Hello all My family and I will be moving to northern Ontario in two weeks to start a farm. We're going to have chickens, ducks, rabbits and pigs to start with and then add from there next spring. The biggest challenge I've had so far has been the chickens! The rest of our livestock we will be buying down south and trailering up with us (couldn't find any local) but we were able to acquire a flock of chickens (mixed laying hens) via the internet. I just got word yesterday though that a pack of coyotes decimated the flock! We were pretty shocked and upset about this, although it is one of those challenges we'll be facing up there we're confident our fencing plans will keep this from happening to us. Our current problem is finding more chickens! All I've been able to find is hatching eggs, so now I've got to figure out how to transport them 900 miles while keeping incubation temps steady. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
There are a couple of things you can do about yotes. You can shoot them (not sure what the laws on that are, check your local area). Everyone I spoke to here in VT has said the same thing, they shoot them on sight. We have a known pack up here on our hill (i've seen their tracks in the winter and it's like a freeway up on the mountain above). I've also heard them at night and early morning. Our yard is fenced in and then the run is chicken wired as well and we have dogs around all the time, but know this, coyotes are extremely smart aggressive predators. We are also using a thing called Nite Guard solar powered predator eyes. I installed them in all four directions or approaches to the shed. The basic concept is that a blinking light comes on at dusk and stays on all night. You adjust the placement height on the fence line by what predator you're expecting. It makes the predator out there think there is a bigger predator watching them back. Up here the Yotes are afraid of the big cats so ours are placed a tad higher than the average yote. Motion sensor solar lights can help too but it won't stop them. Little known yote fact: Coyotes must eat to stay warm. Their digestion system provides them with primary warming. This means that a yote must eat his body weight in protein each week during winter. (imagine if we had to do that!). Anyway, the colder it is, the more motivated they will become. I saw a pack of yotes completely change a landscape where I used to hunt on private land a few years back. One year the place was full of life, lots of squirrels, rabbits, chips and yes WHITE TAILED DEER. I pulled my biggest buck ever out of that area (dressed out at 185) the year before. That summer when I began checking my stand areas and trails I noticed some kill sites with bones of things like possums or racoons etc that had been killed. I found more than one pile of bones. I also found what I thought was a den. When hunting season rolled around the first morning I heard them. I heard them yipping and yapping like crazy. Saw no deer that day. The next morning I hunted a different stand and heard a huge buck snorting and wheezing and stomping his foot but I couldn't see anything (I get into my stand way before first light). It sounded like he was panicked and then he ran right toward the stand crashing through brush like a train. Then I heard the light patter of what was chasing him run by the tree as well (I was 20ft in the air). I saw them hunting later in the day one gunmetal gray COYdog and one tan yote. I knew the area was toast and saw no other deer that season. The owner reported having seen two yotes chase a full grown buck through the front yard at 7am!
so glad to have you join us. I don't hatch, but think carrying the eggs in coolers would be a lot easier than in incubators. But if you have already started the hatchings, I would suggest you pose the question to the Hatching Forums to get advice. You can try searching for folks in your new home area on the "where am I, where are you" forums - maybe someone can help you locate a local breeder to obtain pullets? So sorry about the loss of your flock, but for sure those coyotes will still be coming back. And would suggest you post your fencing plans under the "predators" forums to get some experienced opines. Good luck with the move, better luck with your future flocks.
Greetings from Kansas, and . Great to have you aboard. Wow! Northern Ontario. That will present some livestock keeping challenges. I have no idea on how to keep those temps where they need to be for the 900 mile trip. Have you explored getting chicks from Canadian hatcheries? I have read more than a couple posts the last few weeks about people looking to acquire baby chicks in Canada. Is this a possibility for you?
Thanks for the replies! The flock we were getting- they basically had them free ranging with only electric fence to keep out predators. We're going to have pens- pallet fences buried underground with above ground wire on top of the pallets, then electric running along the outside to dissuade predators. We've also got livestock guarding dogs, guns and a trapper for persistent predators. They'll also be locked up in the barn at night so I'm not as concerned about our survival chances, though it's definitely going to be a learning curve for us! The best plan I came up with for transport is styrofoam coolers with some sort of heat source- hot water bottle maybe? Then wood shaving/hay for insulation then eggs.. digital thermometer to monitor temps as we drive. Any better ideas?
Please post at "Canadians, check in here." You may be able to find what you want when you arrive. Welcome to Backyard Chickens
Welcome to Backyard chickens!! I hope you enjoy it and the camaraderie here and everybody that goes nuts over chickens (me being one of them....) Have fun! And ask questions!
