Baby chicks, a new threat, Coyotes aka Coyodogs?

First off,,, the 13 chicks that hatched out in our incubator. They are still enjoyig life in their tub. When they are fully feathered out they will go to the chicken corral and coop to live with the other chickens. They are various ages due to Goldy stealing eggs remember LOL.




I have been saving eggs and plan to hatch another batch :O). This time all the eggs will be hatched at the same time pretty much LOL..I plan to to put them in the incubator January 10th... 18-21 days later we should have a bunch of new chicks :O).

I am a bit concerned with our plans to turn the chickens loose in the yard. We have a large chicken corral that is fenced but they have picked it clean. We have so much they could be eating and debugging :O)....so we decided just let them go during the day and coop up at night. Up until just recently this would be great......

Welllll now we are having issues with what could be Coyodogs. Coyotes that have cross bred with large feral dogs. I know they are not regular coyotes I have seen one up close.. whew.... They are not afraid of people or dogs! They just look at you like ya, ya I am going.. or according to one neighbor they growl at your dog and you! They do not run from anyone. So far us and two other neighbors I am aware of have encountered them. There is a pair and then there is one HUGE one... they look like coyotes but are furrier and bigger and much braver!

The first one I saw I kept thinking that is a coyote.... ummmm I am pretty sure.. But let me tell you the thing was huge. Keeper was barking like crazy at it through the fence but not far from it... It had come up behind our chicken corral.

It didn't run from Keeper and it didn't run when it saw me either!!  Was very glad there was a fence between us all! Yes Keeper right at a 150lb Great Pyrenees was going off like a rocket and it just saunters away like ok, ok, keep your fur on... ... Oh it left but it took its sweet time... then we saw the pair, they are a bit smaller, in our pasture.

The neighbors and us are on full alert. Its not a good situation.  They are very sure of themselves and are coming in way to close to livestock and humans in broad daylight! The pair was encountered by one of our neighbors right up in their yard by their back porch, they didn't run, they growled at the neighbor and their dog! This neighbor was not able to umm well take care of them. But would have had every right to do so given how aggressive they seem to be. Another neighbor has seen one of them in their pasture, he has cows and several are due to calf in the next few weeks. As you can well imagine he is so watching the pasture. He is well capable of handling the situation should need be.

I then encountered them when I went out for a run. Our driveway is 1/4 mile long. As I was running up the drive to the road I saw them cross our driveway the pair, needless to say I turned around, ran back to the house got honeyman. They had disappeared by the time we got back out there....We have Skittles to worry about being out in the pasture. Not to mention our chickens!

Always something on a farm. Predators are always a concern but when they get this brave.... they become a even bigger one!


9 comments:

Anonymous said...

I don't like to say this, but you might have to have a Coyodogs hunt or round them up! That's not good not feeling safe....I'm grateful we don't have to be concerned about that! Be safe, Texan!

PioneerPreppy said...

Actually feral dogs will begin to look almost exactly like coyotes within two generations regardless of what type of breed they came from originally. They turn a brownish gray and get that white tip on their tails and begin to either grow or shrink into about coyote size. Many cities that claim to have coyote problems are really just seeing the second and third generations of feral dogs.

Lisa @ Two Bears Farm said...

We have coyotes here too. This is the first time I have heard of the dog mix. I hope they don't bother your chickens.

Margaret said...

Oh yikes - we have coyotes and it's always a little nerve wracking when we see them lurking about which, thankfully, isn't too often. I've heard of movable pens for chickens that you can move around the backyard so that the chickens can do their work around your garden and still stay safe - sort of like a big cage - perhaps that's an option for you.

MushyWear said...

It's interesting to read about the problem you are facing there in Texas. I hope you and your neighbors are able to make your land safe again. We have so many feral cats here on Maui. Feral dogs are an interesting problem to think about, especially with them crossbreeding with coyotes. Stay safe! Cute chicks by the way. I lived on a couple of farms growing up and always loved the baby chicks, ducks and geese. But I didn't like being in charge of getting them in the coop at night. Sometimes they went in willingly, but then you always had those renegades, LOL. Happy New Year!

Lisa said...

We have coyote/wolf crosses. Not a good thing.

Leigh said...

Any kind of dogs on the loose are always a concern. They are predators by nature, especially when they get together as a pack. We live in a barely rural area, where folks get right outside of city limits and think they're in the "country," so it's okay to let their dogs roam. NOT!!! We've also had coyotes return to the area in recent years. Obviously I worry about my critters!

That said, your chicks are adorable. :)

Henny Penny said...

Don't know how I missed this post! I've been about crazy since the holidays! :)Your little chicks are so cute and getting big! That about the coyotes is awful. Crossed with a big dog makes them sound more like a wolf. I would be scared to death of them! You're right, always something to worry about on a farm. Glad you've got big Keeper. It scares me to think about Eli fighting with anything!

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