Coyotes killing livestock

[Tim Stuart]

I know there is a bunch of intelligent people that read this site so I thought I would ask a question. I have been having trouble with coyote's killing my Reg. Boer goats. Since July 4 I have lost 4 of them to the coyotes. (This is starting to get expensive to me about $200 each) They have even killed one of my neighbors Cutting horse colts which is big $$$$ (they came home in the middle of it). I feel that we have had a pack of just plain killers move in. I keep the goats in a High tinsel fence with Hot wires 6" apart. My neighbors and I have declared war on them but have only been able to kill 1 of them. This is the first time that we have had trouble with them in 2 years that I have lived here. Just a note these coyotes are not scared of horses or Jacka$$'s. My question is do any of you have a secret in killing them? Any thoughts on how to handle this? I have the attitude “ Kill them all and let God sort them out”. I have thought about going fishing for them by hanging treble hooks from trees with bait on them. What would you use for bait?

 

[charlz]

Back when a green Montana coyote pelt could bring in well over $100 they were hunted quite a bit.

I don't know if this would work in summer when there is lots of food around. They used to call them in with a 'wounded rabbit' call or something similar and then shoot them. Even just a tape player playing the sounds would bring them in. This was done in winter when the fur is prime but not much food around so dunno how that would affect their response.

You could try leg-hold traps, generally they just use coyote 'lure' not actual bait. Lots of info out there about trapping coyotes. This is assuming you don't have dogs running around. .22-250 is a popular rifle for coyotes.

Charlz

 

[Soundguy]

Usually a protection animal like a horned cow, or donkey keeps them away.. but if you have a pack of them.. I'm afraid you may need something more agressive.. like a 30-06 and a good scope and tree stand.. and just blow them suckers up..

I'm not sure you could trap them due to their size.. .. but if you had a big trap.. I'd try it..

soundguy

 

[ore540]

They use llamas around here to guard sheep and goats. As I recall, a single llama will bond with the herd.

 

[elalexander]

Hi Tim. I have no experience with them other then seeing them cross our property in the winter checking out burn piles for bunnies etc. A friend of mine has lost several calfs and now uses game calls of distressed animals etc and shots them from a tower he built. Game calls are availible from Cabelas etc. Seems the Free state, Maryland, has reintroduced them as part of a widelife control project. I don't trap so I don't know what a pelt is worth but as you mentioned all you need to know is what your animals are worth. Ask your extension agent, your state may offer some assistaance in replacing your animals. Good luck.

 

[wushaw]

Put an ad in the paper for free coyote hunting. That may bring in some local coyote hunters that will remove as many as possible for free.

 

[Egon]

Trapping or snares may be the surest way but leaves you open to catching dogs.

 

[Thomas]

Morn Tim.
We had bad problems w/coyotes decade ago...good blind w/22-250 w/good scope.

 

[gsganzer]

I don't have a map handy, so I don't know where Coldspring is offhand. I have deerlease down in Mason County and the rancher (sheep and goats) is part of an assocoation. The association pays bounties on coyotes and bobcats and also employs a trapper periodically. You might want to see if you have a livestock association in your area that does the same.

Short of that, you'll need to start trapping and calling them up yourself to shoot them. Here's a link to a company that makes some good quality electronic callers and decoys.

Predator callers

 

[EddieWalker]

A buddy of mine had quite a few on his land that we used to hunt deer on. We tried a few different calls before finding the taped ones. I don't remember the brand, but he bought the tape from Cabelas. We just put it in a boom box out in a field. Then sat at different places and waited for them to show up. Usually it just took a few minutes, but sometimes it might take 15 minutes. If nothing showed up by then, we'd move locations. Coyotes show up pretty quickly. Bobcats also come to a call, but are very slow and cautious.

After a few weekends of this, we shot a few dozen. This was in the spring time and our goal was to cut down on the preasure they were putting on fawns. The following year, we had more deer then we'd ever seen before. We also started seeing turkeys on the land, which we'd only heard of, but never seen. A few years later and we were seeing turkeys all over the place, the deer population was way up and we rarely saw any coyote sign.

I can't say for sure one had anything to do with the other, but in my opinion, the fewer coyotes you have, the more wildlife you will have.

I started out using my deer rifle, but then I bought a 22-250 that really worked great. My buddy used a .22 rimfire rifle to kill them a few times, but mostly shot them with his 7mm.

Eddie