Coyotes??

[Kstornado11]

My LGD Isaiah is "on the warpath" now, as we have coyotes that have come down from the hills & woods during the ice storm, and taken our big Polish rooster,Fred! One of the tom turkeys killed a young silly little Silkie earlier
( my 11 year old DD came running in, the tom ripped off her entire crest and all the flesh on her head.... DH left the trapdoor to the banty coop open earlier & she wandered out) , and since the ground is so frozen from the ice, we can't bury her so I'm sure the coyotes (or whatever took the roo) can smell it. No GUN, darnitalll... any tips we can use on the short term, besides letting the Pyr go at 'em alone (he's capable, but only 9 months old) ? When I was trying to figure out a way to put the Silkie down, & herd the turkeys in, I heard a coyote(s) very near, right down by the creek, and the pup has been going off ever since he saw/smelled the silkie, and heard the coyotes. Any suggestions ...? --We are limited as to what we can do as it's been freezing rain since yesterday.

[BeckyW]

Coyotes rarely hunt alone, at least in Colorado and California. Your dog may be able to take on one coyote however I personally would not risk him against a pack. Lock up the animals/birds at night.

Sorry, no ideas for the dead chicken and frozen ground. I'm sure others will volunteer advice on that.

BW

[james dilley]

Pen the pup up and set A few snares.Check with Game management, They may have livetraps you can use. Look up nusence trappers Just A few thoughts.

[Ravenlost]

Build a small bonfire and burn the chicken.

We have nine dogs and don't want them getting hurt by coyotes, but two nights ago one lone coyote (guess the others ran off...we've been hearing quite a few of them) got really close to the house and ours dogs killed it.

[pancho]

Coyotes do not usually hunt in packs. Most times it is a pair and sometimes their young for the year. One or two coyotes can sound like a whole pack. Any lgd should be able to handle two coyotes. They may bother him but will usually not do any real damage. They sound a lot worse than they really are.

[tamsam]

Best thing is if you are in coyote country get a gun, borrow one if you can. We keep one loaded on the gun rack where it can be grabed in a matter of seconds. Coyotes are very smart and will do what ever it takes to get an easy meal. They really hurt our deer population here. I have killed on within 100 ft of our back door in the day time, which is unusal as they are night hunters. I will take that back we hace 2 guns loaded, A 30-30 and a mac 90 which is a 762 x39. However the one I killed was with a 44 mag. Hope you don't lose any animals to the awful things. Sam

[Beaners]

Originally Posted by tamsam

Best thing is if you are in coyote country get a gun, borrow one if you can. We keep one loaded on the gun rack where it can be grabed in a matter of seconds. Coyotes are very smart and will do what ever it takes to get an easy meal. They really hurt our deer population here. I have killed on within 100 ft of our back door in the day time, which is unusal as they are night hunters. I will take that back we hace 2 guns loaded, A 30-30 and a mac 90 which is a 762 x39. However the one I killed was with a 44 mag. Hope you don't lose any animals to the awful things. Sam

Emphasis mine-I don't think I'd recommend this to any house with children in it. I know the OP mentioned an 11? year old at least.

While a gun would be your best bet, keeping everyone locked up overnight and when you can't be watching them seems to be the only option. As long as their housing is secure, they will be too. I don't think I'd chance a 9 month pup against a determined coyote but most pups I've had still aren't entirely confident at that age. You wouldn't want one butt-whooping setting him back, or at least I wouldn't. If he was a little older I'd consider it more. If you haven't gotten ridden of the bird that was killed yet, I'd also say burn it. Maybe a "memorial fire" if that is the direction you want to take it for children?

Good luck, and remember, even if you get rid of this/these coyote(s) if your place still has food available more will show up.

Kayleigh

[Spinner]

Coyotes hunt in packs here. When we see them, there are usually 5 or 6 in a pack, but have seen as many as 11. They are smart and one coyotes will come in to scout the area. While the dog is off chasing the single coyote, the rest of the pack will move in and raid the chickens. By the time the dog gets back, it's too late, the chickens will be dead and gone. That's why most people will have 2 dogs. One will stay on guard duty while the other runs off the scout. One dog is not a good match for a pack, but 2 can run off the entire pack.

[desertrat - 1]

A gun is your best option . Dont pay any attention to the " no gun people " because a kid is in the home . You'd be surprized how fast a kid will learn to respect a firearm when taught gun safety by a responsible adult .

Teach your kids firearms safety ! Teach and show them what a gun will do and how it is a very useful tool when used properly . Thats part of being a good parent .

Kids arent stupid , give them credit . I got my first gun , a .22 single shot and a .410 shotgun when I was about 10 years old . I'm still alive and very comfortable around firearms .

Just use common sense . There wont be any problems .

DR-1

[Beaners]

I didn't say don't have a gun in the house. I said having a loaded gun accessible in a house with children is not safe. Guns are great. Just not when they're loaded and children could get at them.

When you were a child were you taught that it was ok to keep loaded guns around the house? If you don't have kids around and anyone else in the house knows it's loaded great. But sometimes kids do dumb things.

Kayleigh

[fantasymaker]

Originally Posted by Beaners

When you were a child were you taught that it was ok to keep loaded guns around the house? If you don't have kids around and anyone else in the house knows it's loaded great. But sometimes kids do dumb things.

Kayleigh

Of course I was.
I thought every one knew that
ALL GUNS ARE LOADED ALL THE TIME
one of the basic rules of being safe around guns.

[Beaners]

Y'all are making it sound like I'm saying something that I'm not.

Why is it so hard for all of you to disagree with having a loaded gun around children?

