I lost a chicken to a coyote 😞 What can I do to protect my hens from further attacks?

[IamRainey]

Yeah. That protection from digging is so important. And no one ever seems to warn people that chickens will dig from the inside too. When I first got my chickens I couldn't believe how deep they could dig into my adobe clay soil! But digging in helps them stay cool in my hot climate. I have holes all over my chicken yard this time of year. You have to be paying attention when you're walking around there!

 

[3mile]

Buy a shotgun. Helps to protect your flock and home...

 

[humblehillsfarm]

I am so sorry about your sweet bird. I had the exact same thing happen while I was on vacation but the coyote got a retired laying hen. Sadly she was my rooster's mate and he's been quite despondent without her. I don't have the option to keep them in a run just yet though.

If I were you I'd keep them in their run as others said, set up electric fence. It shouldn't take more than 2-3 hours and no more than $150-200 for a basic system. You need fence posts with insulators or fiberglass rods which are insulating by themselves (this is what I used and they are much easier than t-posts), a controller, 17-guage wire, a grounding rod and about 5' if 9-guage wire for the ground and that's it! I second the shotgun, but make sure coyotes are legal to kill. In my state they are free game year round but you still need a hunting license.

My heart is with you <3

 

[donddon]

A nice crossbow won't alarm the neighbors...just sayin'

 

[Gtstricky]

Buy a camera (Wyze cams are good and cheap) and see if the coyote has a pattern of coming around. If so, you know when to put the shells in the shotgun

 

[reddogmaster2]

Thank you for your advice. I don’t have a shotgun, but I think I might have to get one with all of these predators

@Starburst

If you do go the firearm route, please make sure to learn the 4 Safety Rules (Col Jeff Cooper) and get some training on the use of the shotgun. Coyotes are smart and extremely cunning when it comes to outwitting their hunters.

Best of luck!

 

[reddogmaster2]

Buy a camera (Wyze cams are good and cheap) and see if the coyote has a pattern of coming around. If so, you know when to put the shells in the shotgun

An unloaded firearm is nothing but a stick.

 

[Starburst]

So sorry for your loss, it is so hard when this happens.
In addition to having a really safe coop and run, consider electric fencing or electrified poultry netting to expand their space during the day safely. neither protects from raptors, but will do well for most ground predators.
I also don't have my birds free ranging when there's a farm sitter situation; easier for the caretaker to have the flock in all the time, and safer for the birds. It's too bad that there was confusion about this, so next time have things in writing too.
Mary

Thank you for your advice. I will definitely look into electric fencing. I had all of the things the caretaker needed to do on paper as well, but I think she got confuses when we were talking and I was telling her I usually free-range the chickens and explaining that she shouldn’t unless she was with them, and her taking it that she should free range when she was at the home. I’ll make sure to clarify next time to not free range at all.

 

[Starburst]

So sorry about your girl! It is times like this that make you hate nature...
I second the vote of using pavers up against the edges of your run. I laid down hardware wire skirting, laid my pavers over the top of the skirt around the edges of the run, and secured them against the edges with landscape pegs so no animal could pull them backwards. Hope that makes sense! Try to enjoy the rest of your island time for the rest of us!

Thank you. I will definitely be getting that onto my run as soon as possible

 

[Starburst]

Yeah. That protection from digging is so important. And no one ever seems to warn people that chickens will dig from the inside too. When I first got my chickens I couldn't believe how deep they could dig into my adobe clay soil! But digging in helps them stay cool in my hot climate. I have holes all over my chicken yard this time of year. You have to be paying attention when you're walking around there!

I know what you mean with chickens digging! A lot of my chickens that don’t fly out dig their way out