Dogs treed bobcat next to my coop

[jcatblum]

Dogs were going wild. Look out the back door and see them chasing something up the tree. Go out & find a medium size bobcat up in the tree that is 10 ft from the coop where I keep my chicks! DH wants to shot the cat I say no, because honestly we live in the middle of no where now & so do other wild animals. No reason to shoot them just because we see them. I did go make sure the chicks were secure. Put a few large rocks at the bottom of the door- doubt the rocks did anything but they made me feel beter! Do bobcats run together? My pyrenese was barking at something 100ft or so away. The Anatolian mix & 2 australian shepherds were the ones who treed the cat. Not sure what my pyrenese was after. Makes me happy to know that having these dogs around is good for something! Was starting to think they only liked chasing my guineas & digging holes in the yard!

 

[Chickmate]

Wow, being in Michigan I have no experience with bobcats, but it sounds like with the dogs you have the cat shouldn't want to stick around for long! Especially if your coop is very secure. I totally agree with not shooting all the wildlife you see just because you have chickens. They were here long before us and have just as much right to be here as we do. The best deterent for any predator is a secure coop. Good luck!

 

[sourland]

If two separate groups of dogs were alarming, I would guess that there was another bobcat in the area. They will travel in family groups of a mother and young until the young are old enough to disperse. If you free range, do so carefully.

 

[bryan99705]

If it happens again, dispose of the cat. Otherwise, give up the chickens cause the cat's gonna keep returning looking for easy meals

 

[catsmithpuddin]

Quote:
x2

a bobcat is a very effecent killer, at the same time they are lazy if they find a easy meal.. If they are not held up with kits they usually have a pretty good range. BUT they will be back thru if the dogs did not get their attention. Having multiple dogs will be a great help for you.

All thet being said, dispose if you get a chance.

 

[Capvin]

I am in complete disagreement with those who would advocate killing a bobcat. We get visits by bobcats continuosly and, in fact, I posted a picture of one caught on my critter cam. It is not hard to get your coop and run bobcat proof and I really would suggest doing that rather then killing the bobcat. If it were a rat or a racoon, I would feel differently, but we do not kill bobcat, bear, or fox and we get them all.

 

[Fritatta]

this is what i caught on critter cam last night:

is THIS a bobcat?? And can I get it in a trap? what bait??

 

[Buff-Island-Australorp]

Quote:
Ummm.....that's not a bobcat. Looks more like a domesticated cat that might be named "Bob" though!!

 

[Capvin]

Obviously NOT a bobcat

 

[Capvin]

This is a bobcat caught on our cam a couple of nights ago