Coyotes In My Backyard, Update..I know what it is Options

[jackie2925]

We are the last house on the road before the river. Its a big river with a lot of wooded area around it. It is all privately owned not by a subdivision either. Some farm land/pasture on the backside of it.

Anyways a couple weeks ago we were outside working on our stalls and I heard this animal. It was doing this scream type yelp. Hubby came over and listened to it and said it was either a bobcat or a coyote. Well I have seen bobcats that have been shot around here so that was believable but I haven't seen a coyote killed by hunting or by vehicles. So I was skeptical to that one.

Well almost every night now I hear that same noise. It is moving so I know whatever it is, it is moving quick.

Well the other night I heard TWO...its like they were calling to one another. So now I'm really freaked out. These woods back right up to our pasture. The pasture here is only about half a football length away from the back of my house and shorter to the right side of my house.

However....my farrier who doesn't live but about an hour away from me said that he was out coon hunting a week ago and had to call his dog back because the coyotes were calling and he could tell they were surrounding him and his dog. He said that they had to have been about 30 yards away.

Josh, farrier, said that there is a place near here, another state, that is paying people for live coyotes so they can train coyote hunting dogs. $150 a coyote. Hubby said that they are very smart though it almost impossible to trap without killing them.

What would you do? Should I have hubby get a coyote caller and see if we can call them out of the woods to shoot them. I don't like that they are sooo close. My kids play outside, they are 4 and 8, and now I"m scared to let them go outside.

There used to be a lot of stray cats around here but not anymore. I never thought much about it until the other night. Now I know where they went

This post has been edited by jackie2925: Nov 7 2009, 01:42 PM

[Zeusyboy]

I wouldn't live in fear.

Coyotes tend to be very sly animals. Don't keep any food outside, whatsoever. If you have trash, leave it inside and sealed until you take it away.

They are also more of the night hunters. We see them all the time. Had one walk in front of my car a couple weeks back. They're getting courageous though my car was running with the lights on and it wasn't 6 inches in front of my car.

If you allow your kids to play, leave a radio outside making lots of noise, and keep them inside as soon as it starts to get dark. They won't(or shouldn't) bother the horses.

Maybe these guys are the answer to your neighbors dog issue... Kidding, but wasn't it you that had the problems with your neighbors ankle biters running all over and perpetually reproducing?

Coyotes ARE vocal. If they're eating, drinking, hunting, etc... they're constantly "talking". I love listening to them. They're yipping and howling amazes me.

This post has been edited by Zeusyboy: Nov 6 2009, 06:39 AM

[jackie2925]

It was me with the dog problems BUT those dogs don't go in or near the woods behind me.

I haven't heard them howling just doing this scream type yelp. Its kind of scary when we are outside at night. We do spend time out there and used to play hide and go seek with flashlights when it got dark....but not anymore!!!

[Zeusyboy]

I'd avoid the playing outside....

The high pitched yelping and hollaring usually signifies that they've caught something to eat. Probably a deer or rabbit of such.


Who knows, if the little dogs keep it up, especially females in heat, they'll draw the coyotes out of the woods.. I wouldn't see too many of those little dogs anymore.. just give it time..

[manesntails]

Bob cats don't make noise unless they have kittens with them and then they give out a kind of growly-hissing sound. Like a cat's hiss but deeper and breathier with a growl sound at the beginning of it. I know, cuz I've been growled at by a bobcat. They won't attack you unless you have them cornered. Bobcats like to stay hidden.

I have 13 coyotes in a pack that howl all around me. I worry about my goats at night so, we are making them a house to lock them in at night. Coyotes rarely hunt in daytime and that would be a solitary coyote who is rabid or starving.
I wouldn't worry about your kids outside in daytime. Unless you have a rabid coyote, it's not going to come up and bother a human.

It's open season for Coyotes anytime over here. If you can get someone to hunt them, let them kill them. My Stepson in law found a den after the Momma was hit by a car. The den was 40' from the road. He shot all the puppies.

[Zeusyboy]

From my experience, Coyotes are almost like Foxes in their behavior... just bigger.

[WarPony]

I used to have trouble with them stalking my mini horses. Since Brego chased one out of the barn lot i haven't even heard them hunting in the area. It's been nice. They were getting VERY brave with the mini horses but don't seem interested in messing with the big hairy beast who tries to trample them.

