If the coyotes are supposed to limit the deep population no one told the coyotes in my neck of the woods. There are deer everywhere and we have some very nice healthy coyotes.
@mortgagemyhorse I have seen a coyote trot right across the pasture as the horses are out there grazing. The horses did not care one bit about them. I think they react more when a group of deer come bounding thru than they do when a coyote goes thru.
When I was in a meeting were the topic was releasing wolves in Yellowstone I suggested then if it was such a darn great idea then start in Central Park in NYC as they once thrived there also
We live about a mile as the crow flies from an interstate. Nothing sets the coyotes off like a siren from a police car, ambulance or fire truck screaming down the interstate! They will howl until they no longer hear the siren.
We have them go through our pastures regularly. They donât seem to bother the horses, and even the mule who lives here pretty much ignores them. I honestly worry more about them going after our newborn/ very young calves, but have not had any issues with that, although the neighbor on one side of our property claims to have lost 3 calves to them last year.
It saddens me that so many predators have this stigma. For every reasonable person there is someone who insists that they must all be shot on site.
For the most part Iâve found most horse people to be fairly reasonable, at most they bring their horses inside at night. Iâve run into the odd old timer cattle farmer who insists coyotes are the enemy, that the reason theyâve never lost a calf is because they kill them all :no: not because the predators actually have an abundance of easy prey.
A good friend farms sheep. Mostly for meat, but they do show some of their breeding stock. She said that by bringing them inside at night theyâve never lost one to predators. If they started to lose some theyâd buy a LGD, but theyâre going on 60 years and still just have a couple JRT.
The worst group? Chicken people! Huge numbers of people that are constantly battling predation in order to let their chickens free range. I have chickens. Itâs much easier to keep chickens in harmony with the environment if you build them a predator proof run and supervised free ranging. Everything in nature wants to eat chickens. Unless youâre going to sit there 24/7 with a gun you will never keep them safe when theyâre free ranging.
We lost a hen to a fox very recently. First loss in years so we had gotten lax and were allowing the chickens to free range a lot. I felt horrible for the hen. Poor thing. All our fault. For several days after that same fox ( we assume) was out there every evening at the same time. We did have our chickens free ranging again, but only when we are able to directly supervise them. When the fox appeared we simply chased it off.
We had a gun too, if it came down to it, but that was a very last resort thing. Two days of crazy humans running at it screaming seems to be all it takes for the fox to be less brazen and probably assume there is easier food to be had. I know it is still out there waiting for us to be lax again. But for now chickens have supervision when they free range and the fox has found a different food source.
You are so right about everything wanting to eat chickens. We kid them (the hens) about them being yummy to everything.
Poor girl. I have a predator proof coop and run, it sits inside a 50âx30â fenced area. I let them roam in there when Iâm home. A month ago I watched a coyote cross the road and trot through the trees past us. It had no interest in us, was just trying to get to the thick brush behind our property. If it really wanted too Iâm sure it could have scaled the fence to get in with them.
We have a trail camera set up a few hundred feet behind the coop in the bush. Most nights we get pictures of coyotes, turkeys, deer, and raccoons. But we rarely see them in person.
Yes, you are fine â the coyote has no interest in risking its life or wasting energy on harassing a horse.
Our coop and its attached run is predator proof too. It is just not very big⊠
Building them a fenced in run yard that is larger is on hold for various reasons.
I do giggle thinking about what this fox is probably telling the other wildlife about the crazy humans who scream and wave their arms while running at it.
There are 72 acres of forever wild behind my pasture. SO many deer. I usually see 6 in my pasture every day. I am glad for coyotes to have their niche.
True, they donât make much of a dent in it around here either, but their habitat is rapidly dissapears get because of rampant, unchecked subdivision development. They put a dent in it on my husbandâs deer hunting property though. Coyotes will get calves from cattle pastures right when they are born and the cow is still down. My neighborâs got a donkey to help with that problem.
You donât know how many you would have if you didnât have coyotes. I live in an exurb (so, fair amount of open space, large predators rare at best). We counted over 30 in one neighborâs driveway one morning (they hand out seed corn every morning). We typically see multiple groups of 4-8 passing through our tiny front yard every day (and all we offer them is kitchen trimmings and similar edible kitchen waste). During the rut we would meet our daughter at the bus stop carrying a baseball bat because the bucks can get aggressive and have gone after people. One of the reasons we donât do door to door trick or treating here is the rut. The numbers of deer at the boarding barn ten minutes away (with coyotes, and yes, thereâs people that feed them corn out there, too) and in my neighborhood (no coyotes) are nowhere close.
Sooooooo much to love about your post (retired HS Biology teacher and outdoors-woman here), but that made me spit on my screen. Truer words were never spoken!
Except itâs really not that simple (although I am fascinated at the distinction here â if you are ten minutes away, that is easily within the same packâs range unless you live on the opposite side of the Dingo Fence). Definitely not picking on you, just pointing out that there are many other factors.
Things that can impact numbers in a deer herd: female reproductive success (yes, some does are just crappy moms, just like some mares, while some are excellent, fertility & health are also part of this), disease, food supply & quality (I kind of doubt corn is a great diet, but Iâm also not an ungulate nutrition expert & this is also an animal which seems to flourish on suburban lawns), domestic dogs, human hunting (both legal & illegal take), & of course, every time they travel, getting hit by cars.
So itâs equally possible that âyourâ herd travels a circuit that includes fewer road crossings, doesnât get shot at, has higher quality dietary options, & has a member or three who has learned to kick the crap out of menacing looking dogs. Or the âotherâ herd simply has members who are infertile, donât get sufficient nutrients to support a fawn to weaning, cross a 4-lane highway to get their favourite buffet, are particularly susceptible to hemorrhagic fever, & have a weakness for a delicious crop field which is owned by a farmer who gut shoots deer for ârevengeâ. One or all of these things could be true (or not), but any would result in differences in herd sizes without having anything to with coyotes.
âMyâ own deer herd is VERY prolific & co-exists with our coyote pack. I have little doubt that the herdâs numbers are largely due to the fact that we have a group of connected land parcels, of which my 10-acre chunk is by far the smallest, which all contain at least some mature forest interspersed with open areas managed for grazing with only a couple scattered row crops, as well as multiple streams & ponds. The deer can & do move in a circuit of inter-connected habitats that offer diverse native vegetation without ever having to cross a road. That puts them a long way ahead in terms of possibility for success.
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