Many preditors can break right through chicken wire. For that reason I enclosed my run with Red Brand field fencing to keep the big things out and then covered all that with chicken wire to keep the chickens in.

My coop is built like Ft. Knox too. Sounds to me like you need to go heavier with your fencing.

We raise pastured chickens so it is necessary for us to keep predators out of their "yards". We do this with electronic chicken fencing. They are solar powered and seem to keep everything out. They are a little pricey, but last and you lose no chickens. Every now and then in the night you hear a blood curdling shreek and you know some varmint tried to get in. That guy will tell his friends and they will never try it again.

Goes for your pet dogs too!

Sorry you lost your birds. :(

roberta, can you give us more details on the electronic fencing you use--what brand, how you use it, etc.? :)

blacktop, are the coyotes coming mostly at night or during the day? I agree with no chicken wire, ever. We use hardware cloth with the small, square holes, and each joint is welded. We built our current coop in 1995 and it's still standing with no damage to it. It's more costly than chicken wire, but far, far better.

If the predators are coming at night, you can try setting up a motion sensor light that comes on when they approach to help scare them away. You can also try some of the deer-repellant techniques people use--scatter human hair clippings (get them from a barbershop) around the perimeter of your place, hang bars of soap in nylon knee hi stockings from tree branches (at coyote level), set up a scarecrow in a chair, making sure to dress it in your sweaty clothes with a radio tuned to a talk radio station playing nearby, and move the scarecrow every few days so they don't get used to it. You can also 'mark your territory' using human urine. :)

Anything that looks and smells of people will help keep the coyotes away, but they are wicked smart and very bold, so you'll still need to reinforce the coop. If you don't already have one, you might build a wooden coop for the birds at night so they are INSIDE. Anything to slow down the critters and make the chicken dinner harder to obtain.

Good luck! :)

Velvet ~:>

There is a cool item called Peep n Peepers. It is a 9'cord with 3 sets of flashing eyes.
Drape them around your coop at eye level of the predators and they will help keep them away.
Sounds strange but it works.
A company called Mystic Industries Corp (781-245-1950)sells them