Do Coyotes Eat Chickens? [How Vigilant Do You Need To Be?]

Coyote populations are soaring. They can be found in virtually every US state, and they have even started to move and find homes in cities. As such, any chicken keeper will naturally be concerned about their presence. But do they typically go after chickens and are they a significant danger to your flock? I spent a lot of time researching these descendants of wolves, to find out exactly how concerned we all need to be.

So, do coyotes eat chickens? Coyotes do eat chickens if presented with the opportunity. They are mostly nocturnal, meaning they are most likely to attack your chickens at night, although if hungry enough may strike during the day. They tend to hunt in pairs, go for the neck, and will typically take a chicken away to eat if successful.

Coyotes have gotten quite the reputation.

As omnivores, they will actively seek out and eat range of plant based an animal foods. In fact, they will eat pretty much anything.

They have been known to eat smaller animals, such as rodents and rabbit, while also taking on deer, lambs, calves and other livestock.

In fact, they have even been known to eat cats in desperate times.

Add this to fish, frogs, insects and snakes and you do not really have much of a picky eater!

It comes as no surprise that they are considered a menace and that they can be very destructive pests.

With a long history and reputation for being clever, with Nature even describing them as the “new top dog“, they certainly need to be taken seriously if you own a flock of chickens.

So, let us now take a closer look at whether keeping chickens can attract this predator, what a coyote attack would look like, and perhaps most importantly; how to keep them away, and your birds protected.

Do Chickens Attract Coyotes?

Chickens can attract coyotes, if they are vulnerable and an easy target. However, if they are well secured, protected, and difficult to get to, coyotes are more likely to seek food elsewhere.

Sure, they may come for a visit and for an inspection, but if they decide the challenge ahead is too much; they should move on.

Here is why.

Coyotes are opportunistic eaters.

They actively seek out the ‘low-hanging fruit’; food that is easy to acquire and is the least challenging.

They do not want to expose themselves to any unnecessary threats, or situations that could get them hurt, or worse. Killed.

That being said, for chickens that are roaming, are unattended, and are open (especially during the darker periods of the day/early night), a coyote attack is certainly more than possible.

One thing to take into account is that coyotes mostly hunt during the night.

This is one particular reason why if your birds do free range, they need to return to the coop at night.

Thankfully, chickens usually know that this is home and it is safe from these kinds of predators. So, they should retire come the onset of dawn.

One final thing to consider is whether you have any other pets that could entice a coyote. It could be a cat, it could be a small dog.

It has been known for many owners to lose their smaller dogs to coyotes (or those that can easily be overcome).

Whereas other owners have reported that when owning larger breeds, they suspect coyotes may have be deterred.

So, whether coyotes are attracted to your property is all about temptation. Can they envision being fed on your property? Is such food easily obtainable?

These are the kind of questions you need to ask yourself.

In doing so, and seeing your property from the perspective of an opportunistic coyote, you’ll be much better prepared, and your flock, less susceptible to an attack.

What Do Coyotes Do To Chickens?

Coyotes will predominantly kill a chicken with a bite to the neck. They will also shake them aggressively to ensure they collapse; if the neck was not successfully broken. They’ll then drag the chicken away from the coop or the site of kill and to a safe area where they will eat them.

However, it has also been known that particularly hungry coyotes; or ones hunting in larger packs, may stay in the hunt. It has been known for them to decimate entire flocks!

While the neck is perhaps the most common style of attack, they have been known to go for the flank, or hindquarters – especially in situations where a chicken has made an attempt to escape.

Identifying an attack as an attempt by coyotes can prove a challenge, however. They do not tend to leave much evidence.

Besides, they can drag a chicken up to a mile away to consume them and they do tend to eat the lot!

Chances are – you’re not going to find your hen if they are taken.

Instead, you will need to look for any signs of struggle, such as a significant number of feathers on the ground, or perhaps even blood.

Depending on the season, the climate and the terrain, you may even be able to look for coyote paw tracks in the ground.

Here are the differences between a coyote print and a dog. This is especially important if you own a dog, as it is easy to confuse the two:

Its the hind foot that you should actively be looking for.

How Do You Keep Coyotes Away From Chickens?

Keeping coyotes away from chickens may take a little effort, planning, and consideration – but it is essential to keep your flock safe.

What you decide to do will also differ depending on where you live, the size of local coyote populations, how many chickens you keep, and of course the layout of your property.

All the while, its important to consider this quote by Stan Gehrt – wildlife ecologist at the Ohio State University and the Max McGraw Wildlife Foundation:

“They have this amazing balance between being bold enough to hunt, attack, and kill som