A coyote found my chickens and I am in a panic

[dylster]

Shoot shoot bang bang

 

[egglayinfool]

I just got my birds Friday and a pack came through last night about 20 ft from the coop. I wasn't prepared for them to 'catch on' so quick.
We have bush all around us and wildlife is abundant so it was expected.
I agree with the comments of most- you need to dispatch one of them as a deterrent.
The birds are in the coop at night so other than the nervous factor they are safe. It's more the foxes,hawks and owls during the day that worry me.

 

[cntrywmnkw]

In answer to your questions, YES, they will be back, Yes, they'll bring friends & Yes, you definitely NEED to replace the chicken wire with something A LOT stronger. The only thing chicken wire is good for is keeping chickens in. My run has 2 x 4 welded wire with 1/2" hardware cloth around the bottom 2 feet & buried down about 6-8 inches & lined with bricks to try & deter any diggers. .Also the comments about running an electric wire around bottom is a very good idea, another line of defense. Don't hesitate to shoot any you see

 

[aprophet]

Yep to the above. Shoot it and leave the skin somewhere where the others will see it and smell it, it helps keep the pack away when they know one of theirs has been killed.

they do not have a thought process they only respond to biological triggers ( Pavlovs dog) most times they will eat the one you killed

 

[frigginchi]

 

[shmccarthy]

Yes they will be back. Coyotes will do anything and everything to get to a food source. We had a pack find our coop 3 years ago. They dug under the coop and 3 feet under the buried fence and ripped open the door and killed every last one of them.
We learned from this and didn't use chicken wire anymore, and put heavy rocks buried all around under the coop and fence.
I live in Michigan right on the edge of 600 acres that a friend of mine lives on. There's a large pack of coyotes that prowl around. They know I have chickens. They got in my neighbors coop and wiped out their flock and moved onto mine. I have a chain link dog fence around my run that's buried a couple feet. I also have large stones buried and stacked about a foot high around the perimeter. Because my run is only 5.5 feet high, I also have the top fenced. Coyotes have trie countless times and haven't been able to get in. The crafty coons haven't been able to either. The foxes stopped trying to dig under. The hawks can't get in. I have predator proofed *knock on wood* my coop and it didn't take too long. I would highly recommend dog fence, and if you're worried about raccoons reaching their hands through, wrap the inside in fencing too. The stones buried and stacked around the outside have really helped too. Nothing has been able to dig under.

In the meantime, I would grab yourself a .22 or a .17 with either ballistic tips or hollow points. They may seem small caliber but those .17s really pack a punch.

And this may be an old redneck wives tale, but if you kill one, hang it from a tree nearby. When the pack sees its member, they won't ever return. That's what I've heard at least.

 

[coloradoalice]

they do not have a thought process they only respond to biological triggers ( Pavlovs dog) most times they will eat the one you killed

Well I just know we were told to do that if we got one. One of our neighbors shot one last year and hung the carcass on his fence. We had no coyote issues last summer. Coincidence? Maybe but it was very interesting. The entire pack that was howling every night just up and moved out.

 

[halo]

They're pretty easy to catch in a trap, too, if you dont want to shoot them. Then maybe a neighbor or friend will dispatch of it for you.

 

[blucoondawg]

A coyote is not overly easy to trap, they are one of the smartest species of fur bearing animal around, to catch one you must know what you are doing, they are very sensitive to human scent and if you leave any around your trap setup they will not go near it no matter what you bait it with.

 

[bobbi-j]

A coyote is not overly easy to trap, they are one of the smartest species of fur bearing animal around, to catch one you must know what you are doing, they are very sensitive to human scent and if you leave any around your trap setup they will not go near it no matter what you bait it with.

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