I have a fenced yard for the dogs so i don't worry about the coyotes with them, but I do have a big old owl who roosts in the tree over the pen and hoots at Nigel.

[mydakota]

I have lived around coyotes all my life and usually don't give them a second thought--at least not with regards to my own safety. Most of the coyotes I have heard of biting or attacking people have been in the suburbs/city, where they have become habituated and bold--not rural coyotes. (though my uncle has a story of spending the night in a tree surrounded by a pack of them one particularly hard winter) Generally speaking, coyotes hunt at night for small game. People and horses are generally safe. Cats and rabbits etc, are not. If I had smaller livestock, like goats and sheep, I might worry about those. Most of my life, I have lived very rurally, and always around coyotes, and I have never been threatened by one. My advice would just be to be aware, but not alarmed.

[Zeusyboy]

Ditto MyDakota....

[craftylady]

I have to agree with what Zeusyboy said. We have them here. They woke me up in the middle of the night last week howling and making noises. They sounded like the were right out in back of our house in the woods. They've never bothered our horses, thankfully. If we were to breed any of our mares, I'd keep the mare inside at night and near foaling time. I wouldn't trust them to leave a foal alone.

[sddeadeye]

I read this story in our newspaper not more than a couple weeks ago. A 19 year old was mauled by coyotes while hiking in Canada.

Coyote attack

Generally I don't give coyotes a second thought. We used to have alot of them here, but a couple years ago there was a breakout of mange and many didn't make it through the winter. Their numbers have been on the rise again, however. Generally they are shy creatures that keep their distance from people. But, dogs, cats, sheep, goats, etc are fair game in some areas.

[mtn_penny]

I would just like to say thankyou for the voices of reason that have posted thus far to the OP. Most times when I see a coyote topic come up I hear a lot of comments about how aggressive they are, which is not typical coyote behavior. As others have said they tend to hunt small game and mostly at early morning, evening and night time so bunnies and cats beware.
We have 2 airedales and 2 jack russels that hubby uses hunting coyotes all the time. The dogs are not there to attack the coyotes but to rather bring them to the hunter. Coyotes are rather teritorial when it comes to other "dogs" in their territory. So they will try to chase the dog out. It is actually kinda neat to watch the dogs work the coyotes almost looks like a game and they are playing.

Others will tell you well then they are coydogs a cross between a coyote and a dog because they are vicious aggressive. I have a couple a questions for those people.

form wikipeda Though coyotes have been observed to travel in large groups, they primarily hunt in pairs. Typical packs consist of six closely related adults, yearlings and young

again fro wikipeda Female coyotes are monoestrous, and remain in heat for 2–5 days between late January and late March, during which mating occurs. Once the female chooses a partner, the mated pair may remain temporarily monogamous for a number of years. Depending on geographic location, spermatogenesis in males takes around 54 days, and occurs between January and February. The gestation period lasts from 60 to 63 days.

Basically what I am saying is yes it is possible that coy dogs exsist but unlikely since both the male and female coyote have to come into a heat cycle to breed. So the only way I belive that a coyote dog mating would really occur is IF a female dog were in heat close to a male coyote that happened to be in heat. I doubt a female coyote would let a male dog breed her since they choose a mate based on the strongest best for the gene pool.
The other problem or question I have with coydogs is if their truely are all the coydogs people say there are then we really would not have coyotes anymore due to the gene pool being so diluted with dogs that it would not be coyotes anymore.

So jackie as others have said be aware not affraid.

[Wild Rose]

We have lots of coyotes here. I hear them yipping and running, and it sounds like they are right in the yard. I wouldn't worry about them with full size horses. Mostly they hunt rabbits, mice, and small animals. They will lure small dogs out and kill them, too.

Once while doing some work with Rosie in my round pen, I noticed her looking at something. Here a coyote had come near and just sat down and watched us, a short ways away. Rosie soon ignored him.

If a coyote comes near and acts strangely, I would worry about rabies, though.

[sddeadeye]

The coyotes we have around here are generally more curious and cautious than bold and aggressive. I have jumped several on trail rides. Generally they will run out a safe distance away, then pause to watch the riders go by. Even the ones I have seen out walking by myself have always just kept up with the business they were attending to or ran off, depending on my demeanor. They are very fun to watch when hunting mice. Their pouncing can be very comical.

