The Adventures of Chicken Farming: Coyotes

Yesterday, there came a frantic knock on the front door.  It was my neighbor alerting me to the fact that this animal had been seen in the yard:

Coyote (not a friend to chickens or cats!)

Fortune

Pumpkin

It was just a few minutes and the place was swarming with men who looked for the coyote to shoot it (including the sheriff).  We were encouraged to gather our animals and get them inside.  The cats were pretty easy to get in the house.

(Aren't they cute!?) 

The chickens were another story...we tried bribing them with food and then with treats.  I ended up feeding them a bunch of meal worms without getting one single,solitary chicken back into the coop.  Aaron chased them out of the woods and Anna and I tried to "encourage" them to go into the coop.

Part of our little flock

We spent about an hour trying to catch our six chickens to make sure they would be safe from the big, bad coyote.  We were not successful.  However, I am sure that the gang of folks who had gathered to eradicate the coyote enjoyed watching the pastor and his family chase chickens!  We never did get those chickens back in the coop, but we did get a good cardio workout and a good laugh!

The chickens finally made their way back to the coop at the normal time and not a minute earlier.  I learned a few valuable lessons today:

1.  Chickens will do what chickens want to do
2.  I am severely out of shape
3.  I loathe coyotes
4.  I need a shotgun