My neighbor got two donkeys because of coyotes killing his calves and it has worked. They are nearby and I have never heard them. He first tried shooting them and that didn’t work at all.
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We have a minature donkey who is definitely overweight. I heard the minatures can’t defend themselves as well. I put that Solar Powered Motion Sensor Alarm in different places each night. Last night I had it in Pen 2, so obviously the coyotes were in Pen 4. I shine a flashlight in Pen 4 whenever I let the dogs out. I heard them escaping Pen 4 by running through the coke cans tied to the fence. Obviously, they’re not afraid of them anymore.
My neighbor had one come within 10 feet of their front porch in the daylight. That’s a little scary. Someone posted on the Ring app that there was a coyote in their yard. I don’t know if their pit bull ran them off or what. They seem to be all over the place.
Anything intended to scare a wild animal is something that an animal can desensitize to over time. Sometimes very quickly.
It’s frustrating trying to direct the behavior of wild animals when we can’t control their ability to reward themselves for doing what we don’t want them to do. That tends to overcome whatever concerns they initially have about our attempts to scare them off.
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Definitely true! It makes me appreciate all the conversations I had with my horse and pony. And especially everything they’ve done for me. After I had my surgery on my left elbow, the doctor said no more than 5 lbs of pressure on that arm. The pony was initially my daughter’s. The pony took care of me. And for that, I’ll be forever thankful.
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First, you need to get the doggo a coyote vest: CoyoteVest I keep mine on a hook by the door (also have the throat spikes) and my doggo does not go out without it. Keep the little one close to you. Mine is 10 lbs but I think a great horned owl could also take him and I have seen them on my property (as well as coyote and foxes).
Second, do you have Next Door? I joined my local Next Door and put a question out there and had multiple responses from ethical bow hunters wanting to come onto my land to hunt the critters. Make sure they know a blood tracker and have them on speed dial in case they injure but do not kill the animal. A blood tracker will track the animal and put an end to its suffering.
If you live on property, you need to know of these people even if you don’t want them to hunt the coyote. I have tons of deer that traverse my property and if I ever have an injured one, I want to be able to call someone to end its suffering since I can’t.
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I have never had a single problem with coyotes - they keep the rats and rabbits controlled. I welcome them on my farm ( been on my farm since 1998 ). Only problems I have are with neighbors Dogs! Coyotes trot through the pasture and ignore my horses and dog. dogs run through my pasture and chase my horses, kill fawns, and bark at us.
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Anyone know the statistics on rabies and coyotes?
We once had an uptick of rabies in raccoons here ( In the suburbs of New York City) so I’m wondering about coyotes.
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Looks like very minimal. Fewer than ten coyote positives in the 2021 report (which is the most recent I could find.)
Fox are a fairly significant vector, though.
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were around here as the coyotes ate all of the foxes we had
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@Cowgirl Our little chihuahua hates vests; I should probably buy one though. Usually at night, I go out with him and stand close to him. I have doubts as to whether that would stop a coyote. I’m guessing our backyard fence is about 75 feet from the back door. I’ve seen them as close as 75 feet beyond that as they go to the back of our pole barn to spend the night. My daughter also saw them within 10 feet of the fence dividing our front and back yards ON the front yard side at the property line.
That’s great advice about Next Door. I’ll ask about bow hunters. We have the 18 acres of green space behind us and that’s where they typically spend the day. They come on our property at night to sleep and probably eat the leftovers in the stalls.
I like the idea of a blood tracker. We have lots of deer and while we don’t feed them, we like it that they’re on our property. I know the wildlife organization and I’ll check further into whether they have a blood tracker. Unfortunately, our little community is growing a lot. There are lots of coyote sightings within a 5-mile radius and in established neighborhoods. One woman found a dead deer in her front flower bed, and it was thoroughly mutilated. The animal control officer said it was probably coyotes.
I really appreciate the advice. Thanks so much.
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With a major water source nearby and ~18 acres of hunting ground and wooded land, there is not much you can do. Your property is likely on or close to rendezvous. Good shelter, hunting grounds, and a viable source of fresh water will attract a steady population of wildlife. You know the expression “build a barn and rats will come” - the same can be said for everything else: things to hunt the rat, things to eat the rat-hunter, and things to scavenge the prey and predator when both die.
If that 18 acres is conservation or publicly owned property, careful about hunting - the laws vary from state to state. Even then, hunting will not have a considerable impact on your coyote population as a habitat will naturally house as many individuals as its resources can support.
You are better served providing adequate protection to your small pets. Don’t let them out unsupervised. Keep them on a leash. Build a run-in enclosure for your small dogs.
Coyotes are not going to attack your horses. They are way too small and have better, easier meals to come by. If you are really concerned, get a donkey. Your horse is statistically more likely to get mauled by a neighbor dog than a coyote - something to think about.
My horses and coyotes have coexisted peacefully for 20+ years. We have 500+ acres of conservation and farmland all around our farm. Coyotes have slept in our paddocks and their puppies have hunted in our fields. They have never been interested in the horses. They have occasionally eaten our chickens - but for that, I say on us – it is the price chickens pay for breaking out of their enclosure.
It is normal for them to hunt during daylight hours, especially in suburban or urban areas. They are active when their prey are active. Urban and suburban coyotes have demonstrated remarkable adaptability to their environment, and their behaviors (like sleeping, hunting, escorting, even breeding) are a reflection of the environment they inhabit.
As civilization increasingly expands, it will push the wildlife into smaller and smaller pools of woodlands. As this happens, competition for food and resources will push adaptable organisms out, forcing them to suburban and urban areas for food. Since humans and rodents have an almost congruent relationship via niche partitioning, you will find species that eat rats and mice following humans wherever they go.
