The Coyote Attack In My Backyard Last Night
At 3 am last night my rooster, Sunny, was attacked and killed by coyotes. The coop sits on the back of the property, so I knew something was wrong when I heard him making a fuss at 3 am. Sunny was yelling his head off and the hens were squawking. I threw on my slippers and a jacket and ran for the door.
As I ran off the back deck I realized:
- My slippers were not a good choice with 10 inches of snow on the ground
- There were a lot of eyes looking at me and not running, and I mean a LOT
- My dogs were not running ahead, they were behind me.. watching.
- I did not grab a weapon
- The attackers were not running. (I know I already mentioned it, but that is how my brain went through the process)
- The door to the coop had been left open and there were chickens everywhere outside running and clucking in the snow
- Finally, I noticed a dog-like creature was carrying a limp rooster while he stared at me
*coyote in the snow from pixabay.com
There was an entire pack of coyotes in my backyard. They were not afraid of me, they were actively hunting. My dogs who normally keep the yard clear of predators were hiding behind me. I broke out in goosebumps as I realized this situation was a bit creepy. As I turned to head back in the house for my .22 the coyote holding Sunny, slowly got up and trotted to the 6 foot fence and jumped over it. The rest of his pack followed. When day light broke, I only lost 2 hens and my best rooster. I have heard of entire flocks being wiped out. I am sad about Sunny, but we got lucky.
How Did This Happen?
I hired a neighbor boy to clean and dust the coop and when he left he must not have latched the coop door. So, although the automatic door closed at dark, the human sized door must have stayed ajar. We have had a long, cold, snowy winter and I think this pack must have been very hungry. Chicken in a box (coop) seemed like easy prey.
RIP Sunny
Sunny was a 2-year-old Crested Cream Legbar, he was honored with second place in a National Show last summer. He was my best rooster, beautiful, brave, and willing to die to save the hens. He will be difficult to replace, this development will ruin my entire breeding plan for 2017. More importantly this was my Grand-daughter's favorite chicken.
Yet, there was something strangely beautiful about this encounter.
@whatsup, i hate the news. Hard to replace a rooster like Sunny
Yes, I am sad. He is a rare breed... They were originally imported. So, I will have to get a bunch of them and raise them to adulthood, so I can pick the best ones. Takes about a season. Grr. 2018
Geez girl. I hate to hear this kind of news. I hope the coyote has a severe limp. Maybe it will get hit by a truck. I'm sad.
I'm so sorry to hear about your loss :-(
Wow, what a scary situation to be in when your dogs stay behind you for safety.
Thank you, yes, it was a bit scary.
So sorry about your favorite rooster. We used to have chickens when we lived in the states and I loved my chickens! Just curious, you may have posted this before, but what kind of dogs do you have?
A Pit Mix and a Cattle Dog. They are normally very protective of the yard.
Chickens are pretty easy to love! Where are you living now? (not an address, just a general location.
Patagonia Chile is where we are now. I am sure you know your dogs, so I don't want to suggest something that I have no business suggesting, but have you considered a Great Pyrenees? We had 3 while in North Idaho and we had tons of coyotes, we had wolves and we had mountain lions. Never lost an animal to any of them with those dogs around. Just a suggestion, forgive me if I am out of place.
Not out of place at all! We do want a GP. :)
@gringalicious, my dad had two Great Pyrenees and the are perfect for the job.
This is our current alpha male. We call him Zac
Aww so sad to hear. At least the entire flock was not wiped out. Sunny looked like a fine rooster.
thank you bitcoinparadise, I was pretty sad.
Hi @whatsup, I just stopped back to let you know your post was one of my favourite reads yesterday and I included it in my Steemit Ramble. You can read what I wrote about your post here.