Pack of coyotes circling the coop last night...

[mamabahre]

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Gotta love a good Lab mix! How does yours do with the birds?

not so great at all. She is amazingly submissive with humans. She's an alpha to almost every dog she meets and she wants to rip our birds apart.
She circles the run and then does the "stare" that hunting stare that scares me...I never EVER let her outside without someone out there anyway and this is one more reason...
We have some new 6 week old babies on the other side of the property and she really REALLY wants to even those even more than the adults. She has lunged at the big dog crate they are in outside and I have kept her leashed today and yesterday just so she wouldn't scare them to death.

I personally think with her long legs and snout she is part pointer too. She points VERY well and holds it for a long time....I love her but I will never ever trust her with our birds. She's got a very very high prey drive to begin with.

Your dog seems pretty mellow around the birds...

 

[aprophet]

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almost the same here when someone calls and tells me they are missing small dogs it is almost always yotes some times when they are missing cats it will be foxes but not often

 

[Delmar]

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My dog is a little hard to figure out. He is terribly smart and terribly protective of any threat. He will chase any animal that he can get a rise out of, but if they are not nervous, or threatening around him he will leave them alone. He is like that with kids too. The babies and toddlers love him and have no fear of him, but I have to keep him away from the ones who are old enough to show a little fear, because he will make them very afraid!

Likewise I had a chick that lived 3 days and I had zero fear, once I told him "no" that he would attack her. He just smelled her and nuzzled her with his nose. If I can get Mrs Delmar to go along with the plan I will, within two years, replace all the adult birds in my flock with birds that grew up with Ziggy. (though it might be good enough just to replace the roos) I am certain that we will be able to turn him lose while we free range, at that point.

 

[Rockportcrpntr]

I have a coop and run in a fairly thickly settled small town. Close neighbors have had daytime visits by yotes killing and taking free ranging birds. My run has a solar charged fence and in the two years since getting the fence I haven't lost a bird. So far fences work. Plus there's the added benefit of the flock foraging and fertilizing the property.

 

[Yardbirds286]

Coyotes are creepy. Do you have a TSC or other store that sells farm supplies close to you? If so get some electric fence insulators, and some 14 gage wire (enough to go around the top and bottom). Run a hot wire 6" off the ground and about 8" from the top of the fence. You don't have to break the bank to get an energizer that will work well either. Ours plugs into the house off an extension cord. It is the best defense against coons, coyotes, and pesky neighbor dogs I have seen. Well worth it. Good luck

 

[Katydid2011]

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I didn't expect to try this today, but not an hour after I posted this a strong wind came along and took down my tractor. (not as bad as it looks)
http://i901.photobucket.com/albums/ac214/deardelmar/th_tractordown.jpg

So I got out the cable and tied him up while I put the tractor back up. He didn't bark, he didn't pull on the cable. He barley even seemed to notice the chickens were there! In fact he stayed completely silent until the neighbors yip yip dog came out to play. I expect him to chase off that little rag mop. It is his job after all!

http://i901.photobucket.com/albums/ac214/deardelmar/Ziggycalm.jpg?t=1304192160

I got the tractor back up and made some changes to make it more sturdy while the chickens were free ranging. After about an hour and a half one of the girls decided to go back in the tractor, the rest followed and I closed the door. I couldn't be happier with my birds or prouder of my puppy right now!
http://i901.photobucket.com/albums/ac214/deardelmar/tactor.jpg?t=1304192555

I am certain that the girls will be happier and healthier if I can let them free range several times a week!

What a good boy!

A kiss on the head for Ziggy!

