Coyotes getting worrisome

[dmccarty]

I live midstate il. I raise chickens and let them free range during the day. Ordinarily I do lose about 5 per year to various predators, but this year we've lost close to 30. Coyote pack is very brave and will come any hour of the day or night. I have been able to shoot 4 so far this year. They are very quick when I come flying out of the house. We have skunks, coons, minks, and large birds that love our house. It's a constant struggle to keep my girls alive.

I am surprised they were there when you opened the door. :laughing::laughing::laughing:

When we had chickens, the coyote pack was in the back yard yelping and howling. My wifey, who can sleep through ANYTHING, woke up when I shook her shoulder and said there were coyotes in the back yard. I have never seen that woman move so fast. She jumped out of bed to go protect her girls. :laughing::laughing::laughing: As soon as she turned on a light INSIDE the house, the coyotes were gone. Now, I wonder if they were out in the woods looking back at the house, but they sure left the yard in a hurry.

Some people have a chicken tractor, mine was a chicken tank. The coyotes were NOT going to get into the chickens but I think they could have scared the chickens to death. The chicken tank was in a fenced in garden so the coyotes had to get past that fence before even getting to the chicken tank. We don't know if the chickens were attracting the coyotes or if they were there for other reasons.

The fence around the garden slowly got destroyed by critters. We suspect coyotes or foxes tore up the wire fence in a few places, but on numerous occasions I saw deer in the garden. There was no food in the garden, the space was full of weeds, so we think the deer were jumping over the 6' tall fence to have protection from the coyotes.

Later,
Dan

 

[roadhunter]

I have a hard time believing deer were hanging out in a fenced in garden to stay away from coyotes. Coyotes might be dangerous to fawns but they do not typically take down adult deer. Diet consists of little stuff like rabbits, squirrels, turkeys, etc... They are not man/horse/deer eating beasts that roam the night in large packs creating havoc and mayhem wherever they go with carcasses piling up like cord wood. More like 1-2 coyotes hunting for easy meals like rabbits, mice, and possibly a chicken.

Lions on the other hand can be really hard on deer. They eat somewhere around 1 deer per week to survive. They can take down an adult deer by themselves. Lions shoudl not be taken lightly. Here is a video of one taking down a big mule deer.

After reading the comments here it's' obvious that there are some major misconceptions about coyotes which have caused coyotes to be viewed more like "wolves" even though they are not that similar in size or behavior. Some people seem to have a big imagination which leads to behavior such as "Edna lock the barn and get the kids in the house, there is a "huge pack" (2) of coyotes out here and they are after the horses and deer and when they are through they are coming for us".

My guess is this is coming from hearing coyotes yipping but not actually seeing any of the stuff described happening. No reason for yall to be this scared of a worthless second tier predator.

 

[DaveNJ]

I've always understood coyotes to eat mostly mice, rabbits and roadkill around here. If chickens are unprotected, of course they're on the menu. A big coyote is usually only about 40 lbs. or so and no match for my 90 lb shepards. Probably a fawn would be fair game, but an adult deer attack would only be done in desperation.

 

[ovrszd]

I've always understood coyotes to eat mostly mice, rabbits and roadkill around here. If chickens are unprotected, of course they're on the menu. A big coyote is usually only about 40 lbs. or so and no match for my 90 lb shepards. Probably a fawn would be fair game, but an adult deer attack would only be done in desperation.

Few years ago bunch of us were doing a ATV Winter Creek ride on the ice. We came across two buck Deer that were horn locked. One was dead. The other was within a couple days of death and couldn't stand anymore. We used a chainsaw to cut the horns off the dead Deer so they could separate. The live Deer, after a few minutes was able to stand and wobble off into the timber. Neither of them had any signs of coyote damage. They were obviously easy prey. Coyotes are very thick in that area.

 

[oosik]

Around here I've never heard of a healthy adult deer being bothered by coyote. The sick or injured - certainly. Maybe even a fawn, if left unattended.

 

[JamesHW]

I was up at the farm one dark night out behind the house lighting a campfire for some friends who were arriving shortly for a visit. All I had was a flashlight when I heard a rustling in the brush a few yards away. When I shone the light sure enough, not more than 8 feet away from where I was standing were a pair of coyotes (looked like a male and female judging from the relative sizes) snacking on some scraps of egg shells and vegetable scraps my wife had dumped there earlier that day. The coyotes pretty much ignored me as they finished their snack and then casually walked away into the woods while I quietly cursed myself for not having my phone to catch a picture. Went into the house and told my wife I figured out where the barn cats had gone.

 

[Sodo]

People in other places have predators that are actually dangerous like lions, bears, and wolves.

I read lots of pioneer stories (avoiding fiction if possible) and the pioneers did not worry about wolves killing people. They considered it a non-issue (other than children). It was always their livestock, and the extra work to protect livestock. They worried about bears, but mostly because of the good eating and the bearskin.
Grizzlies are predators. Not many grizzlies in WA, I'm thankful for that. Even so I'm not thrilled about having wolves around, I wonder if the new packs have passed down the "wisdom" of "not hunting humans."

I see coyotes in the game cam photos always, but have never heard them at night, ever. I wonder why they're quiet.

 

[nybirdman]

If you have wolves and mt.lions around they will eat coyotes(that's why they are quiet)!

 

[Sodo]

Interesting, I hadn't thought of that. I thought coyotes always make a racket, everybody's except mine. I see mtn lions in the game pics from time to time. One wolf in 6 years. So where coyotes make a racket can you conclude that there's no mtn lions?

 

[JRobyn]

We definitely have at least a few lions around, at least passing through the area. I believe they have a rather large range. And also plentiful and very vocal 'yotes, at least lately. I suspect that a pack of more than two or three 'yotes is more than a lion would be willing to take on under most normal circumstances.