Has anyone tried a hang bait set (where legal) for coyotes ? I had some chickens get killed in the spring and I froze them, feather and all, to use for trap bait. Thought about hanging the whole carcass about 6' off the ground and bedding a couple of traps underneath it. I would think the wind would really carry the scent plus eye appeal from some distance. Any thoughts or opinions ? -Thanks

That here isn't legal we can't have over a pound of exposed meat or bait at or close to a trap . I'm sure that Indiana may have about the same law there eagle's and hawks will be attracted to them also.
I'd check with your local game warden first.
Allan

I didn't see any laws regarding bait in the regs. book, but I'll give my warden friend a call to be sure.

I would think birds of prey would be more likely to perch on nearby branches and try to grab the bait as opposed to walking under it. But with animals anything is possible.

I’ve seen people have success with that with bobcats in the past. Since you don’t have a season won’t do you much good. Birds of prey will do things you wouldn’t imagine. If I was trying to kill coyotes with leftover chicken and exposed bait was legal here, I think I’d be cutting them up throwing them down a hole.

I doubt coyotes find too many chickens hanging from a tree and I wouldn’t say never but I’m guessing it would take them a while to commit to it. Why I’m guessing guys have had success with cats. Curiosity killed the cat. Coyotes not so much.

My thought is there's better sets for coyotes. And birds of prey will walk around under it trying to figure out how the get it.

you will catch every bobcat in the county so keep your catch pole or tote ready for releasing them

I hear this idea alot from people that have never caught coyote in there life....

Hanging a big bait has the same drawing factor on canines mustelids and other carnivores as it does on cats.
Larger baits are hung off the ground to keep them from being consumed too quickly by large birds of prey,but not so high as to deter them and other animals from working it.It also keeps the bait where you want it in relation to your sets.
An alternative is to have large bait covered with some heavy logs,partially exposed, for the same reason.
Setting at or close to the bait will get you non targets.
Make sets 30 yards away at least for fox and cats and up to a couple hundred yards away for wolf and probably coyotes.
Mustelids can be caught in elevated sets closer to the big bait.
Big baits are hung in small open areas surrounded by thicker brush.
Bib baits,hung or weighted are gang set for multiple catches on extended checks in winter.

You will catch hawks or eagles when they land under it. I would not do it if it was me, I would have the bait hidden always. Like Boco said, keep traps or snares away from it on trails to the bait.

Back in the mid 70s my buddies and I tried that, It did not work so good.. Then I made a urine set, that worked real good.. Still does..

I wouldnt recommend that method due to already mentioned reasons and potential problems.

I don't know what it's like in Indiana, but in my neck of woods an exposed bait like that would have dozens of crows, ravens, turkey vultures, eagles and such tearing it up within a few hours or less, with much of it being consumed and scattered not long thereafter. As others have pointed out, there are better ways to utilize carcasses for a bait station if that's what you're aiming to do. The basic idea is to catch the coyotes coming in and not at the bait station itself. This takes time, conditioning and replenishing....

Thanks for all the input. I'll stick to the basics, was just thinking of ways to mix it up.

I've heard people all the time talk about using a set like that and it kinda sounds like a gimmick to me but if it works it works around here it's not legal but these guys don't trap anymore because of the fur prices.

I know a guy who loads a five gallon pail full of carp and puts a lid on it. He has 1/4" holes drilled in the bottom. The sun heats up the fish which draws flies. The maggots and fish stink fall through the holes saturating the ground beneath the suspended pail.He catches everything at this site from skunks to coyotes.

I have never tried it but I could see where this could be successful in certain situations.

Brian

Drag a road killed deer out In open field after a snow fall. Once the critters start to feed track them back Into cover and set up these areas.

I have used something similar though more subtle for fox and coyote by tucking the bait ( bird guts, rabbit gut/ skin etc) in a bush and setting in close quarters, generally in a restricted situation. One advantage is the coyotes attention is directed up and away from its feet, not down. This addresses exposed bait concerns which are valid. Got the basic idea from a James Mast book long ago. The set I am describing in no way resembles a lynched chicken hanging around for the whole world to see.

Back in the late 70's when bobcats were VERY valuable, I hung a lot of rabbits about 3 feet off the ground under pinions and juniper trees. Used a lot of blocking and set a trap in a gap. Dont often catch coyotes like that. Grey fox show up once in a while. I caught more magpies and pinion squawkers than raptors doing that but birds definitely were a problem.

Years ago, back in the fur boom...okay, maybe that was 'decades ago', Some local trappers decided to hang dead chicken from a tree limb with traps set beneath it in a circle.
They caught everything under the sun, including hawks, owls, house cats, 'coon hounds and other domestic dogs and yes, did manage to catch a few raccoon and fox or two.
It is a set that is outlawed in many states for that reason alone. Exposed baits draw the attention of raptors, as well as many other birds. It will also catch the attention of people.
That said, I can tell you something that I have used, with success. A skinned beaver either in the fork or a tree or hung hear the truck, so it blended in better.
This will draw in the crows, who will makes such a fuss that it will draw in the predators. The traps of course are in sets that are at a distance, yet still circle the tree or lanes that come into the area.
This works far greater than a trap set beneath, as it takes wary predators while the catch of birds, especially the raptors, is zero !

As a houndman I can tell you it is a surefire way to catch hounds. I once had my dogs trail a bobcat to where it was caught in such a set. Only thing I've ever seen caught in one other than dogs.

I have used those deer lure drip bags for bringing In critters. I have filled them with urine and other types of lure.

Other than the before mentioned critters that will get caught you will(probably) catch a good amount of fox at a set like that.