The coyote is a beautiful, smart, cunning, and elusive animal. If you live in an area that has coyotes and are raising chickens as well, you will wonder if these predators will eat them.
In this article, we will find out whether chickens are something that coyotes enjoy eating and what you can do to protect your flock from them.
Do Coyotes Eat Chickens?
If you want to know whether or not coyotes will eat chickens, the answer is simply yes. Coyotes are omnivores that like to eat a variety of different things. They will eat plants and insects, but they also enjoy eating small animals. Chickens are considered prey animals for coyotes, which makes them an attractive meal option.
In the wild, coyotes will often hunt in packs because they realize that this is the best way for them to take down larger prey than they would be able to handle on their own. Coyotes have a reputation for being very crafty and intelligent creatures. They know how to work together and make the most of each other’s strengths in order to get what they need from their environment.
So, coyotes do like to eat chickens. The only way you can stop this from happening is by keeping your chickens in an enclosed space where there are no gaps for a coyote to squeeze through. Even if you don’t have chickens and only let your pets out when you’re home with them, it might be wise to keep an eye out for coyotes in your area.
Coyotes may be small, but they can do a lot of damage if they come into contact with your chickens.
Do Chickens Attract Coyotes?
Many people are concerned that keeping backyard chickens will attract coyotes or other predators. While it’s true that coyotes have been known to attack chickens, we’ll help you understand some of the reasons why this happens and what you can do to prevent it from happening to you.
First, let’s talk about how coyotes find their prey. Coyotes often use their sense of smell to find food, especially carrion—the dead body of an animal. They can also use their sense of hearing and sight to find food, especially if they’re hunting something live.
As you might expect, a chicken coop is a prime target for coyotes looking for an easy meal, since chickens make a lot of noise and give off an odor that is easy for a predator to detect from far away. The best way to protect your flock from being eaten by coyotes is to keep them in a secure location that doesn’t attract predators with its smell or noise.
If you have a small yard and cannot afford to build an enclosure for your flock, there are other ways that you can keep them safe. For example, many people choose to free-range their chickens during the day but keep them locked up securely at night when coyotes are more active.
How Do Coyotes Kill Chickens?
Coyotes are known as opportunistic predators, meaning they will eat almost anything they can get their paws on. While they’re more likely to attack livestock at night, the truth is that they’ll attack any time—and if you have chickens, you need to know how to protect them from coyote attacks.
Signs of a Coyote Attack
When coyotes attack chickens, it usually happens very quickly and the chickens won’t be able to fight back. If you are unsure of whether or not your chickens were attacked by coyotes, look for the following clues:
Your chicken(s) will be dead in an area away from their coop or pen where there is little blood and no feathers. Coyotes often carry away their prey and won’t necessarily leave any evidence behind.
Some of the most common signs of a coyote attack include the following:
Bitten neck – Coyotes will attempt to bite through the chicken’s neck and spine in order to kill it quickly. This might leave behind some feathers but won’t necessarily leave much blood behind.
Bitten head – Coyotes will go to bite the head of the chicken to kill it quickly. The head won’t be separated from the body as the coyote will take it away.
How Do You Keep Coyotes Away From Chickens?
Coyotes are natural predators of chickens. If you live in an area that has coyotes and wants to keep your chickens safe, the best way is to prevent contact between coyotes and chickens in the first place. This means protecting your chickens from coyotes by keeping them inside a secure chicken coop and keeping coyotes away from your property.
Keep Your Property And Land Clean
Coyotes are attracted to your property by garbage or anything that can be used as food or shelter. Keep the area around the house clean and make sure the garbage is kept in closed containers so it will not attract coyotes. You can also install motion-sensitive lights so that coyotes do not feel comfortable approaching your property at night.
Use Coyote Repellents
You can use commercial repellents or natural repellents such as ammonia, fox urine, or human hair clippings to keep coyotes away.
Fencing
With coyotes in your yard, building fences to keep predators out is a good idea. However, the fence will be useless if you fail to install it with coyote fencing specifications in mind. Here are seven tips for keeping coyotes away from chickens:
1. Use a solid fence. Coyotes cannot jump over fences that are tall enough and do not have spaces they can get a paw through. The fence should be made of wood, welded wire, or chain link and should be at least six feet high.
2. Add an L-footer to the bottom of the fence. These L-shaped pieces of metal prevent coyotes from digging under the fence and into your yard. You can attach them by using wire or zip ties to connect the footer to the bottom of a chain-link fence, or you can nail them to wood slats or weld them to welded wire fencing.
3. Place an electric wire at the top of the fence. Coyotes are generally deterred by electric wires because they do not want to get shocked when they attempt to jump over your fence! To install an electric wire, attach it about three inches above the top of your fence with insulators and run it between two posts so that it does not sag.
Coyote Rollers
Coyotes are known for attacking chickens and smaller animals in their sleep. Coyote rollers keep them away by using a mechanism that stops the coyote from getting a grip.
When a coyote attempts to enter your yard, it will scale up the fence and place its paws on top of the roller and try to get a hold of it. However, when it does this, the roller spins backward, forcing the coyote to either let go or fall off the roller.
The best part is that these rollers are unobtrusive and will not disturb your other animals while they are sleeping.
Motion Sensor Lighting And/or Sprinklers
With motion-sensing lighting and sprinklers, you can keep your chickens safe while you’re out, or even while you’re sleeping!
Motion-sensing lights can be installed on your chicken coop; they’ll stay off while your chickens are inside, but will turn on when a coyote gets too close. Not only will this scare the coyote, but it will also alert you that there is a threat.
Motion-sensing sprinklers can be installed in your yard. As soon as a coyote enters the yard, the sprinkler will turn on. Coyotes detest water, so this will deter them from coming back.
With these two solutions, your chickens are sure to be safe.
Dogs
If you need to keep coyotes away from your chickens, there are a number of dog breeds that can help.
The most common breed used to protect chicken coops in the United States is the Great Pyrenees. They are very large, fluffy dogs with an insulating undercoat and a protective outer coat, which makes them well-equipped for guarding and protecting animal enclosures in all kinds of climates.
Their size makes them an excellent deterrent to coyotes and other predators, but they also have a very trusting nature and make great companions for family members of all ages. They have a strong instinct to protect their flock, so they do not need any training or special care when it comes to keeping them safe from predators.
However, due to their size, they are not recommended for families who have small children as they can accidentally knock them over easily.
For those looking for something smaller than the Great Pyrenees, there are several breeds that would make excellent watchdogs as well. The Miniature Australian Shepherd or Poodle are both good options due to their size and intelligence level—creating bonds with their owners quickly once bonded with humans at birth.
Conclusion
Coyotes and chickens don’t normally live in close proximity. But in some urban areas, coyotes have made their homes among the humans living there. And because of this, they sometimes will find their way into chicken coops and eat the chickens.