[jackie2925]

Ok...My dogs have a fenced in yard so I'm not worried UNLESS a coyote can scale a fence???

I USED to (not anymore now) to take my kids walking in the woods behind us on little fun outings. There is a little creek back there that they used to play in. The dogs liked going as well but I'm too scared to go now.

I saw that article where that 19 yo was attacked and killed by a pack of coyotes also..Very scary!!

But I'm a big coward when its night time and I hear things that I can't see.

[rattusrat]

My advice would just be to be aware, but not alarmed.

I agree. The majority of coyotes will move away from you if given the chance.

[equinitis]

Coyotes are typically not very brave. An attack on humans is rare, but it does happen. We have a large pack that ranges through our pasture daily and I love to watch them and listen to them cmmunicate. We have seen them watching a mare foal but they did not threaten the mare or the foal, just wiated patiently for her to finish and move away with her newborn so that they could get the afterbirth. They are primarily scavengers and hunt only small game, but they are also very crafty and can be troublesome when they have pups to feed. We do not leave dog or cat food out, but that is to not draw the coyotes prey since skunks and rodents also seem to like it!
The advise given to be aware, but not afraid is good advice. Keep cats and small dogs confined and indoors at night if that is possible.
Many people in this area use donkeys, mules and even llamas to guard their sheep and goats. That may be why we have so little trouble with them since we have a pasture full of mules and mules can be VERY hard on canines.
When you hear them, make loud noises and cause lots of commotion until they move off. If you do this, they may decide that your "territory" is too well guarded and stop coming around. This was an effective tactic for my FIL, who lives about a mile from us, and it stopped the coyotes from coming right up to his house. He has a pond in his front yard with ducks and a lot of dove nest in his trees. The coyotes attacked his blue healer one night and he ran them off by shooting over their heads. He has since started sttepping outside and shooting his .22 when he hears them close and after about 4 nights, they quit coming so close.

[manesntails]

Last winter I had two coming around my barn at night. BIG suckers, from the size of the prints. One morning I came out and my panels were all pulled out on the side where my mule and Percheron were. I had a thread about it, I thought it was bear from the huge scratches in the dirt. I had been noticing that the poop that was right inside the panels looked like it had been munched on the past few days.

Turns out, two coyotes had, evidently been munching on the poo and decided to go in the pasture under that panel to get them some more. Millie, my mule gave them a good thrashing~!! The animal Wildlife Agent came out and we found coyote hair and blood inside the runin and along those panels. The Wildlife guy figured that when they went under the panel, my mule got ahold of them and got in a few bites, pulling out hunks of hair as she went along. The coyotes panicked and in trying to get alway, they tried shimmyiing back under the panel, like they had to get in, and that's what pulled the panels out of place.

I haven't seen any coyote tracks close to my barn since.

[goldpiper]

I always know when the coyotes are prowling around in our pasture as our dog starts in. I usually will go out and spot light them and then they take off. Ours around here don't pack up too much usually we only see 2 or 3 together. We generally don't have too much of problem with them except when calving.

[Snicker's Mom]

We have quite a few coyotes where I live. They don't bother the horses, even foals or people but if you put your cats or small dogs outside at night you will probably loose them. We have a lot of rabbits and ground squirrrels that they mostly feed on. People with chickens need to put them up at night securely.

I have seen coyotes during the day and last week 2 half grown pups ran through the horse corrals, the horses just ignored them and the coyotes were just taking a short cut.
I never let a single dog go out alone in our fenced back yard always all my Shelties together.
The only people who loose pets are new to this area and ignore the warnings.

We just leave them alone and they leave us alone. If we didn't have them we would be over run with rabbits and other varmits.
I hear them a lot during the summer out on the horse trails behind our house.
They don't want anything to do with people.

[honeysmom]

living on the prairie in north texas they are everywhere! and very bold! Funny about the little dogs we had a tiny! Rat Terrier and she would send them packing! with there tail's between there legs!Very funny! they didn't mess with her horses either!!day OR night! oh and she was a Fearless snake dog too brought home Copperheads all the time!never got bit once! I don't live on the Prairie,any more..miss it! but still have 4 fearless Rat's that will take on big Pit bulls in My HOOD!maybe you should get you one!