One of those species is a coyote.
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What we typically see here is mange. Those mange infested coyote really suffer.
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The person who designed the Coyote Vest had their little dog taken off the leash while they were hiking with it. Just jumped out and grabbed the dog. I think the story is on their website.
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Even more, the population of wild animals in congenial suburban/exurban areas is I understand at higher density than the true wilderness because there is more food.
Interestingly I spent a weekend at a guest & cattle ranch last summer right up against forest service grazing lands full of semi feral beef cattle. They had a couple of Pyrenees cross guardian dogs on full time patrol. There was no wildlife except some chipmunk/squirrel thingies. They said nothing came down to bother them.
I live in proper suburb built out 50 years ago. In a town house complex. My horse is in a regional park. Our suburb prides itself on its many green belts. And we are just full of coyotes, bobcats, black bears, raccoons, skunks, and even lone cougars in neighboring suburbs. We have wild rabbits and mink in the park. We don’t have many deer here, I think not enough grazing, but they are around and a nuisance in other communities. Also hawks, owls, eagles, ravens. Anyhow way more wildlife or more habituated wildlife than the guest ranch in the back country (which was absolutely fabulous and I brought my own horse).
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Yes! It is a very interesting topic, and suburban wildlife is a whole new field of study, with many species adapted to suburban or urban sprawl shattering formerly understood behavioral expectations. For instance, wildlife biologists have noticed very different behavioral norms in “street foxes” versus “country foxes” in red fox populations. Same goes for coyotes.
But it makes sense at its core, IMO. When you look at a species you are looking at a product of its environment. All a species is, really, is reflective of the environment that hosts them. That includes everything from climate and temperature, to food sources, competition, and yes, even cars, buses, and airports. Give coyotes a few thousand years in the city and who knows how their environment will shape them. What will they look like? What will their social structure consist of? Will they lose their pointiness, will they grow smaller, will their ears grow bigger to better sort the noises of the city? It’s really interesting.
It’s still a relatively young area of study, but I think peregrine falcons are possibly one of the better studied species in terms of their urban population and behavior, and how their diet and food sourcing has changed to reflect the abundance of specific food sources in their current habitat. In the early part of the 60s Peregrine falcons were nearly extinct in their northeastern range because of pesticide use. Once DDT was banned, they made a huge comeback – surprisingly picking towns and cities as their preferred ranges. Now, their population in cities dwarfs their population in more rural areas. Most biologists speculate this has to do with abundant food sources in cities, and scarcer competition with other predators occupying the same niche.
Regarding seeing more wildlife in cities or towns than out in the country, I don’t wonder if it also is because their ranges are smaller and their behavioral patterns shift to reflect that - AKA more active in the day. I’m in a suburban area - we’re right on the cusp of the Metro, but far enough out there that the Taconic Mountains are geographically in our backyard. I see coyotes more than I see deer, I see deer more than I see fox, and hawks and eagles are a daily sighting for me.
I did see my first bona fide wild grey fox this summer which was a highlight for me. I pulled into my driveway and it was sitting right there like it was his/her own yard. 
We have a ton of rabbits, and I think s/he was hunting. I have never seen a live one before, though I’ve seen them occasionally as roadkill. 
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I’m sympathetic to the coyotes, but don’t want them on my property necessarily. I was mowing a pen that had woods on three sides when I saw the first one. I mistakenly thought it was a gray fox. Guess I should wear my glasses when mowing. Anyway, it just sat there for about 10 minutes and watched me mow. I left as I thought it might be hunting for food for its litter. Little did I know.
My herd is a mix of my sister’s gelding and a miniature donkey plus our gelding and mare. I wish they were all one herd, but frequently there are squabbles - it’s usually the mare. The coyotes have slept within 3 feet of the barn hallway. I always throw ammonia bags where they sleep and they just find another location. I guess it’s a game we have.
The property was empty for a while before we moved in. Within a week we had rats. We usually have snakes around the barn and very frequently, they live IN the barn, but they always leave in the fall. I’d be happy to fix them a burrow so they’d stay around. Some of the people on Next Door have complained about the growth. One of my neighbors went to a board meeting and complained about it. They’re building houses with basements in flood plain. Supposedly each morning they would have to pump the water out of the basement area so they could finish construction. The city wants the tax money though. I still like it here.
We haven’t hunted the coyotes and don’t want to. We have hawks, owls, plenty of snakes and deer coming onto our property daily. We enjoy it.
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I recently read an article about a millionaire living outside Silicon Valley. He has a coyote that lays around on his patio furniture. He said people think it’s cute, but the fact is the coyote paws on his door late at night and then he opens the door to let it in. A recent study stated that coyotes are becoming accustomed to luxury living (metro areas, subdivisions, etc.) as it’s easier living. It really makes sense.
our place was recently rezoned to allow up to 66 townhouses as the cities are trying to increase the stock of housing units
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So will you be selliñg soon, @ Clanter?
Your taxes will probably go up with the higher density zoning.
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Interestingly, coyote bodies are pretty typical of many wild canine species that historically have not depended on human populations. Including the thin nose, minimal sloping stop between the eyes, and pointy ears.
I’m guessing that their body and head shape won’t change much, even as they adapt behaviorally and in other ways. It’s generically useful for survival.
Also interestingly, dogs that have lived next to and among human habitations for thousands of years, without human breeding intervention – if wild/feral, still of the species dog – tend to have a wider variety of phenotypes. Even within the same population. Ears, muzzles, head shape, body shape, coat, color. More diverse DNA is scattered among dogs, enabling humans to breed for certain characteristics and create ‘breeds’.
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