Run Coyote, Run!

Over the course of 10 days in mid-September my poor chickens were terrorized 4 different times by a coyote salivating in front of their hen house door. I haven't seen that many coyotes in the 10 years that I've been living in this house! The fact that I was seeing some of them as late as 11:00 in the morning was even more unnerving as they usually don't hang around beyond the early dawn.

Knowing that I was actually SEEING this many of them meant to me that there were probably even more instances where I wasn't seeing them, and that concerned me.

I took to the internet in search of a way to discourage coyotes from coming around. I found this site http://www.runcoyoterun.com/ and ordered the CD. It plays various wildcat sounds at varying volumes and intervals. Since the mountain lion and cougar are the coyote's natural enemy, these sounds are  said to be a natural deterrent.

I ordered one, installed it under a bush right next to the hen house, and put it on continuous play. Don't worry, I warned the neighbors! It can definitely give you a jump start when you're outside at night and one of the loud, random sounds comes on out of the blue!

The first time the chickens heard it they just about beat each other up to see who could get in the hen house first! The next few times weren't as dramatic (except for Ingrid, she's a little skittish). Most of them just froze in place until they were sure it was safe to move. After a few days, it didn't phase them at all.

It has been running 6 weeks now and, while I do hear the coyotes in the distance, I haven't seen another one in my yard! If you're having coyote issues I'd say this product is definitely worth a try.