Saw a freaking BOBCAT this morning! Help with ideas?

[bheila]

I went out this morning to feed the goats and check on the chickens. There is a huge pine tree out back by the corner of the fenced chicken run. All of a sudden I hear this scratching from what I thought was a raccoon coming down the tree. So I run to get a huge branch and let one of my dogs out to run it off. As soon as I get to the back corner I notice that this animal isn't running so fast and its HUGE!

When I finally realized it wasn't a raccoon and instead it was a bobcat. I called the dog off. It casually walked about 100 feet and then just turned and looked at me. I screamed and banged my stick. It didn't phase it at all. It scared me to death. I couldn't believe how big it looked. I'm sure most of it was fur, but holy cow. Now I feel like I can't protect my chickens from any kind of predator. We'll be hooking up the electric fence ASAP. I know that probably won't deter it much but I'm not sure what else we can do. Anyone else have any ideas how I can protect my chickies?

 

[EllyMae]

HOw big are your dogs? I'm asking because we have bobcats too and my dogs do a pretty good job deterring them. I have a shepherd and a basset.

 

[The Chicken Lady]

What kind of wire do you have around your run? Is the run covered? How reinforced are the coop windows? Do you shut the pophole door every night? These are the first things I thought of.

 

[bheila]

I have an English Bulldog and a Lab/Pit mix. This bobcat was as big as my Lab/Pit mix. The last time I sent my biggest dog after the coons she got bit(the coon was corner though). So I held her off from the bobcat for fear of something worse.

 

[PortageGirl]

WOW! Hopefully it [edit] (it being the fence) will zap him/her just right and offend him/her. NO idea otherwise, cause they're smart and curious as a... well, you know!

A friend in Colorado told me that even though they CAN beat a dog up, or get around human preventative measures, doesn't mean they want to bother. I know they don't like the noise of dogs yelling at them and if there's other game around, hopefully they'll stick with rabbits and such. *crosses fingers for bheila and her brood*

 

[Imp]

Bheila,
A couple months ago there were pixs on the news of bobcats in yards in Fairwood. Made me a little nervous also. Good Luck!

 

[EllyMae]

I didn't mean I would send my dogs after a bobcat or coon, I just meant that their presence has been enough to keep them out of my livestock. I guess I should knock on wood now, lol.
I also have a pug but she could be lunch for a coyote or bobcat, ugh.
Coyote and bobcats are usually shy towards people...the only one that has ever been aggressive towards me was rabid. Now that was scary.

 

[bheila]

Quote:
We've never had problems in the coop at night. We have field fencing for our run. It's the same as what we use for the goats. It's only 4' though. The run is covered but it's not wire, it's only plastic netting that deters the hawks. So far the bobcat hasn't gotten anything

, but now he knows where all of his future meals will be coming from. I normally don't keep the dogs out all of the time. I have a dog who likes to go for walks with strangers who deliver mail. She does a good job scaring the coons away though.

 

[bheila]

Quote:
I know, I wasn't scared until it stopped walking away from me. It just turned around and sat there looking at me(evil looking too). Then I turned away really slow but kept my eye on it and got to the coop door just incase I needed to get inside and close the door. I seriously thought at one point it was going to come after me.

 

[Imp]

Occasionally there are stray dogs loose around here. When they are out, I do all my front yard, yardwork with a pitchfork by my side. Got tired of retreating. Backyard is completely fenced. Glad I haven't seen any bobcats, mtn lions or anything else like that here.