I just got a call from one of my local cattle ranchers. He told me he has lost 3 calves to coyotes in the past week. Now, I've talked to a lot of farmers and ranchers over the years and the vast majority of them do not believe coyotes bother cows/calves. What do y'all think? Either way, I am headed out in the morning to thin his yote population. Just wondering how many of you guys get this call. BTW, I pretty much hung up my traps this last season because of prices and I usually take 10-20 yotes off this guys ground every year. Maybe I was making a difference because until this spring he hasn't had a problem since I started trapping his ground..LOL

Just when you think they don't bother calves they go to bothering calves. They usually just eat the afterbirth but sometimes its the killing that they like. Look for chew marks on the calfs nose. If no bite marks on the throat or nose then the calf was probably dead from something else before they fed on it. Not always but usually.

Go getm. If you can get the ones that are the leaders so to speek you can stop it with just a few coyotes. Dont always think it is a big older pair. Sometime this time of year it can be several yearlings(2 to 10 )that have bunched up and can kill anything they want.I HAVE HAD TO REALLY KILL ALOT OF THEM TO STOP THE KILLING. So go getm

Look at the botton of there feet if the hoof is not scared and is smooth then they didnt try to get up. Born dead

Something interesting was that all three were part of a set of twins. I guess mama can only protect one at a time. I don't think we have coyote numbers here that will require the removal of more than a few, but I will keep at them until I get the culprits and the killing stops or the calves get big enough to fend for themselves.

We lost the cow and calf this week the first in many years. Now here is the kicker there was both hog and coyote tracks. With the coyote tracks over the hog tracks. What ever killed the cow pulled the hide back and the rumen was broken and contents eaton. Now that has to be the hogs for coyotes don't eat the contents of the rumen. I killed the female coyote on the cow and then the next morning right before daylight the male coyote came back. I popped him with NV equipped rifle. I have heard the ole timers talk about hogs eating calves and sometimes a downed cow. But this is the first time I have had it happen.

I have seen lots of cows killed when down having a calf. Coyotes eating the calf as it is born and just keep eating and kill the cow from loss of blood

No doubt about it Wayne. They kill elk calves the same way. And big calves too. Just this past fall our buddy BP Wolfer and I was scouting and watched a cow elk trying to fight off a big pair of coyotes that was putting it on its calf. Tuff deal to watch. We pounded those coyotes in that draw a few weeks later.

Have a neighbor who used to say the same thing, in that coyotes don't bother cows with calves. He doesn't say it anymore!

had to brothers that were real good cowboys call me said that coyotes had killed and eatn a 359# calf. they had seen the calf sucking at sundown the day before and a little after sunup is when it was found. Some fokes say it dont happen but some of us know better

The coyotes usually get them while they are being born around here. If they make it long enough for the calf and cow to get on their feet, they usually make it OK. But even so, lots of cattle folks here run donkeys or mules in the pasture with their cows.

Just went to the head to drain off some iced tea, and heard a bunch of coyotes 'yipping' North of the house. The very first thing that came to mind was, I hope they aren't getting into the neighbor's baby calves.





Charlie

It'll be interesting trapping yotes in thawed ground. I can't remember the last time I was able to push a pogo stake in the ground. I usually have to drive a pilot hole and hammer the driver/cable stake in the ground with a 3# sledge or resort to rebar. I just hope there are some fringe areas I can set up that the cows won't bother.

Firm believer in preventative maintenance.

Nice job Andy!

You mentioned twins it's been my experience that a cow after she gives birth to the second will walk off with the stronger one following and forget she had a 2nd one. Seems as long as she has one beside her she won't be concerned with the other at least for the 1st week or 2.

Interesting thread here, haven't seen a pair of twins born here in years, but have had a cow get down calving and lose both to yotes.

Give no quarter.

A lot of times only one twin is alive to begin with and more often than not like said above all the cow will leave with the one that follows her. There are lots of things come into play in this situation. Not saying coyotes aren't the problem but maybe someone should be checking them more? I say go have fun and catch some coyotes in thawed ground and enjoy it!

When you start Nailing them... take some good pictures TrapperKeck