. The most it does is a very unpleasant surprise and because it pulses on and off I can let go of it immediately.

 

[Ur-ur-ur-urrr]

I would like to jump in here to state my opinion. I am not fond of coyotes, either, but I am also not in favor of poison or any other long, torturous death of a predator of any kind. Let's face it - if a coyote gets to our chickens, it's generally because they're free ranging and that loss is then on us. I free range, I have lost birds to coyotes. (It's not quite the same as something like a raccoon who will spend ALL NIGHT working on getting into the coop.) When we're ranging our chickens, they are an easy meal for just about everything. My problem with poison is the unintended targets you may kill. A lot of animals are attracted to the sweetness of the antifreeze. Your own cats or dogs, for instance. Or a neighbor's pet, or other wildlife that has had no interest in your chickens. And the treble hook method - I'm not even going to go there. You can hate an animal, but to kill so cruelly is totally unethical in my opinion. I am not against eliminating a persistent predator, but do not believe an animal should suffer, either. I think part of our responsibility as humans is to kill as cleanly and quickly as possible. In the OP's case, those coyotes are a danger and a menace. If OP is not in a position to eliminate them, I would suggest hotwire around the perimeter of their property until state or local wildlife officials can get rid of them. They've become way too used to humans if they just trot off a ways when OP goes out and yells at them. As far as cats and chickens go, lock up what's left for awhile until the coyotes realize that the buffet is closed and move on if you can't kill them quickly and humanely. Otherwise, be prepared to continue to suffer losses.

+1. Anyone who has ever hunted knows that a clean kill is the only way to take an animal's life... even if it is based on revenge. Reckless scattering of poison is totally irresponsible, as poison doesn't care who ingests it. Never, ever be that cold and heartless.