If you have several chickens in your care, you should know how to protect them from coyotes or other predators. Know what coyotes are in general, what they look like so you can recognize them, and the life cycle of these animals. You have to learn everything about this common chicken predator to repel them in your hatchery.
You have to know where coyotes live and what the things that attract this predator with chickens are. Find out what are the differences between coyotes, wolves, and dogs so that you can recognize and eliminate them now. Know why coyotes only kill chickens and do not eat them so that you finally learn how to repel them in the chicken coop.
What are coyotes?
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Coyotes are predators by nature found throughout America (north, central, and south). You can frequently see coyotes with their distinctive gray color with brown and orange shades on their body. They are very fast animals, not so tall, and they can live for about six years if they are not at risk in the area where they live.
Coyotes are recognized mainly because they kill chickens or chickens but do not eat them, but they do it for fun. The coyotes’ trend had the chickens has generated repercussions for many years that even appear in cartoons.
What do coyotes look like?
In appearance, coyotes are gray in general with dark brown tones in the area of their chest and back. These animals are made up of dull and inconspicuous colors that help them camouflage themselves at night. Coyotes can have pale orange or brown tones on their ears that differentiate them from other predators.
The average height of the coyotes is 60 cm, being quite small compared to other predators. The coyote can be about 74 to 94 cm long without counting its tail that exceeds 45 cm approximately. The standard weight of a coyote is 8 kg or 16 kg as an adult.
Coyote life cycle
Coyotes can live up to 6 years on a diet based on chicken or other animals under natural conditions. The life of coyotes depends a lot on the habitat where it is found and how many risks it runs every day. A coyote can extend its life up to 10 years, but it all depends on its diet and the dangers it runs.
Where do they live?
These predators usually live in caves, under trunks, holes in the part, or other areas that protect them. As they are very small animals, they can enter almost any area and make it their home. These predators reside in their homes where there is good food in fruits, vegetables, and water to hydrate.
You can see the coyotes alone, although they also get along very well in herds of up to 10 predators. They are animals that adapt to almost all the natural conditions around them.
Do chickens attract coyotes?
Chickens do attract coyotes as well as other animals such as rabbits, small deer, etc. The feeding of these predators is very long and is limited to chickens, so it is a myth about the animal. When coyotes hunt chickens, they do so for fun because their wings are unattractive to them.
You can have bad experiences with coyotes because they can kill you with all the chickens in the henhouse. In the worst case, the coyotes will eat all the chickens, and in ordinary circumstances, they will kill them for fun.
Coyote vs. wolf vs. Dog
If you are looking for differences between coyotes, wolves, and dogs, you should know that size predominates a lot when you compare them. A coyote is not large, wolves are the largest predators, and an average dog is a coyote’s height. The three animals are even in food, although the coyotes become a little independent because they eat fruits and vegetables.
Wolves are dominant in their habitat for lifestyle, while coyotes and dogs are a bit more passive. If you want to adopt any of these three predators, you can do it and have good results in your company.
Why do coyotes kill chickens and not eat them?
Many people have a great unknown because coyotes kill chicken but do not eat them, and you must solve it. These predators can be vicious at times because they will kill all the chickens you have but will not eat them. The theories dictated by experts in animals like the coyote are that these predators do not taste the wings of the hen.
Regardless of the principles that coyotes have to kill chickens and not eat them, you have to protect your chicken coop. You have to apply aggressive measures to prevent coyotes from entering your chicken coop and killing your animals.
How to protect chickens from coyotes?
It is time for you to learn how to protect chickens from coyotes by applying some basic measures such as:
Layout a good chicken wire
To protect your chickens from coyotes or other predators, you have to place special wire for their cages. These wires must be buried 50 cm deep so that coyotes do not penetrate them.
Light up the chicken coop
You can fully illuminate the chicken coop to protect to see when the coyotes want to enter. You must prepare yourself with a stick or other item to help you run to the coyotes.
Electric fences
If you want to sleep peacefully knowing that coyotes will not break into your chicken coop, you must use electric fences. You can buy the best fence that emits electric shocks that these coyotes will scare and run with.
How to keep coyotes away?
For you to have coyotes away from your chickens, you must do the following:
Place dogs near the chicken coop
You can adopt a dog and place it near the chicken coop so you can keep coyotes away. Having a couple of protective dogs that you put in the henhouse is enough for you to avoid coyotes.
Place CDs
If you place CDs in the chicken coop that illuminate the area, this can scare the coyotes from your chickens. It doesn’t matter how many CDs you place because it is a natural repellent for coyotes who want to kill chickens.
Integrate a rooster in the henhouse
Roosters are dominant in every way, and if you place a rooster in the henhouse, this will prevent coyotes from entering. Each of the roosters that you have in the cage will do well to protect the chickens by pecking the coyote that enters.
Block access
Finally, you can keep the coyotes away when you block the entrances to the chicken coop entirely. You can cover holes in the ground, holes in the fence, and other areas that feel unprotected.
