Should I Worry About Coyotes?

[Riverrose28]

Ilive on the east coast, just 90 minutes from the Nations Capital. We wiped out the coyotes, then someone got it into their head to reintroduce them, well they had a pack attack a cow accros the road from us while she was calving, they shot three but two escaped, I don't trust them, and one of our neighbors allows their dogs to run, I don't trust them either. Better to be safe then sorry.

 

[Sandee]

Our stallion was attacked by a neighborhood dog who was being "walked" by his owner on the nature trail behind our house. The dog just took off an went thru 2 fences and grab hold of our little 32" guy in broad daylight. The owner and my husband had to seperate them. He punctured the jaw and the lip and left scratches on his face. This was one dog alone so I would never leave my horses outside over night by themselves. When we had our big QH mare, she was scared to be out after dark alone. And we live in the country but in a housing development.

 

[Magic]

There aren't any coyotes in our immediate area, but there are plenty of mountain lions, along with dogs that people let run free, of course. We fenced our place with woven wire, 2x4" spacing, five feet tall, and we currently have two Livestock Guardian Dogs who have access to all of the property. They protect the horses ferociously from any potential threats, including airborne (whether eagles or ultralights or kites, lol!) Around here, burros or llamas just aren't going to cut it as protection animals. We've had the LGDs for over six years now and they have repelled every potential predator. Worth their weight in gold, imo.

 

[Hosscrazy]

We also have a lot of coyotes in our area - they go after the smaller prey such as gophers, squirrels and rabbits. No interest at all in my minis or full size horses, but we also have some great guard dogs that protect the property.

Liz N.

 

[little shiloh farm]

We do have coyotes in our area, I shot and "flipped" one shortly after we moved to our farm about 3 years ago. While I do hear them intermittently in the area and they have been seen close by we have never had one on the farm itself.

We do have a traper that works the area, he has taken out 2 coyotes and 2 bobcats so far this hunting season and is constantly putting out traps I feel that his work along with the fact that we have hot tape fencing with the largest box you can buy ( when the mini's touch the fence they stagger) anything that decides it may want to chase a mini has to get through that first.

While I do worry, I turn my guys out at night during the summer, they are out in the day in the winter. That said, I do have a smaller paddock that has extra strands of tape closer together where I turn out newborns and their mothers.

It is always a concern and in the back of my mind, but feel comfortable from what our trapper tells me about coyotes behaviors to believe our mini's are not their number one choice in dinner.

 

[AngC]

We've had lone coyotes and also pairs come through the pasture during daylight hours within 3 to 4 feet of our little guy grazing; they all ignored each other every time. What is odd is that whenever a human walking his/her domesticated dog passes the property or if a friend stops by while walking their dog, both of our goobs beeline for the fence, totally fascinated. Aren't coyotes and dogs in the same family?

Thank you Munchkie from Vermont for the suggestion... I did not mention the night "hunting" (successful x 3) that already occurred here since I thought it might be politically incorrect on this forum. Good idea though to check the legality; it appears that a license is not required in WA state to protect against coyotes that are "damaging crops or domestic livestock."

 

[Margaret]

Coyotes are getting more brazen in our area.

Weve seen a full sized one trotting down our street the middle of the day, with a chicken in its mouth before.

And just a couple of months ago, 5 of my chickens were killed by a coyote in our back chicken coop. Dug under the gate.. (one chicken was eaten on the site, one was carried off, and 3 were just killed and left behind)

Now there are things you can do to repel them..

Coyotes are a territorial animal and mark their territory.. They will respect a territory marked with wolf urine at 30.00 a bottle.

Or you can try using a less expensive version of male human urine lining the out skirts of your territory. ( they smell the male tetostrone, and know to stay away.) Only thing to keep in mind is that you need to re-set it every time it rains..

Also you can invest in 2 flashing red lights to keep on at night. ( they think it is eyes watching them.)

And also effective can be a radio playing on a talking station at night. ( they cant figure out that people arent there.)

Anyway short of building a barn or setting someone to sleep on your roof on shotgun duty, these methods have been known to work seperatly or in combination with one another for keeping these preditors at bay.

 

[bullockcorner]

Or you can try using a less expensive version of male human urine lining the out skirts of your territory. ( they smell the male tetostrone, and know to stay away.) Only thing to keep in mind is that you need to re-set it every time it rains..

I can just see my husband "marking our boundry" everytime it rains!

He might be willing until it got too cold to "mark outside"! But, seriously, those ARE good ideas. We have lots of very brave coyotes around, but my LGD keeps them under control on my property. Never heard of the flashing red lights one.....interesting.

Thanks for the ideas!

 

[AngC]

Or you can try using a less expensive version of male human urine lining the out skirts of your territory. ( they smell the male tetostrone, and know to stay away.) Only thing to keep in mind is that you need to re-set it every time it rains..

I can just see my husband "marking our boundry" everytime it rains!

He might be willing until it got too cold to "mark outside"! But, seriously, those ARE good ideas. We have lots of very brave coyotes around, but my LGD keeps them under control on my property. Never heard of the flashing red lights one.....interesting.

Thanks for the ideas!

Here in Washington state it rains alot! I'll just buy a bunch of beer and send the husband out. If it's kinda' chilly, I'll just pour more beer into him.

 

[horsenut50]

I always brought my little guys in when I had my farmette. The Black Angus farm down the road from me use to lose calves every year from the Coyotes. I also used to hear them make kills in the wheat field behind our property. The sound of a rabbit being killed makes the hair on the back of your neck stand up.

 

[attwoode]

My wife and I have talked about this - I'm a wildlife biologist and she's studied zoology and worked with wolves and coyotes at a couple of zoos.

Although typically not thought of as pack hunters, some coyotes exhibit pack behavior and can pose a risk to small livestock. An unprotected foal could be a risk from a brave coyote. I have first-hand experience that coyotes regularly feed on fawns in the spring of the year and it would seem logical that they would be drawn to the smell of placenta and amniotic fluid with the birth of a foal too. Because of the small size of minis, a coyote could kill a small foal by itself if the mare was not around. There also are documented occasions of cross-breeding with dogs or wolves, which would result in a larger more dnagerous coyote hybrid. I would think these are very rare in most areas.

Because of this small, but real risk that coyotes can pose to mini foals or ill adults, I have taken precautions and have never had any problems with the many coyotes in our area (we can hear them every night and have seen them run across our yard without glancing at horses). The precautions you should take, however, are the same as you would need to protect from neighbor dogs or dog packs, which are much more dangerous and many times more likely to cause problems for most people. We suggest the following: 1) dispose of placenta and dirty birth bedding right away 2)maintain good fences with at least a low board and electric strands between boards. 3) Stall foals with their dams at night for the first month. 4) livestock guardian dog 5) We now also have a loud donkey who would almost certainly wake us up of there was a problem. I'm sure others have good ideas and experieince on keeping out coyotes or dogs too.