I'm down two hens :(

[PirateShipp]

Pretty sure a coyote ran off with two of our hens. We found a wing. That's it.
The husband saw one the other day in our field and since then two have come up missing.
I'm torn on what to do. I'm excited at the thought of wildlife in our area. We just moved the metro area to a more country-like setting. I enjoy seeing the deer and other wildlife.
I don't want to kill the coyotes, but I don't want my birds to die either

Suggestions?

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

Pretty sure a coyote ran off with two of our hens. We found a wing. That's it.
The husband saw one the other day in our field and since then two have come up missing.
I'm torn on what to do. I'm excited at the thought of wildlife in our area. We just moved the metro area to a more country-like setting. I enjoy seeing the deer and other wildlife.
I don't want to kill the coyotes, but I don't want my birds to die either

Suggestions?

Is your property fenced and, if so, how?

 

[JensChickies]

Electric fence maybe??

 

[PirateShipp]

All 18ish acres are fenced with either woven wire or chain link minus a road front that a drunkard drove through late fall. Its a work in progress to be fixed but its been super cold here.

Around the coop is a bit of electric to keep the cows from rubbing against the coop but that's it. We have a small run that's available to the birds when we go out of town but any other time they free range. They're pretty good about coming in at night. Its rare they don't return and if they don't, they usually turn up in morning.

 

[bobbi-j]

With coyotes running around, you will continue losing birds until the coyote is eliminated or discouraged. If they were mine, I'd keep them in a run for the time being. Mine have been in the coop/run pretty much since October when 4 went missing one afternoon. I just started letting them out a couple of weeks ago, and then lost another one to what I think may have been a Snowy Owl. So, back in the run until they go back to wherever they came from.

 

[PirateShipp]

I thought about cooping them up for a bit. I hate doing it but I just read "night hunting" for coyotes is in season where we are. I'm thinking they're being driven out of areas they normally roam. Hoping once that dies down they will go back to where they came from.

 

[hardscrabblemtn]

I started out with 25 birds 10 Rhode Island whites, 5 Plymouth rock island, 5 New Hampshire, and 5 americanas. I am down to 10 now. The RIW were the first to go, only one left. Most of them fell prey to hawks and a golden eagle that showed up then Friday a coyote chewed through the aviary netting on top of my pen and killed two more. I have them locked up while I build a new 100% enclosed run. My advice would be totally enclose them for now and maybe put them in a chicken tractor later to move around the yard.

Good luck!

 

[PirateShipp]

All the ones missing are RIW.

Thinking since they're white they're walking targets. We have one RIW hen, one silkie hen and one questionable silkie. *thought* it was a he...starting to think he is a she. hah!

 

[wwdubose]

We recently had hens go missing two evenings in a row.
On the third evening, I was waiting.