Tag Archives: chicken predators

15 tips to keeping the predators away from your backyard chicken

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It is a fact that there are a large number of animals that can be found in the domain of poultry. In fact, the most number of animals are found in the poultry houses all over the world. But there is nothing worse than the predators attacking your animals or birds. The poultry predators like nothing more than having a delicious dinner i.e. the meat of the poultry. This problem of  predation has always been around from the very start. In the olden days, people did use to keep the poultry animals in a number of different settings. In order to protect their animals, they did make use of a number  of strategies and tips. Things can get more demanding for you if you are new to the business of poultry, as you might not be aware of the fact that what kind of animals might come to attack your poultry chickens.Furthermore, those who have poultry businesses in the cities do not care much about the attacks as they think that the animals might not come to attack the animals. But this over confidence from their side can indeed be misleading. So, for those who are in search of some tips for keeping chickens in the backyard then below are the 15 tips which might come in handy for protecting chicken from predators.

1-Digging a Trench

Try digging a trench around the areas of the entire coop. The Trench should be at least 12 inches in depth, so that the digging chicken predators might also not attack.

2-Train the Birds

Offer some sort of training to the birds and animals to return to the houses every evening. After that you should make sure that all houses are closed, otherwise it would be open chance for the predators for chicken to have a meal of their lifetime. If you have been raising chickens in the coop, then they would naturally come to return to the houses, but for some other animals you would be required to offer some sort of training to them.

3-Raising the Chicken Coop

Keeping the chicken coop raised at all times is one of the best strategies for offering your backyard chickens with some protection. Also try to make sure that the floor is always tight and durable enough to resist the attacks from the underside.

4-Use Welding Wires or Wire Fencing

Offer the chicken run with some covering and also make use of cross wiring in order to turn down the attacks made by hawks and other flying predators.

5-Meshed Fencing

Make the maximum use of meshed fencing materials, as there are some predators that easily cross the normal fences. Examples of these animals include racoons and many other dexterous animals.

raccons

6. Use Galvanized Hardware

Burying galvanized pieces of hardware and other clothing materials around the perimeters of the area where the chickens are kept. This strategy is also useful for those animals which have the capacity to dig into the place from underneath.

galanized material

7. Use Night Lights

Provide the area with some night lights and motion sensors which might come in handy in keeping the predators away and keeping the chickens safe. You can also make use of a solar night guard which is specially designed for the detection of predators in the area.

night light

8. Make use of Friendly Dogs

Offer some protection to your animals by making use of some friendly dogs.

dog at chicken coop

9. Be Ready

Always be prepared for action as soon as you get to know that there are some predators around. This is another important measure in order to protect chickens from predators.

10. Use professional Help

Try and consult with the professionals in this regard. There are a number of companies that provide materials, devices as well as guidance for the protection of the animals at all times.

11. Mark a danger Zone

Always create a danger zone around the area where the animals are kept. The zone would be dedicated as a predator zone.

12. Plant Numerous Bushes around the Zone

Make use of as many bushes as you can, to offer some resistance to the predators that might come to attack the area.

13. Make use of Automated Chicken Coop Doors

This is useful to avoid the possibility of coop door remained open

automated chicken coop door

14. Communication with the care takers

Communicate with the chicken sitters and people responsible for the protection at the night time and offer them all the above mentioned advices.

15. Keep the Trash out

Keep the Garbage and other smelly stuff away from the coop, so that urban predators might not come to smell them.

 

Tips for keeping coyote away from your chicken or livestock

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Coyotes belong to a class of animals which are considered to be very smart, innovative and opportunistic. Their smartness can be analyzed from the fact that they can drop the lunch boxes to the school children by chasing them. Number of coyotes are increasing day by day that is why they are becoming brave and courageous. They are also getting used to the human environment now. So in order to save the humans and coyotes from any mishaps, we have to stop them from going to the places where human activities are taking place or retraining them far in the forest. The following article will explain some steps of how to protect chicken from predators  like coyotes or keep coyotes away from your other livestock.

The steps are:

 1)      Fences:

 Usage of fences can really reduce the risk of getting any harm from coyotes.  As the coyotes are wise enough to jump and dig, so the fence should be approximately 1.8 meters (6 ft) high and 30 cm (I ft)under the ground. Moreover the spacing between the fences should be less than 4 inches. These fences should be a necessary part of farms having livestock as a hungry  livestock or chicken predator cannot resist the temptation of food inside the farm. The following steps if taken can also prevent coyotes from digging and jumping.

  • Pointed wire placed at the ground can stop the coyotes from digging.
  • Electric fencing can also serve the purpose especially for saving the livestock.
  • Some guard animals can also be used for the livestock. These guard animals include donkeys and llamas. Choose those donkeys and llamas that do not mingle with other donkeys.

fence for coyotes

      

2)       Noise:

Noisy sound can affect the harmful activities of stray coyotes. The sounds explained in the following points can surely protect your livestock from any sort of danger by coyotes.

  • If you find any coyote nearby, make noise by yelling and shouting.
  • To scare the coyote who is trying to enter the farm, make noise by banging any sort of tin or can lids.
  • Sensors or activated alarms can also be used. These sensors sense the presence of the danger up to some distance. The alarm sound will not only scare the coyote but will also make you alert.
  • Another important noise maker is the propane exploder.
  • Children’s toys can also be used to make noise such as jingles, bangs and whirrs.
3)       If you come across a coyote, be surprised:

In addition of making noise while encountering a coyote, use some scary tactics as well. Coyotes can easily get scare off the frightening expressions made by humans. So never make an eye contact with them and turn your back towards them and play a chase and attack game by running away. Some other tactics are explained below.

  • Make yourself terrifying through your body movements. Kick the legs and wave the arms. This will give them a feeling to stay away from you.
  • A motion activated light can also prevent coyotes and is rather a good way of how to safe chickens.

hazing coyotes

4)       Remove the food loved by coyotes:

Coyotes are greatly tempted to the food they like and even eat anything which will come in their way. So keep all the favorites’ of coyotes like rodents, flesh food away. Never feed the coyotes for the purpose of taming them. They will never be tamed rather will come back for more food.  Some ways are described in the points below for eradicating the food sources from your yard.

  • Use coyote proof boxes or garbage bins for the purpose of disposing your garbage off.  This will keep the coyotes away as it will be secured and difficult to open.
  • Never leave the wasted food lying around. Always dispose it off properly in a secure container both in homes and at farms.
  • Empty up your tree from the ripe fruits as soon as possible and pick all the fruit lying nearby on the ground.

food liked by coyotes

  5)  No pets:

Keep all of your pets away from the coyotes. Coyotes are tempted to dogs, cats and free range chicken for attacking purpose. So if you are living in an area where there is a risk of encountering coyotes, follow these steps

  • Neuter the pet male dogs and spraying the female pet dog so their urine smell don’t attract coyotes.
  • Make sure that the fish ponds are covered.
  • Pet food should be kept inside.
  • Birdseed should not be scattered around.
   6)  Make your area junk free:

Preys liked by coyotes can live and breed in the junk piles lying around. Moreover, these junk piles can also be used by the coyotes for hiding purpose.

    7) Use wolf urine:

The odor of wolf’s urine can keep the coyotes away as the population of coyote decreases in the areas where the wolves are more in number.

    8)  Otherwise call a professional:

If the above mentioned solutions do not work, then take help from expertise to avoid predators of chicken, sheep, cats, dogs  or other livestock from harming them.