Blasted Coyotes!

badlander · #1 01/15/15, 09:53 AM

For the last two nights I have been woke up and kept awake by coyotes. Last night was the worst of the two nights. I could hear them moving closer each time I awakened until they seemed to congregate near a stream 100 yards from our house. I couldn't believe the racket they were making. Yips, yaps, barks short howls all at once from what sounded like a large pack and going all at once. Our dogs heard them but other than making a couple of low growls, showed no interest in going out to investigate.

This morning our Australian cattle dog barreled out the back door and immediately ran about 100 yards behind the house where he stood and barked in every direction for about fifteen minutes, then ran along the timber line, nose to the ground.

I've never heard them so close to the house.

DH speculated that they are starting their breeding season and were 'partying'. I looked it up and sure enough, coyote breeding season begins toward the end of January in Missouri. I just wish they would go party somewhere else so I can sleep and not live in fear of putting the dogs outside in the morning before sunrise.

Anybody else noting an increase in coyote activity around you?

MadRanchTX · #2 01/15/15, 10:14 AM

Walked out of the house about 5am Monday to the same party. Walked around for a bit with a flashlight and a .45. Cows were huddled up around the calves in the middle of the pasture, donkeys were at the nearest edge to the noise requesting an invite. I love my donkeys, there hell on dogs and yotes.

cntrywmnkw · #3 01/15/15, 10:21 AM

Yep, they're bad here in SC as well. Got woke up not long ago to the same thing, sounded like a large pack right at my back deck some answering in the woods about 1/4 mile away. I got up, turned on lights & fired a round & they evidently decided to go party somewhere else.

badlander · #4 01/15/15, 10:37 AM

Yes, it's nights like last night that make me wish that I had a donkey that I could turn loose and say 'sic em!'

I know they are around. Problem is that until about three years ago the local Amish men would get together about this time of the year and do a predator drive and hunt. They would get permission from all the local farmers to be on their land, make a half circle over X number of farms and close in, driving coyotes, fox, anything that might pose a problem when lambing and kidding season happened to the center of the group where it was dispatched with shotguns. It worked pretty darned well. One year they even had a cougar pop up that they were forced to shoot when it acted aggressive towards them. That was about 2 to 3 miles from our farm and during a time that MDC was claiming there weren't cougars in Missouri....DUH.

Many of the men involved in the hunt moved to other communities and since then the number of coyotes has steadily climbed in our area.

Makes me wish somebody would thin them out a bit.

Molly Mckee · #5 01/15/15, 10:42 AM

It could be worse--our coyotes are pretty quiet around here, but wolves have been seen and heard in the area.

Jolly · #6 01/15/15, 10:48 AM

Chicken leg quarters, anti-freeze and a few thousand bucks worth of Gen 3 scope on a .243 will have an immediate effect on your problem.

At least that's what I've been told...

badlander · #7 01/15/15, 11:02 AM

Yeah, .223 works wonders also but I'm to lazy to set up all night waiting for them to show their faces.

**GREENCOUNTYPETE** · #8 01/15/15, 11:46 AM

ask around trappers are every where but don't exactly advertize , trapping season is on for yotes in most of the country right now , if you have a regular concentration of them close , maybe a local trapper can help you get rid of several at once and you get to keep sleeping well if you can with the racket

BlackFeather · #9 01/15/15, 12:13 PM

We get serenaded in the middle of the night, we let the dog out and he goes and barks till they leave. I agree with the statement "I'm to lazy to set up all night waiting for them to show their faces."

Homesteader1 · #10 01/15/15, 12:42 PM

Ya those pesky things can be a problem. I got a couple on my game cameras, I'll get em at lease a couple maybe the others will get the hint and move on. Them buggers are fast they never stop moving. I'll place some bait from my butchering out in the back field stake it down and see what happens.

Ozarks Tom · #11 01/15/15, 02:21 PM

A rabbit in distress cd, a cd player, a red lens over your spotlight, and a .223 make for a fun evening.

Around here there are several groups who hunt coyotes with dogs. Also, there are some folk who snare them and sell them live to a dog training place east of Springfield. Lots of ways of getting rid of them.

Darren · #12 01/15/15, 02:48 PM

Add this to your silenced rifle. On sale now at a bit more than $10,000.

Blasted Coyotes! - Homesteading Questions

big rockpile · #13 01/15/15, 07:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ozarks Tom

A rabbit in distress cd, a cd player, a red lens over your spotlight, and a .223 make for a fun evening.

Around here there are several groups who hunt coyotes with dogs. Also, there are some folk who snare them and sell them live to a dog training place east of Springfield. Lots of ways of getting rid of them.

Illegal in Missouri. Can't hunt at night unless Treed by Dogs. You can't as much as shine a Light over a field.

As far as MDC saying there was no Cougars, they said there was no Breeding pairs same as Bears.

big rockpile

Lilith · #14 01/15/15, 07:43 PM

I'm loving the upped activity of the yotes around here! Then again, I love yote hunting! Breeding season is early this year for the area, but the hides are prime. I love breeding season because even tho a LOT of our coyotes have been "educated" - called in, shot taken, and missed - something about breeding season makes them go stupid. Males will answer to a mating howl as well as a territorial challenge. Females are a bit harder to call in, but even they get all uptight about a challenge call and other females seeking males in their territory and come in hot and hard. I have found this is the ONLY time of year I can call in the nocturnal packs after sun up.
This video really shows the female seeking male howl pretty well. My 11 yo does all of my calling for me now days with just his voice rather than using a caller, but I've had success with both the electronic howler and reed calls.There are also good videos by field and stream about challenge calls.

fireweed farm · #15 01/16/15, 07:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jolly

Chicken leg quarters, anti-freeze and a few thousand bucks worth of Gen 3 scope on a .243 will have an immediate effect on your problem.

At least that's what I've been told...

Antifreeze?? That's messed up and if not illegal, they missed a law.

fishhead · #16 01/17/15, 07:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fireweed farm

Antifreeze?? That's messed up and if not illegal, they missed a law.

Definitely! A trained search and rescue dog was just killed with chicken and antifreeze. Hundreds of hours go into training those dogs.

There are much more humane ways to reduce the local population of coyotes.

MrSmith · #17 01/17/15, 11:30 PM

Not sure if Mo is the same as IA regarding night hunting laws. Here we can hunt at night, but cannot use projected light, unless the animal is treed by dogs. However, when there's snow on the ground and just enough, Not too much, moon, it is really productive night hunting. A full moon is bright as day and the yote's are just as wary.

badlander · #18 01/18/15, 08:26 AM

Actually if you go to MDC.MO.GOV and read the section on Coyote hunting, it doesn't say it is illegal to hunt yotes at night except for block of days during April.

The coyotes are annoying at this point in time. I haven't heard any talk about them hitting local sheep and goat herds. They may or may not in time, no one can know that for sure.

At the moment they are being quiet and not partying near our farm and that is all I care about.

fishhead · #19 01/18/15, 08:43 AM

There's been some discussion that if coyotes aren't causing problems removing some of them may result in the remaining ones changing their behavior and turning into problem animals. I don't know that there is any data to back that up but it does sound plausible since there are dominant coyotes in each area.

Conhntr · #20 01/18/15, 09:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fishhead

There's been some discussion that if coyotes aren't causing problems removing some of them may result in the remaining ones changing their behavior and turning into problem animals. I don't know that there is any data to back that up but it does sound plausible since there are dominant coyotes in each area.

That seems unlikely. Reducing competion for food - by reducing predator numbers - makes it more likely for them to attack livestock?