Of Coyotes and Chickens

This morning when I woke up (quite late I might add) I looked out to see a coyote in the yard next to the chicken coop. At first I was like, Oh look! A coyote in the yard! But then I was like, What the hell?! There’s a coyote in the yard! Looking at the chickens in the coop! And the chickens are just standing there staring back as if to say, Top O’ the mornin’ to ya! Crazy birds. They weren’t even fazed. The coyote noticed me and stepped back slightly but didn’t start running away until I opened the door to let Lucy, our Great Dane, out to chase her.

All of this got me wondering just what coyotes do for food during the winter. I mean, I know that we don’t have horribly freezing weather (contrary to what we’ve had over the last couple weeks and at least for a few more days) during the winter, but it does seem that most of the wildlife we normally see during the rest of the year is in hiding. It kind of makes me feel bad for the poor coyote just looking for her next meal. At the same time I’m wondering if it is time to predator proof our chicken coop.