Coyote in broad daylight!

[lefttowrite]

I live on 4 acres in a rural area and we’ve always had coyotes. But we only hear them at night, and far off.

Today, however, my husband spotted one sneaking toward the coop at 10 in the morning! Broad daylight! He was scoping out our house, too. Just one, so I wonder if he is scouting for a larger group.

We’ve added more hardware cloth to our already aproned, locked, and covered coop/run and I’m going to dump some human urine around the perimeter of the area tonight. Any other ideas for deterrent? We have a rifle, but I’d really rather scare him off than unalive him if possible.

*Editing to say I’ve seen on other threads that LGDs are pretty effective against coyotes and other predators, but we are not in a position to get a dog right now. We also don’t have power run to the coop, so a hot wire might be out of the question too.

This is the first instance of predation I’ve encountered in the year or so I’ve had these girls, and so far I’ve mostly been worried about/aware of hawks. My flock has had a lot of unsupervised free range time in the evenings lately, and it gives me chills to think of how close a call that’s been.

 

[Evadig]

I live on 4 acres in a rural area and we’ve always had coyotes. But we only hear them at night, and far off.

Today, however, my husband spotted one sneaking toward the coop at 10 in the morning! Broad daylight! He was scoping out our house, too. Just one, so I wonder if he is scouting for a larger group.

We’ve added more hardware cloth to our already aproned, locked, and covered coop/run and I’m going to dump some human urine around the perimeter of the area tonight. Any other ideas for deterrent? We have a rifle, but I’d really rather scare him off than unalive him if possible.

This is the first instance of predation I’ve encountered in the year or so I’ve had these girls, and I’ve mostly been worried about hawks. My flock has had a lot of unsupervised free range time in the evenings lately, and it gives me chills to think of how close a call that’s been.

I'm of no help, but I totally understand your fright! I see you live in northern MI. My grandparents lived there too. One afternoon we were visiting and sitting around in the yard, with my cocker spaniel off leash just nosing around, when we realized a coy-wolf was watching us not fifty feet away. Eva was never outside without a leash after that!

 

[Mrs. K]

If I lose one during the day, it is mostly coyotes. Two years ago, a family nearly wiped me out.

 

[123RedBeard]

In the daytime it's easier to get a good shot into them ... They won't be back, and any of their buddies that may be watching from a distance may decide to go hunting somewhere else!

 

[Awaytome]

You can get a solar energizer for electric fencing.

 

[Mrichard0606]

I live on 4 acres in a rural area and we’ve always had coyotes. But we only hear them at night, and far off.

Today, however, my husband spotted one sneaking toward the coop at 10 in the morning! Broad daylight! He was scoping out our house, too. Just one, so I wonder if he is scouting for a larger group.

We’ve added more hardware cloth to our already aproned, locked, and covered coop/run and I’m going to dump some human urine around the perimeter of the area tonight. Any other ideas for deterrent? We have a rifle, but I’d really rather scare him off than unalive him if possible.

*Editing to say I’ve seen on other threads that LGDs are pretty effective against coyotes and other predators, but we are not in a position to get a dog right now. We also don’t have power run to the coop, so a hot wire might be out of the question too.

This is the first instance of predation I’ve encountered in the year or so I’ve had these girls, and so far I’ve mostly been worried about/aware of hawks. My flock has had a lot of unsupervised free range time in the evenings lately, and it gives me chills to think of how close a call that’s been.

How has it been with coyotes I literally just posted about one in middle of day went in my pond 15 ft away from me after my ducks !! Got my 1 chicken day before that I thought was from hawk I’ve been seeing them swoop past 2 wks thought it was a hawk but clearly was this coyote.

 

[Mrs. K]

Very seldom do you see them, it is probably a young one, a little inexperienced. In my experience (and it has been extensive) you seldom see them, and often don't hear anything, all of a sudden a bird is just gone in the middle of the day.

I have been down cleaning the coop, go to the bard to get fresh bedding and got back to my rooster and a hen gone. Quick and fast.

Once I was butchering roosters, killed one laid him on the table and went back for the second, when I got him and came to the table, the first one was gone.

A lot of time, especially if no one else near you has chickens, they don't bother them at first - BUT ONCE THEY FIND YOU they will be back.

3 years ago, this time of year - I think I had a pack come through, lost nearly my entire flock, three made escaped.

This time of year is often when the young ones start hunting on their own, and they will love chickens.

A couple of weeks ago, I posted, lost my rooster and a hen. I am in complete lock down, 24/7 and will stay that way until they bring the cattle in for fall work. Cattle in the home pasture kind of will make them move on.

Mrs K

 

[Mrichard0606]

Very seldom do you see them, it is probably a young one, a little inexperienced. In my experience (and it has been extensive) you seldom see them, and often don't hear anything, all of a sudden a bird is just gone in the middle of the day. P

I have been down cleaning the coop, go to the bard to get fresh bedding and got back to my rooster and a hen gone. Quick and fast.

Once I was butchering roosters, killed one laid him on the table and went back for the second, when I got him and came to the table, the first one was gone.

A lot of time, especially if no one else near you has chickens, they don't bother them at first - BUT ONCE THEY FIND YOU they will be back.

3 years ago, this time of year - I think I had a pack come through, lost nearly my entire flock, three made escaped.

This time of year is often when the young ones start hunting on their own, and they will love chickens.

A couple of weeks ago, I posted, lost my rooster and a hen. I am in complete lock down, 24/7 and will stay that way until they bring the cattle in for fall work. Cattle in the home pasture kind of will make them move on.

Mrs K

Oh wow that’s amazing advice - I’m being told since I possibly shot his butt or at least scared him they won’t be back. But no one has chickens around me I’m in middle of woods and I’m hearing more coyotes lately. My GP has been going bananas at night ! I feel like they’ll be back and I want to be ready. They sound soooo sneaky so now I won’t even run inside to make dinner quick. Thank you !

 

[ChicNmom]

We lost my favorite hen a week and a half ago to a coyote. We put extra motion sensors where it got through the woods and put radios in the woods.

Sunday I was outside taking grapes off the stems for jelly, surrounded by chickens hoping for reject grapes and I hear gunfire.

Some sensors had gone off and my husband snuck out and saw it sitting on the hillside. I'm hoping he hit it and it has a festering infected wound!

Once they get a meal they will keep coming back. This keeps happening around 2-3 pm.

You need to "un alive"it.

We had been doing the urine dump for years and then, since we had no problems my husband stopped doing it.

He's doing it again but I don't know how much of a deterrent it will be to this persistent coyote.

 

[LoveChickens27]

Once a fox came and tried to get our chickens when they were free, and I had just gone inside to put a UPS package in the house, when I heard a lot of squawking and, lo and behold, there was a fox routing (or something like that) up our chickens, our chickens had run everywhere and 2 had gone up the street! The fox I scared away, and I do believe that I roared at it because I was so scared and mad. Well, they all lived, but they were very cautious after that and so was I.