I have a landowner that has lost several calves in the past couple weeks. They are dying within a few days of hitting the ground. The place is ate up with coyotes. I have caught 7 so far but he keeps losing calves. I inspected 2 today that he took to the back of the field. They werent eaten at all or torn apart nor could i find any actual trauma on them like gashes or blood. I know coyotes can kill for sport but this has got me a little perplexed. Anyone ever seen that before? Just calves killed for the sport of it? They arent coming back to dead ones to eat them or anything. Couple nights ago something got the big cows pushed to the back of the field and the cows actually tore the fence down to get away from whatever is after them. So i dont think these calves are dying from sickness and its just getting blamed on coyotes. Two of the yotes were big fat healthy males easily big enough to do some damage.

You sure it's not dogs running them to death a yote won't have the time and energy to play that game but a dog might, you would think if it was yotes they would have damage of some kind to the body?

Sounds like yard dogs to me...

Yeah dogs crossed my mind. I havent seen any sign of any strays in the area, but that dont mean they arent there. There is a few hands that are constantly around the cows and noone has seen any dogs. But they are doing this at night. Ive been assuming it was yotes as i havent seen the calves as they been burying them but the last two calves i got to check them out before they took em off to the woods. Thats what really got me scratching my head as i assumed something would have been eaten on them.

Skin any of the calves yet?
No blood or trauma sounds like calves are dead then coyotes are showing up.
Sounds like dogs with the info given.

I just talked to the owner and he said the first couple calves were eaten, one he ran the coyotes off of the kill site early that morning and thats how he found the first dead calf. Its just the last couple that were killed and not eaten. So that makes more sense i guess. Either way the two unburied calves are covered up in traps so if they come back we should break that nonsense up. Thanks for the replies.

If I were you I would recheck the calves that show no damage more carefully.
Look for thinks that FLOP, like ears or tails dogs go after them first,
just to play with the animal. See it on sheep all the time.

pick65

If the legs and ears aren't chewed and no signs of trauma, Its blackleg or pneumonia. Coyotes are just eating. Death from dogs is usually quite cruel and obvious. Calves will get stomped by their mothers while trying to ward off the coyotes, also.

Momma probably stomped the baby to death, yotes circle around and harass the cow hoping she will leave the calf in the process she stomps on it, yotes give up before cow leaves but calf is still dead.

What Donner said, also could be teaching young of the year pups to hunt.

coyotes do kill and leave lay many times teaching pups to hunt but they leave some kind of marks. I agree also with dogs or moms tromping to death etc..

Near wind mills by any chance? The big ones that the govt is putting up?

no windmills for a few hundred miles im sure. Just a river swamp that has more coyotes than i can catch in my lifetime.

What effect would windmills have?

Pneumonia , seen it before calves getting teased or run by coyotes or dogs , they get hot and after awhile the playing ends but its done to late for the calves. they lay down and pneumonia sets in. might not happen in one night ,some calves can look healthy and just die in days.

I skinned a calf last spring that didn't show any marks till I skinned it. Had two puncher marks each side of back by kidneys and internal bruising and bleeding on neck. Not a bit of sign of coyote kill on outside. The way I figure it coyotes killed calf before momma could there to save it then she ran coyote or coyotes off before they could eat it. We lost too many calves last spring but I got the impression the boss didn't want to believe me that it was coyotes that was doing it. Oh well they were his cattle so I didn't make an issue of it.

Nothing proven yet

Folks are starting to complain about dead animals. People with livestock near these new windmill farms