COYOTES

[masseyrider]

We have lots around here.
They cycle in and out.
This area has very limited deer so they are dependant on the small critters. It seams they stay in the area until they deplete the good hunting and then move on for a month or more until the waskly wabbits and others return in numbers.
They provide a natural control on the other nuisance animals. Also down the street on the cat lady's darlings.
Fairly frequently I'll have one follow the tractor when I'm cultivating or mowing in the hopes that I'll spook out some game.
They don't bother me, I don't bother them. If they start getting too daring I'll fire a couple bird bangers their way just to maintain our space.
They're just trying to earn a living.
It does raise the hair on the neck when they start to howl at night in the back yard.

 

[Jstpssng]

It does raise the hair on the neck when they start to howl at night in the back yard

I enjoy hearing them sound off though... unless they are up by my henhouse. I've probably mentioned before that I've been out working and sensed something was around but didn't really see or hear anything. Upon backtracking I found coyote tracks in mine... less than 75 feet from where I had been standing. They dogged me that way all morning, I must have been kicking rabbits out to them.

 

[jaxs]

I enjoy hearing them sound off though... unless they are up by my henhouse. I've probably mentioned before that I've been out working and sensed something was around but didn't really see or hear anything. Upon backtracking I found coyote tracks in mine... less than 75 feet from where I had been standing. They dogged me that way all morning, I must have been kicking rabbits out to them.

Oh hell yea,they alllllll wayysss do that.

 

[kenmbz]

We have way too many deer, so the Coyote here is not going to starve.
He does seem small, wonder how many are actually around.

 

[westcliffe01]

That is a big difference between coyotes, wolves and cougars. Cougars and wolves can kill just for practice, or maybe fun, I am not sure which. Coyotes tend to only kill what they will eat.

Hogwash, coyotes will attack a herd and may injure 4-10 sheep, which die a day or 2 later and partially consume 1 or 2 when they had all the opportunity in the world to eat the entire animal. No, they are not strong enough to kill hundreds of sheep like wolves do, but they can do plenty of damage in their own right. The sheep in the picture was still alive after this attack and had to be euthanized.

 

[tacticalturnip]

Poor girl.

 

[kf4uda]

Hogwash, coyotes will attack a herd and may injure 4-10 sheep, which die a day or 2 later and partially consume 1 or 2 when they had all the opportunity in the world to eat the entire animal. No, they are not strong enough to kill hundreds of sheep like wolves do, but they can do plenty of damage in their own right. The sheep in the picture was still alive after this attack and had to be euthanized.
View attachment 786137

You need a couple of these.

 

[oosik]

There is a Basque fellow - lives about 40 miles south of me here. He has great flocks of sheep - and few Great Pyrenees. He also has, at least, a couple donkeys.

 

[jaxs]

We hunted deer in an area of SW Texas where 75% of pastureland is for sheep. Ranchers belong to a co-op which retains a professional trapper. A reported coyote or Bobcat sighting resulted in the trapper dogging their tail until captured. Raptors were shot on site and co-op lawyer filed papers to exempt shooter from prosecution on the grounds it was harming sheep. We refrained from using dogs to hunt Scaled Quail due to how much poison was out in attempt to control the insane rat and mouse population. I've farmed and raised livestock all my life and approve of killing creatures that pose a serious threat to one's livelihood but that shouldn't justify scorched earth. I attempted engaging conversation with locals about the trade offs of such concentrated measures but they were set on it. If the choice is increased price of a commodity due to predation or lower cost commodity at the expense of upsetting nature's balance, I'll choose the former.

 

[Jstpssng]

If the choice is increased price of a commodity due to predation or lower cost commodity at the expense of upsetting nature's balance, I'll choose the former.

There was a time when that wasn’t the case… it really was us or the predators. The scales have tipped though and many are seeing it the same as you do. I know that my viewpoints have changed. My father had a war on woodchucks all of his life and would kill every animal he could. As time went on though he got so he’d live trap and release tblhem for somebody else to deal with.

