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fairfarmhand
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Last week coyotes got three newborn lambs the same day they were born. Okay. So I moved all the moms and babies up to the barn. Fine. All is well.

 

Now those (I'd love to use an expletive here, so just use your imagination) killed two of my adult sheep. Nothings left but bones and skin. I've never had coyotes hurt an adult sheep. There must have been a huge number of them to do what they did. And we had a ram in that pen. They had to keep him busy while hurting the others.

 

And one of our all time favorite ewes, in fact, my very best ewe is going to have to be put down. They ate out her back-end. I wonder if she was lambing and they just chewed her up as she was laying there. I've called the butcher and will haul her over there.

 

This is pretty much one of the hardest things I've done here. But that's farming.

 

Sometimes it really, really stinks.

 

And yeah, Monday, one of our other ewes, the mama of the one I'm carrying off today had a horrible complication from birthing and had to be put down at the vets.

 

What a crappy week.

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:crying:

 

So sorry to hear.

 

Coyotes got inside a barn?

 

No these were ewes without babies in the field. I just moved the moms and babies because in the past adult sheep have been safe from them. They've never torn up a flock with only adults, especially with a ram.

 

This is pretty bold behavior. The pen in which the sheep were was VERY close to the house. And even closer to my neighbor's house. I mean, the neighbor could spit out the window to where I found the bodies of my sheep.

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No these were ewes without babies in the field. I just moved the moms and babies because in the past adult sheep have been safe from them. They've never torn up a flock with only adults, especially with a ram.

 

This is pretty bold behavior. The pen in which the sheep were was VERY close to the house. And even closer to my neighbor's house. I mean, the neighbor could spit out the window to where I found the bodies of my sheep.

 

Oh wow. I wonder if there's a way to make them trip a noise alarm if they get into the area to alert you and/or scare them off.

 

Edited by heartlikealion
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oh that sucks

 

on the local news they mentioned coyotes have been a problem and to watch pets and report coyotes acting "boldly"...don't know what it means when they act boldly...but apparently it's a problem around here too

One reason the coyote population has exploded is that there are far fewer hunters thinning out the game populations. Deer are everywhere out here and there are just not enough people hunting them as so many fields are broken up into smaller plots for housing.

 

It's not just subdivisions. Even breaking up a 100 acre field into 20 acre plots with homes means that it's harder to get a clear shot without aiming at someone;s house, car, horse or dog.

 

Bold coyotes come close to homes, attacking pets near houses, getting into household trash. Typical coyotes don't come close to human habitation at all.

Edited by fairfarmhand
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That is not run of the mill coyote behavior. Do you know your neighbors well enough to spread the word to other farms?

 

I am so sorry about your losses.

 

Thinking  the same thing!

What carnage. I'd be in tears.

We've had coyotes around at previous home and here as well but I have never heard of anything on this scale.

Edited by Liz CA
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Thinking  the same thing!

What carnage. I'd be in tears.

We've had coyotes around at previous home and here as well but I have never heard of anything on this scale.

 

I've been bawling on and off all morning. I'm hoping I can keep it together at the butchers. She was a wonderful ewe with a sweet, funny, interesting personality.

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One reason the coyote population has exploded is that there are far fewer hunters thinning out the game populations. Deer are everywhere out here and there are just not enough people hunting them as so many fields are broken up into smaller plots for housing.

 

It's not just subdivisions. Even breaking up a 100 acre field into 20 acre plots with homes means that it's harder to get a clear shot without aiming at someone;s house, car, horse or dog.

 

Bold coyotes come close to homes, attacking pets near houses, getting into household trash. Typical coyotes don't come close to human habitation at all.

 

Huh...we live in a densely populated area, but DH one night said he saw an animal on the way home and he didn't know what it was.  So he described it and I thought coyote (but didn't imagine it was possible).  So I showed him pictures and he said yes that's what it looked like.  So maybe that is what it was. 

 

Kinda creepy.  Do they ever come near humans?  He saw this thing near a park up the street. 

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Huh...we live in a densely populated area, but DH one night said he saw an animal on the way home and he didn't know what it was.  So he described it and I thought coyote (but didn't imagine it was possible).  So I showed him pictures and he said yes that's what it looked like.  So maybe that is what it was. 

 

Kinda creepy.  Do they ever come near humans?  He saw this thing near a park up the street. 

 

I doubt that healthy coyotes would come near humans, the ones we see are pretty wary.

 

A rabid one could be problematic though.

 

And yes, they don't mind densely populated areas either. They eat trash, rodents, birds, whatever, so even denser areas could have coyotes.

 

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Do you guys have any deer hunting/movement cameras that can ping to your cell phone? I'd be inclined to set something up as it sounds like they keep cycling back to your farm.

 

Did you find tracks that look definitively coyote rather than dog --as that does sound like it could be a pack of dogs too.

 

Hugs to you....our friends lost their chihuahuas at Christmas due to coyotes.  All of this close contact is causing them to become more brazen, I think.

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That is so sad!  I'm sorry for your poor babies!!

 

Do you or your dh hunt? If you are not comfortable with guns, maybe there is a trappers club in your area?  We live in an area where coyote hunting is pretty common, and there is also an very active group of trappers - one guy I know has several farmers that he works with. (i'm not sure if he traps coyote, though?)  I'm not sure how you would look up your local trapper club, but maybe you could ask at a farm store or post something on a bulletin board.  The fact that they are attacking adult animals is scary!! I would be worried about Mt. Lions, too.  One near us recently jumped a fence and took a dog out of his own back yard.  

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Oh that's so sad! I'm sorry!

 

We have coyotes here, and once dh and I were walking around the neighborhood and we could hear them howling and cackling. It sounded like Halloween. So creepy! I was afraid for my dog mostly and hoping he could defend himself if he were attacked.

