Protecting Pasture Chickens from Coyotes, Owls and Hawks

[DuckMama9]

I just started a new job at a local pasture raised chicken farm. Our mission at Alcove Farms is to sow, grow, and restore. We pasture raise cattle and about 3,000 organically fed laying hens on 160 acres. We sell our eggs at the local grocery stores and farmer’s markets. We have been having issues with predator attacks from coyotes and hawks mostly and occasionally an owl attack. We keep two great pyranees flock guardian dogs out in the field with the hens and it seems that sometimes they run off the predators but we still have had some losses due to these predators. Coyotes are getting in by digging under the perimeter fence. Our farm is 160 acres of flat, open pasture neighboring flat open fields of cotton. We use four large mobile coops, although the not all the hens opt to roost in the coops at night...several hundred just hang out outside at night. Any suggestions to stop these predator attacks?

 

[centrarchid]

You are having similar problems I had. Your dogs are likely too spread out or cannot cover the whole area. I had to increase number of dogs. We also have roosters that do work on hawks from cover. The cover approach I use would likely not be effective in a commercial setting.

At home my dogs have been setup so they can go through / over fencing. Dogs easy to beat when predator can use fencing against dogs. My dogs also more adaptable to training than LGD's so maybe consider a more biddable breed with higher prey drive to push area dogs can cover.

Could you provide a Google Earth image of property with paddocks shown?

 

[centrarchid]

Depending on type of perimeter fence, you might be able to use a single strand of hotwire to stop the digging.

 

[Howard E]

Would be curious to see pictures of the mobile coops.

Who is doing the most damage? Coyotes or Hawks?

If this is a permanent setup......an effective electric fence around the perimeter is doable to keep the coyotes at arm's length, and that can be supplemented by an aggressive trapping program to thin the herd so to speak.

Hawks are a different issue.....but photos of the coops and area would help.

How often are the coops moved and how far when you do?

 

[Sheltiepawz]

With that much space if i were you i would add a donkey or 2, and some guineas. The guineas will be your best lookouts for hawks and owls and sound the alarm . You will not find any critter better at sighting them. My dogs take heed and imediately go investigate when the guineas sound alarm.
Donkeys burros and mules HATE coyotes and will kill them if given a chance. The only problem with them is they may also hate your dogs.
Some people add geese as chicken guards.

Donkeys and mules do hate coyotes. I saw my neighbors mule and donkey chasing a coyote down once. Unfortunately they also hate dogs also and will do the same.

 

[50-45-1]

With that much space if i were you i would add a donkey or 2, and some guineas. The guineas will be your best lookouts for hawks and owls and sound the alarm . You will not find any critter better at sighting them. My dogs take heed and imediately go investigate when the guineas sound alarm.
Donkeys burros and mules HATE coyotes and will kill them if given a chance. The only problem with them is they may also hate your dogs.
Some people add geese as chicken guards.

 

[50-45-1]

although the not all the hens opt to roost in the coops at night...several hundred just hang out outside at night.

Are the coops locked up at night? If not a racoon will be your next problem.
Chickens that stay outside at night are an owls buffet.

 

[cmom]

I have pastured my birds too but not anymore due to the losses. I do have large pens. I have electric wire around the coops and pens and heavy duty netting covering the pens. Several years ago I had a coyote jump over a 5' fence into a smaller pen it jumped back out and so did some of the birds. It did kill some of the birds. I got a shot at it but had bird shot in my gun. I pretty sure I hit it but of course didn't kill it. I have my pens covered with heavy duty netting to protect the birds from aerial predators. I caught this one the night before last.

 

[50-45-1]

Wow, what a beautiful owl!
Now that you have caught him, what are you going to do with him?

 

[cmom]

I called some wildlife people and they came and got it. Here is the same owl busting through some crappy netting that I have since replaced. It went through the netting three times. Each time I replaced it with more of the crappy netting because that is all I had at the time. When I bought it online I thought it was different. The ad was deceptive. I bought more good heavy duty netting since. I moved the birds to another coop and pen which was covered with heavy duty netting. I put a camera in the original pen it had killed a couple of birds in and it came back. The owl found the pen I moved the birds to, it couldn't plow through the netting and got caught in it. I have several coops and pens but for whatever reason it was after my White Leghorns.