Which breeds lay the bigger eggs? And anyone have any suggestions for Coyote troubles?

[craftiekids]

I had 67 hens and 4 roosters before the Coyotes came, now I have a small flock of 11 birds. I let them out during the day to free range and coop them at night and really bad weather. I had a good egg selling thing going and now I have to rebuild my flock. I've only been raising heritage breeds. I put kennel fence all around it and on top. They had been getting in from overhead. I caught one in my coop, just before I put the top on, that couldn't get out the next am. The didn't dig through but I think it won't be long before they think of that. I plan on putting some wire surrounding the outside on the ground. Don't know how far out to go. I'm in Bear Creek, NC a very rural place. The seem to only come by in the evening and over night. do they hit during the day? I hope they dont think of that. I've lost 2 outside cats and 4 small dogs too. What am I missing? Susie Q

 

[craftiekids]

And when I do rebuild my flock this spring I need large egg layers. I have 2 young light Brahma hen's that haven't started laying yet and several R.Reds, and 3 ducks. Which of the Heritage breeds lay large eggs? I had some very pretty Aracona's that had gobs of blue eggs but I don't think I'll be that lucky again. The lady I got them from sold out of all her chickens and I can't find anyone with blue egg layers. The folks I have that buy eggs from me really loved them and the really dark Maran eggs.

 

[earlybird10842]

Older birds tend to lay bigger eggs, but I don't know of any specific breeds that do (besides maybe Orpingtons)

As for predators, we had first a bear, than a fox--we live in a rural area as well. We put a radio near the chicken coop and turned it onto a rock station. We left it on 24/7, loud enough for it to be heard through the backyard, but not loud enough for us to hear in the house. The animals will not come near the constant stream of human voice.

 

[donrae]

You're going to have to have someone come in and shoot or trap those coyotes. They've learned you're offering and all-you-can -eat buffet and they have no reason to leave. I don't think at this point they'll be deterred by anything else. Food is about the most powerful motivator there is for animals, besides the mating instinct. Check with your local Fish and Wildlife to see what your options are.

For big eggs, my best bet has been red sex links. Heritage birds and large eggs/high production rates don't always go together.

 

[lazy gardener]

Leghorns give a large good feed economy egg. The coyotes will eventually show up during the day. Some folks on the Maine thread have had them brazenly skulking around in the underbrush, even when they're out in their yards. What about running several strands of electric wire around your chicken run? Are you in an area where it is safe to shoot them??

 

[Sherrillk]

So sorry about the huge loss. I have a pretty varied flock but the layers of the largest eggs, and pretty regular, are my Black Jersey Giants.

 

[craftiekids]

Thank you so much for your replies and great suggestions. I love music so that's the first thing I'm going to do and the electric fence. My husband found out we can defend our livestock and shoot them if they come after our animals.So last week "during the day" about 4:30pm a coyote came looking for dinner at the coop and found my 20yr old nephew home instead. He was playing with our twins outside, he put them in his car, the closest safe place and he got out his gun and shot it. He also shot one that was running away down into the woods. So 2 down and don't know how many are left but maybe he got them! He's in school to become a police officer so he's a great shot and thank you God he was out there with our girls. They were huge! About the size or bigger than a German Shepard dog. I'm also grateful I don't think we have bears close by. Since then no more coyotes have bothered us. Hopefully thats the end of them. So Moving on!
On of my neighbors found a lady that breeds RReds and we're going to get about 10 more and a small incubator in a few weeks. I'm also going to find some more Light Brahma's. I love their calmness and how easygoing they are. My twins (9yrs old) want to get a few bantam chicks this Easter too. Can't wait. I've made a lot of cool crafts, painted flower pots and quilts to earn enough to buy our poultry and hope to sell more of them so we can get back up to a good flock size again and start selling eggs.. Thank you again, I'll keep everyone up on our progress! Susie Q

 

[Mahlzeit]

My americauna's have always layed a large blue/green egg, barred rocks lay a good size egg as well. Glad at least a couple of the coyotes are gone.

 

[craftiekids]

I had a few of those too and they had the most pretty blue eggs. I want to find more of those. I found a man a few miles away that has White Rocks and they surprised me. I didn't know that Rocks came in white. They were fairly large birds too. My 2 Light Brahma hens are larger than my RRds but my friend says she thinks they may be small for the breed. Their perfectly feathered but only slightly larger than my other hens. Who ever is laying right now however is giving me medium chocolate eggs. I don't know what color their eggs are supposed to be. My Annie is holding
Her favorite of our Brahmas. They were last Easter's chicks so not quite a year old. My husband says our nieghbor who has cows had coyote trouble too and set traps out. We hope we got the all the trouble makers and we put extra wire down for diggers. We've had no trouble since my nephew got those other 2 so hopefully we're done with them for now. I love it when my twins come running in the house all excited with eggs they find in the backyard grass! It's just what i did when I was their age!

Susie Q

 

[ChickenCurt]

Coyotes...can you get a large dog? If so, make it an outdoor and bird friendly, I got lucky with my mutt (I introduce him to all new birds and tell him to protect his babies), but there are shepherd breeds that others recommend (sorry I cannot get specific though I, will searching soon). I have buried my perimeter fence two feet and that has kept them at bay so far. A mobile coop also keeps the digging problem away. Not sure of the land you have access to
True Black Jersey Giants hold records for large eggs but are slower to mature.
RI Reds are my favorite, more meat after they're done laying than many.
Stick to the heritage breeds for health reasons, hybrids often produce eggs too fast for their bodies to recoup and tend to waste away (especially in bone density).
Leghorns lay great but tend to have less meat.
My Orpintons and Cochins lay well but tend to get broody which is fine for hatching but problematic for production as mine will steal eggs, hide them to hatch and sometimes bad egg turns up in your collection because of it. Not a problem with mobile coops.

Something I learned recently; if you block off your nesting boxes at night that minimizes brooding and gives cleaner eggs as chicken doo where they roost.