Edited by HeWillSoar
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Mountain lion was my first thought. Do you have game cameras that can be set up? Or live traps? Can you call your extension office or the game wardens and ask for help?

Here, you can ask for help and they can refer people to help. My dh currently had traps on three different farms that asked for help. Chickens are being attacked here.

Do you have guard animals? Can they be put out with them?

 

Op, I'm so so sorry. What a horrible thing to happen. I hope you get them. And soon.

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FWIW, there was a definite mountain lion tracked very near a local school a few weeks ago. Officially, there are NO mountain lions in our region. However, there WAS definitely a mountain lion nearby just a few weeks ago. I know about it just because I happen to be close friends with the expert who tracked it and my child attends activities on the property . . . Even here, locally, this info is super secret  . . .  as the officials who were notified don't believe it . . . and the locals who tracked it don't want the publicity/fear/panic that announcing their finding would create. So, maybe a dozen of us locals who are close to the people who tracked it know about it, and another dozen or so families who were impacted by the change in activities at that school might have some suspicions . . . (activities in the woods were stopped for 3 weeks . . .) but zero press release/coverage, etc. Mountain lions are very hard to spot/track/photograph, and until there is unambiguous proof, which would take a lot of time and effort and luck to obtain . . . the mountain lion(s) in our region will remain secret . . .

 

Mountain lions are expanding, for sure. 

 

If it's a mountain lion, supposedly (according to national mountain lion experts consulted in our local case), they tend to visit a particular area just for 2-3 weeks and then move on . . . (at least in our region where they are not common . . . this might be different in other regions . . .) . . . So, if that'd the case, maybe it will move on?

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I'm so sorry. Truly horrifying. We live in a very suburban area and are having coyote problems this year. We have two large dogs and two very small dogs. Some nights they're afraid to use the dog run. We see coyotes during the day, twilight, late evening...They seem to be everywhere, all the time. I'm really sorry. Horrible. Hugs to you and all of your four leggeds. 

Edited by Mom25girls
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I'm sorry. It's heartbreaking.

 

Huh...we live in a densely populated area, but DH one night said he saw an animal on the way home and he didn't know what it was. So he described it and I thought coyote (but didn't imagine it was possible). So I showed him pictures and he said yes that's what it looked like. So maybe that is what it was.

There are quite a few news reports of coyote attacking dogs and humans in my local papers.

 

Below is from a Jan 25 LATimes

"Officials said a Glendora resident was walking her mastiff on a leash near Snapdragon Lane and Elderberry Drive at around 8:15 a.m. Tuesday.

 

As the dog and its owner were walking, “a coyote attacked the dog seemingly without reason,†according to a city statement, and two other coyotes joined in." http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-coyote-attack-20170125-story.html

 

This is from July 2015 about children being attacked.

"The California Department of Fish and Wildlife reported four incidents involving coyotes and young children in the past month in Irvine, where the children have either been bitten or scratched by a coyote. All four had minor injuries from the attacks.

 

“These incidents highlight the importance of communities working together to eliminate sources of food that may attract wildlife to neighborhoods,†Capt. Rebecca Hartman said. “When coyotes are fed, either intentionally or unintentionally by food being left out, they can become a public safety threat.â€

 

Trappers have recently humanely euthanized five coyotes in the area and one was linked back to an attack through its DNA, KABC reported.

 

Officials are concerned that coyotes are losing their natural fear of humans because they’re now associating humans with food." http://abcnews.go.com/US/california-town-high-alert-coyotes-attack-children/story?id=32355667

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Huh...we live in a densely populated area, but DH one night said he saw an animal on the way home and he didn't know what it was. So he described it and I thought coyote (but didn't imagine it was possible). So I showed him pictures and he said yes that's what it looked like. So maybe that is what it was.

 

Kinda creepy. Do they ever come near humans? He saw this thing near a park up the street.

We saw a coyote a few weeks ago near the airport which is also off a pretty busy road. We don't have a ton in our area but they are definitely not deterred by humans.
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I didn't cry at the butchers.

 

He was so nice. I think he could see that it was hard for me.

 

Thankfully, things worked out okay today. The processor could take her immediately. The young men my dh hired to work on the barn were around to help me load her up. She was still mobile and not shocky or whatever, so she could still move around. It could have been much worse.

 

But this is hard. She was my best ewe. She had GREAT feet. Perfect conformation. For those who don't know, small livestock have to have their feet trimmed. Matilda's feet were beautiful. They wore evenly and grew slowly enough that she only needed a trim once a year. They were hard so they didn't develop cracks that lead to infection. She NEVER was wormed at the age of 2. Parasites and wormer resistance is a huge problem for small livestock. So her parasite resistance was excellent. That's something that can be passed on to offspring.

 

We have been culling our flock to rebuild and much of our rebuilding would have been around Matilda's offspring because she had such great traits.

 

What a waste.

 

I'm thinking about the game camera to ping to a cell phone. That sounds interesting and helpful.

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Awww, poor Matilda... :(

 

I'm in Illinois and there have been a few confirmed sightings of mountain lions in our county in the past couple years. One was photographed by a trail cam not too far from where we live. We've also had black bears and wolves, as well as coywolves (coyote/wolf hybrids). 

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I am so sorry. :grouphug:

 

We have coyotes and bobcats galore here, and they are very aggressive. Coyotes and foxes used to follow me and my chi pin when we walk in the early mornings; I now only take her out to walk when my husband is with me. I used to let the cats outside with no problems, but after two were killed a few years ago, they are now (unhappily) inside kitties.

 

Do you live in an area where coyote wolf hybrids exist? They are all over the northern east coast and many parts of the midwest. I don't know if the coywolfs are more or less aggressive than coyotes, but they are the dominant predators wherever they do live.

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