[meeker_gurl8789]

Ive had a couple run ins with coyotes when i was living with my friend just out of town we were watching a movie the tv was right infront of the big picture window we were really getting into the movie but for some reason becky looked up and yelled the darn coyote was up on the deck standing in a chair looking in the window.. It scared the crap outta us.... I really dont think it ment any harm as we latter found out she was comming arround to see beckys big german shepard...
We KNOW that female coyote and rascal breed we seen it happen.... We also seen the pups the next spring they looked IDENTICAL to rascal!!!!
So i know it can happen that they breed its just unlikely.. But this time it did happen....

The worst thing ive ever had happen was when i used to work at a trail ridding place we were constantly finding BIG dog shaped foot prints that were right on top of the prints from the last trail...And the last horse in the string was ALWAYS jumpy even our old steady eddies....Turns out we had a lonely male wolf fallowing the trails he never came into seeing distace at first but we did catch him when we were out fixing fence he was HUGE and gorgious!!! One day he just up and was gone we never seen him again....

[jackie2925]

Well I have been babysitting my neighbors baby this week and they have a 50-60 pd dog that hangs around their house. Used to roam until they got him neutered about 8 months ago. Well he hasn't roamed since.

Well yesterday morning they let him to use the bathroom and he has yet to return.

I wonder if the coyotes would have gotten him???

[ozland]

Could have. They took down my 100 pound GP not 200 feet from the house, in broad daylight, right out in the open. Since I SAW the whole mess, I know it happened.

[Snapshot]

If your really worried, get a donkey. They will go after the coyotes if they get near.

They shouldnt try to get the horses unless theres a TON of them, or if its a small pony.

We have them here too. Pretty erie sounding when you wake up in the middle of the night and hear them.

[barrel_racer_wan...]

I wonder if they were coyotes at all. I wonder if they werent foxes.? Foxes have like a yelp/whine thing going on, kind of like a coyote but much more creepy sounding actually...I have heard them before, it gave me the willies.
The coyotes around here, when we hear them, there has to be like 6-7 of them at the least going off and it only lasts a few seconds. Now the other night they had to be only a couple hundred yards from the house...they werent far from the dog pen...the dogs went insane...it woke me right up. I went outside with the flashlight and I could hear them for just a few moments growling and yipping at each other like they were fighting over food.
We live on 120 acres and are surrounded by woods and pasture in every direction for 1-2 miles so coyotes are here, but we have never had an issue with them.

[jackie2925]

Well I'm going to look for coyote sounds online today. If I find what I'm looking for I'll post here so you can hear what is creeping me out!!

[Bumper]

Coyotes live everywhere, they have even been spotted in Central Park in NYC. You are rural NC...of course you have coyotes.

99% of the time they are only a pest. The BEST way to deal with them is shoot a few or at the very least, shoot over them. The rest generally get the picture then and leave the vicinity.

Don't leave food or garbage out where they can get at it.

As for the idea of coydogs...well, coyotes might be monoestrus, but it's been proven up here that when they do big hunts (shooting up to 100 over a matter of weeks from one area) that it forces the females into a new estrus to repopulate. It's also not unlikely for a female dog to be bred by a coyote male.

They are just coyotes. It's highly unlikely that your children are in danger in your yard in daylight. I'm assuming they don't hang out in the yard after dark unsupervised. If you were dealing with wolves or mountain lions that would be a whole nother ball game!

Bumper

[Ramsey]

As for the idea of coydogs...well, coyotes might be monoestrus, but it's been proven up here that when they do big hunts (shooting up to 100 over a matter of weeks from one area) that it forces the females into a new estrus to repopulate. It's also not unlikely for a female dog to be bred by a coyote male.

Bumper

A couple months ago my neighbor and I were standing out talking at almost dark and a pack of 5 stray dogs ran out of the woods we have behind our house. They were young and looked to be part coyote. Now that you said that, I bet they were. We hear coyotes all the time as I live way in the country on a dead end lane. But, any time they come out of the woods, if they see you they take off.
I don't worry much about them because they have always ran off. I wish all the possums I have around my house would act like the coyotes and run but oh no, they don't and I'm more scared of them then a coyote any day.

[jackie2925]

I guess I'm just shocked. I have been here for 9 years and have never seen or heard a coyote until the past couple of weeks.