And you might treat that gun like it's loaded, but you don't need to leave it loaded to reinforce the lesson. Again, I like guns. Just not when they're loaded around children. Why does that make me anti-gun?

Kayleigh

[Hip_Shot_Hanna]

Originally Posted by pancho

Coyotes do not usually hunt in packs. Most times it is a pair and sometimes their young for the year. One or two coyotes can sound like a whole pack. Any lgd should be able to handle two coyotes. They may bother him but will usually not do any real damage. They sound a lot worse than they really are.

A ranching family here bought three Pyrenees/Anatolian Shepherd crosses. Two were six month old pups which he put together in one field with goats. The other was a three year old mature female which he put in another field. Two days later she was killed by coyotes. He found her torn up in the field with a dead coyote and many tracks around her.

I have been told by folks who have these dogs that one cannot do an adequate job alone if there are many coyotes. Two are fine, they "watch each other's backs" so to speak.

[chicky momma]

My sister has 3 golden retrievers, she lives on 10 wooded acres. Her one dog was attacked by something. Her vet seemed to think coyotes. Tore up her back and hind end pretty good. We've also seen pairs in the day time. But mostly we hear them at night. Sounds like a pack to us. They help with our deer population, we're over run with them. They usually take a few weak, old, young or wounded a winter. Maybe some fawns in the spring. Don't really even make a dent. If we didn't get the chickies locked up at night we wouldn't have any left. Everything loves chicken. Lisa

[ceresone]

my kids were around guns growing up--all 4 of them. kids should be taught when tiny, all guns are loaded, they kill--and dont touch! mine were---seems to me when guns are completely inacessable, they are more appealing. just my 2 cents worth.

[jesset]

When you see 1 coyote you know there's a dozen your not seeing, that's the way it is
here in the Adirondacks. My brother-in-law has been working on his coyote problem
for years he's come to the conclusion that securing his own is far more effective than
trying to eradicate the problem. His Norwegian Elkhound and Shepard seems to be his best deterant so far.

Jesse
www.homesteadarticles.com

[terry stewart]

here in east tn we started seeing them a few years ago people have cats outsde and after feeding them leaving the cat food out have more problems

[cowgirlone]

I feel for ya Kstordnado!
We have coyote problems year round, they can cause a lot of damage.
As for hunting alone or in packs, they do both.
Three weeks ago DH watched two coyotes take down and kill a small spike white tail buck.

Also, they will kill newborn calves as soon as they hit the ground.
Some keep the momma cow busy in the front and the others attack from behind.

I've caught them inside my barns, you don't want to corner one!
Also a couple of years ago a coyote went into my sheep barn and stole an 8 week old border collie pup.

They are bad in the fall when the springs pups are learning how to hunt. The older coyotes will hunt by themselves and in broad daylight.

They are not one of my favorite critters. LOL!

[highlands]

Canids is a gang war game - Who is bigger with the bigger gang. We have multiple livestock guardian dogs (LGDs) and they kill coyotes that are foolish enough to come into the pastures. They do it as a team. I would not suggest putting one dog out against coyotes because the coyotes will do the same thing, work as a team. Around here they generally hunt in packs of 3 to 6. Rarely are they alone.

Please do not use snares or leg hold traps. Both of these can catch and kill cats & dogs. I have lost dogs to leg hold traps. One just this January. (Illegal poacher, trapping on my property.)

Please do not catch and release with live traps. That just moves the problem and possibly disease to someone else's backyard. Even if you think you're far out in the country, someone lives there and catch & release is a great way to spread disease. On top of that canids will travel for 50 to 100 miles to return to their territory.

Realize that canids (dogs, wolves, coyotes, etc) are highly territorial. If you remove the one who you have then another will come to take its place. They also breed faster in response to predatory pressure (fewer of them means more bigger litters).

If you go the gun route practice good safety. That is far better than trapping but time consuming.

The best solution is good electrical fencing and your own gang of LGDs to defend your homestead. LGDs work 24/7 and have far better senses than you or I plus they enjoy their work. I don't want to be out at 3 am shooting coyotes in the ice storm. My dogs love their jobs.

[Kstornado11]

Originally Posted by cowgirlone

I feel for ya Kstordnado!
We have coyote problems year round, they can cause a lot of damage.
As for hunting alone or in packs, they do both.
Three weeks ago DH watched two coyotes take down and kill a small spike white tail buck.

Also, they will kill newborn calves as soon as they hit the ground.
Some keep the momma cow busy in the front and the others attack from behind.

I've caught them inside my barns, you don't want to corner one!
Also a couple of years ago a coyote went into my sheep barn and stole an 8 week old border collie pup.

They are bad in the fall when the springs pups are learning how to hunt. The older coyotes will hunt by themselves and in broad daylight.

They are not one of my favorite critters. LOL!

WOW, I didn't know they could/would eat calves and puppies!!
Thanks for all your great suggestions everyone, looks like both coops made it OK thru the night. All the wood was frozen, covered in ice, so we couldn't burn the body last night, so the smell of the blood was my main worry. The pup was going off all night long, and seems to have kept everyone safe. We recently got another pup, a Great Pyrenees/German Shepherd, and she already seems very smart, and a tough little gal! When she grows up, Isaiah will have help guarding the place.
When the ice storm passes and the ground thaws, we are going to see about putting up electric fencing around the coops, as there is simply TOO much area to fence the whole place. We have thought about getting a gun, but we never SEE the darn things, they are too sneaky!! We have set traps, but never caught anything, apparantly they are smarter than we are where trapping is concerned!!