After he passed away 5 years ago I told my mother they weren’t hurting anything; she doesn’t have a garden, and the property will likely be sold and subdivided when she is done with it. It hasn’t taken long for the population to thrive.

 

[LouNY]

There was a time when that wasn’t the case… it really was us or the predators. The scales have tipped though and many are seeing it the same as you do. I know that my viewpoints have changed. My father had a war on woodchucks all of his life and would kill every animal he could. As time went on though he got so he’d live trap and release tblhem for somebody else to deal with.

After he passed away 5 years ago I told my mother they weren’t hurting anything; she doesn’t have a garden, and the property will likely be sold and subdivided when she is done with it. It hasn’t taken long for the population to thrive.

I'm still of your fathers mindset prior to the live trapping.
Damned hole digging things.
And those that live trap and relocate I find it difficult to express my self in regards to them,
catch a problem and release it for someone else to deal with, not nice.

 

[Jstpssng]

I'm still of your fathers mindset prior to the live trapping.
Damned hole digging things.
And those that live trap and relocate I find it difficult to express my self in regards to them,
catch a problem and release it for someone else to deal with, not nice.

One reason he stopped shooting them is because the city limits moved and he was prohibited from shooting them. Nothing else was different, I believe that it was just a zoning change.
I did express myself on catch and release. I also tend to be rather outspoken when the topic comes up here. I am quite certain that's why I have woodchucks now. I never saw one for my first 15 years here but have killed several in the past 5 years.

 

[BackRoad]

We have coyotes...hear them frequently at night, sometimes in close, but almost never see them during the day.

Now Woodchucks - I like 'em. Great moving target practice!

 

[Jstpssng]

We have coyotes...hear them frequently at night, sometimes in close, but almost never see them during the day.

Now Woodchucks - I like 'em. Great moving target practice!

The first time I had one on my property he was pretty docile. One afternoon I spied him when on my tractor and drove right up and put the bucket over him before he took off running. I dropped the bucket and started chasing him. I just wanted to see what would happen and had no intention of hurting him. Apparently he didn't like that because I never saw him again.
I actually have more problems with rabbits in my garden than woodchucks, as I keep the latter thinned out. To be accurate they actually are varying hares.

 

[lman]

I remember when I was with my grandfather when he dug up a Fox den that wasn't far from the chicken yard. He dispatched all of the pups with a shovel. My dad later came across a den of foxes and we wound up putting the pups in a kennel and they were quite tame. In fact a friend in the city took one as a pet and later said that it was nice but couldn't housebreak it.
I still shoot opossums around my horses since they spread a disease to horses.

 

[cqaigy2]

I remember when I was with my grandfather when he dug up a Fox den that wasn't far from the chicken yard. He dispatched all of the pups with a shovel. My dad later came across a den of foxes and we wound up putting the pups in a kennel and they were quite tame. In fact a friend in the city took one as a pet and later said that it was nice but couldn't housebreak it.
I still shoot opossums around my horses since they spread a disease to horses.

I didn't know that, what's the disease?

 

[MossRoad]

I didn't know that, what's the disease?

Equine Protozoal Myeloencephalitis - Horse Owners - Merck Veterinary Manual

Learn about the veterinary topic of Equine Protozoal Myeloencephalitis. Find specific details on this topic and related topics from the Merck Vet Manual.

www.merckvetmanual.com

 

[MossRoad]

I didn't know that, what's the disease?

Good housekeeping practices minimize the risks to horses.

 

[Slowpoke Slim]

And high speed varmint rifles are just part of the "good housekeeping" principle.

 

[oosik]

Well - poo. Over a month and still no airplane - no shooter. I have later found out that this "operation" has little to do with the government. The "operation" has the approval of the government. It's a local crop sprayer and a friend as the shooter. Flying in the temps we have had lately - in an open cockpit aircraft - would not be my idea of fun. Maybe it will happen in warmer weather.

AND - I've always found that my 30-30 is plenty fast enough for varmints around here. It's not so much the gun as the abilities of the person using the gun.