Coyote eradication methods sought

[bobm]

As for those chain link fence... I have 6' tall chain link fence - all along the front of our 20 acre ranch. I see coyotes climb it in nothing flat ( digging takes too much effort so it is up up and over ), so whenever I see them in my pasture , the coyotes get some lead poisoning. Our neigbor has 5 foot tall no climb horse fence on an acre dry lot to house sheep at night. Between him and me, we kill at least a dozen coyotes that climb that fence and go after his sheep. Neighbor uses a .222 or a 30 30 and I use my .308. Poison bait works wonders too.

 

[ducks4you]

You might also need to put some barbed wire about a foot up around it. Feeling and praying for you, sister.

 

[thistlebloom]

Put a hot wire on top of your pig panels. I don't know what height they are, but your hot wire should be high enough that they can't just hop over it. You may need more than one strand.

I put a hot wire (3 strand) around a clients cutting garden to deter deer, and it works fantastically. I know we're talking coyotes not deer, but my point is that it's a portable charger, intended for outdoor use (as opposed to being installed under shelter). It uses 6 D cell batteries and packs a pretty good punch, as I found out accidentally. The batteries lasted 5 weeks before getting weak enough that I thought they should be changed. They would have lasted longer, but after a rain a fir tree bough that it runs partly under sagged enough to rest on the wire for a few days before I got there to check on it.

You may also want to train them to the wire with a bit of hamburger wrapped around it. That will leave a permanent impression, I guarantee it.

I second what Bob said about coyotes running up and over a 6' chain link fence.

 

[Nyboy]

Red sad truth is you need to choose between having chickens and free ranging. Unless your willing to get your own pack of LGD

 

[catjac1975]

We have talked about putting in a fence for the chickens. I guess that's gonna happen sooner rather than later.

My chickens have always been fenced. People think free rage means no fence.Free range really means no small cage. My neighbors that free range lose all their chickens eventually. Sometimes in a massacre.I know we have lots of coyote. I have only seen a few they seem afraid of people. I see many footprints that go right through my yard in the snow.

 

[baymule]

Our place is fenced in 2"x4" woven wire that is 4 feet tall. Coyotes could go right over it, but we have Great Pyrenees that protect everything.

 

[Smart Red]

I like the idea of electric fencing. I have electricity to the chicken coop so I should be able to direct wire it without relying on batteries or solar. Perhaps a couple or three strands on the outside of the enclosure? My dog could spend much of the day in with the chickens and, of course, they are locked up at night.

 

[Smart Red]

My chickens have always been fenced. People think free rage means no fence.Free range really means no small cage.

Free range means free range as long as the chickens are safe. They are not any longer. The fence gets started tomorrow morning.

 

[thistlebloom]

I like the idea of electric fencing. I have electricity to the chicken coop so I should be able to direct wire it without relying on batteries or solar. Perhaps a couple or three strands on the outside of the enclosure? My dog could spend much of the day in with the chickens and, of course, they are locked up at night.

That sounds like a good plan Red. More strands are always better than less.

 

[Beekissed]

My chickens have always been fenced. People think free rage means no fence.Free range really means no small cage. My neighbors that free range lose all their chickens eventually. Sometimes in a massacre.I know we have lots of coyote. I have only seen a few they seem afraid of people. I see many footprints that go right through my yard in the snow.

That's the USDA definition of it, but free range really means free to range...ranging meaning to walk about in a large space and usually without fences~as in cattle pastured out on range. Some free range can be conducted in areas that are large that do have boundary fencing but free range doesn't truly mean just being out of a cage. When an animal is confined to a certain space they are not free to "range", no more than cattle confined to fenced fields are able to "range".

Free ranging comes with risk but so does keeping chickens confined to a pen...I've read far more massacres conducted in a fence or pen where the chicken cannot escape the predator than I have on a free ranged flock. Mostly you'll hear of chickens getting taken out on free range when no one has taken measures to provide for some semblance of protection...usually those birds are picked off one by one as the people continue to range them under predator pressure.

I've been free ranging for almost 40 yrs and haven't suffered even a tiny percentage of the stock loss of most people I know who keep their flocks in a coop and run situation. And most of my losses were just last year...for all the years previous to that, I hadn't lost more than a handful of birds over 39 yrs.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/bees-key-points-to-successful-and-safe-free-ranging.65895/

Red, if you don't have a good farm dog that is savvy on coyotes or are not willing to get one, the electric fencing is the next best thing.