 

[crtrlovr]

So sorry to burst your bubble here, but they definitely WILL come out during the day. I lost several chickens and 2 guineas to a coyote over a period of a few weeks, ALL during the day. The white guinea (SOB! She was so BEAUTIFUL!) was snatched at 11:30 a.m. while she (and the other chickens & guineas) were following the lawn mower eating grass clippings and bugs. I was on the riding mower, and had just made a pass from the back of the yard (approx. 1 acre) to the front, and she had been about 1/4 of the way between the back and the front. As I got to the front and turned to make the next pass toward the back, I saw a pile of white feathers.... just that quick. Broad daylight, while I was running a lawn mower -- that coyote wasn't the least bit scared. My alpha rooster (RIR, Sarge) lost his life trying to defend his girls. I had a perma-net electric web fence that I never could get un-grounded, and that was their run. They figured out how to duck under the webbing at the bottom (sometimes it would have loose areas that I couldn't get tightened no matter how I set the posts -- should have gotten some tent rope pegs) and would get out of the fence. (The permanet is now the "daytime" run that keeps them (mostly) contained in the back yard for free ranging time). The ones I lost had crawled under the fencing. Losing my beloved Sarge was the last straw. My DH (bless his heart!) sprung for a 6' high chain link run approx. 175' long x 100' wide. Some of the little show-offs can still fly over it (need to trim some wings, or get it covered again -- I'd just finished covering my entire run less than 2 weeks before the ice storm of 09-10 hit and brought it all down, along with many trees), but when we have to be gone during the day, I still feel a little better about it. Don't be complacent about the coyotes, though -- they're bold, they're smart, and they're determined.

 

[redheadmama13]

We, too, lost a number of hens in broad daylight to a coyote. Last fall there was one that would come and follow my husband while he was on the lawn mower. Way too bold for comfort. Someone shot it late one night and we haven't had problems since. I wish I had a better solution for you.

 

[crtrlovr]

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no, no, no!!! for several reasons: you can NOT guarantee what animal will find the poison laced meat -- what if somebody's kitty has happened to be out past dark and finds this opportune meal on its way home, or somebody's beloved dog that slipped out the door past its owner or a houseguest? Maybe your own (if you have one) pet or a neighbor's pet would come across this tempting but deadly snack. If you can't be CERTAIN what's going to be eating it, not worth the chance. Another (and most important IMHO) reason is that antifreeze causes an EXTREMELY painful, lingering, miserable death. It causes renal failure, toxins build up in the body, and the animal dies in excruciating pain. Think about humans and dialysis -- dialysis is done to rid the body of the toxins the kidneys can no longer remove. Without dialysis humans die in absolute misery and agony. Don't put an animal through that kind of torment, no matter how much you want to protect your flock. Find a way to either make sure they're safe behind their run and house doors, or dispatch the predator, but most of all, do it (or find someone who CAN do it) HUMANELY. *steps down from soapbox now*

 

[Bev in Nevada]

Dont use poison, the food chain will be affected from it. Everything within the food chain!
When I lived in California (San Diego) we had a horrible coyote problem. The outlet to the canyon where they lived was blocked by construction of a large Sr. Home. So for a good three years they hunted within the canyon but used it up. When they had no more food, they started coming up into the yards of the homes that were on the canyon rim. (eating trash, dogs, cats and what ever they could find) One horrible Sunday morning, I was awoke by a banging on my front door, it was my neighbors kid. "come fast, the coyotes!" Long story short, they went into the garage through a doggy door, killed "momma" Aust. Cattle dog (anyone who knows the breed knows that is not an easy task when pups are around) and killed 9 of 11 pups. Animal Control in San Diego does not handle anything wild life to that extent. Through "Weights and Measures" we were able to get a Fish and Game Trapper to come out. He SPECIFICALLY said, "once they know food is there, they will not quit". His choice was steel jaw traps because within the city limits he could not shoot to kill. SOOO, my thoughts......*IF* you cannot shoot to kill, then Ft Knox needs to be built. The Trapper told us that they can go over a 6ft chain link fence (which is how they got into my neighbors yard) and they will pull fencing out until they are able to get under it (not usually digging under)
Best of luck to you, I am so glad that I was able to put my chickens in the middle of our property with my Malinois' yard around them. So far so good, coyotes dont seem to want to try to get pass the malinois