Coyote Holes

[BigMama1]

@ToN Farm

Thanks for all your replies. Things have gotten worse this morning. I see that there is a huge hole right beside my vertical pasture fence post. The hole is filled with water as it has been raining non-stop for over a day. I stuck the end of my pitchfork handle in it, and it’s deep and may even have started a tunnel. There is a lot of dirt beside it indicating digging. The other two places in the open field are disturbed as well, but no hole yet. They left some droppings there. Originally my worry was a hole a horse could step in. Now my worry is the fence post becoming loose and and the fence line coming down. That has happened before with lots of rain. The posts get water logged, rot, break, and down comes a panel of fencing, leaving the horse head straight up for the road.

I scooped up the feces in a little container. I don’t know if there is anyplace I can take it to get it identified. Interestingly, this little pile looks different than the piles I saw before.

Not typical for coyotes at all. Do you have groundhogs or gophers where you are?

[xeroxchick]

I have seen coyote go into a hole in the middle of a field to take cover but rare. Coyote scatt is very narrow on each end and often has hair in it. Maybe they were digging out prey? Around here I would say an Armadillo but not sure if you have those there. Holes are a PITA for sure.

[Calvincrowe]

I agree that this is not coyote behavior at all, unless they are digging out voles or mice maybe? We have dozens of coyotes around us, and the only evidence is their poop occasionally and their vocalizing at night with some sightings as they cross our lower field to access the neighbor’s giant farm. Coyote dens are quite large and would be most likely in a sheltered area dug into a hillside, ravine, rock pile, etc. The farm up the road had one in a unused culvert for years and years. We’d trail ride and see pups pop out to take a look at us when we rode by.