predation hunt technique question

[heronblu]

I am going to help out a poultry farmer friend of mine this weekend with some problem coyotes he has been dealing with. He says he is losing about two to three birds a day and he sees the coyotes almost every morning. My question is this: Do I bother trying to call them or should I just sit and wait and hope I am in the right spot. I am using my 12ga so my range is limited. I have a jackrabbit call but I almost wonder if a distress call would freak em out and send them running. Any advice is appreciated, thanks!

[TheHunt]

I am thinking if you could record a chicken in distress.  That would work great...

[Brad Harshman]

Why not just take a live chicken and tie it up in a clearing?  Tie its leg to fence post.  No need to try to impersonate the real thing.  Be sure to always stay within range. 

[justyhntr]

I've had good luck calling at night to get rid of our chicken killers , the outside lights on the house and barn give me enough light to pick them off in the shadows .I use a 20 gauge with buck shot and it works fine . I like Brad's idea , tie up a chicken in an open area for them to focus on and then do some distress calls and wait . I bet if he's loosing 2-3 a night he also has a racoon problem , we loose far more to coons than coyotes . At my place the coons usually start moving about 2 hours after dark and stay active until about an hour before sun up . If he has a compost area throw a bunch of table scraps in it and wait , bacon grease works really well for this . Good luck.

[Charlie]

Let us know the how your hunt turns out. Pics are a +.

[heronblu]

Thanks everyone! I'm going out right now to scout the area and ill ask if I can use a chicken for bait. I wouldn't be surprised if they have a raccoon problem too. They seem to lose most of the birds in the early morning and they have seen coyote a lot, so we'll see. Either way 12ga buckshot should take care of them.

[heronblu]

Went out this morning early and sat with the chickens until an hour after sunrise with no dog sightings.  It was foggy and rainy and generally pretty miserable weather for any animal. After a while I posted up on a different part of the property to try some calling.  I used a jack rabbit call and got three coyotes to come out of the woods in less than 30min. Wind was wrong though and they took off before they got into range. I had to get back home unfortunately before I could reposition, but I've got a good feeling about tomorrow.