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Across the Fence:  Coyotes?  |
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country lawyer
True Blue Farmgirl
1022 Posts
1022 Posts |
 Posted - Jul 16 2009 : 07:55:37 AM
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Is there a coyote "problem" in your area of the country? In our area, there is. I'm sure it is because of all the over-development. The coyotes are forced to seek food and shelters where they can. Unfortunately, that includes pets. So I've got to come up with a way to protect my 5 acres from them.
Have any of you figured out how to keep coyotes off of your property and away from your animals? Any methods you've used that have worked well to keep them out? (By the way, there is currently a 4 foot hog-wire fence around the property...they apparently just hop over it.) |
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prariehawk
True Blue Farmgirl
2914 Posts
Cindy
2914 Posts |
Posted - Jul 16 2009 : 08:07:59 AM
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I think coyotes are a problem everywhere--in both country and the city. I've seen a coyote trotting through a residential front yard in my town and I know someone who saw one near downtown. And this is a medium (pop. 31,00) sized city. They're even more of a problem in the country. I've heard that llamas or donkeys make good sentinels and will chase them away. the bad thing about coyotes in the city is that they kill and eat cats and small dogs. We have lots of deer around here too, which I know the coyotes hunt cause I once came across the backbone of a full grown deer in a park and you could see where the coyotes had been chewing on the ribs. I hope you find a way to discourage them--there's something about coyotes that gives me the creeps.
Cindy
"Dog is my co-pilot"
Visit my blog at http://www.farmerinthebelle.blogspot.com/ |
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therusticcottage
True Blue Farmgirl
4439 Posts
Kay
Vancouver
WA
USA
4439 Posts |
Posted - Jul 16 2009 : 08:19:27 AM
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I don't know of anything to keep coyotes off your property! The county put out a pamphlet on "How to Co-exist with Coyotes." We had them really bad in the country. They were so bold that they'd come out in the daytime. A friend had them drag off chickens and a turkey in broad daylight. I never saw them on our property but sure heard them and lost 3 cats to them. We moved into town a year ago and I saw a coyote go across the street at about 11:30 one night. I almost hit it with my car!
Handmade Soap & Lotion Bars http://www.therusticcottagebath.com
The Rustic Cottage Blog http://therusticcottage.blogspot.com
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Cabinprincess
True Blue Farmgirl
682 Posts
Melody June
Athens
TX
USA
682 Posts |
Posted - Jul 16 2009 : 08:58:51 AM
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I live in TX and am not sure of the rules in your state. But gross as it may seem, you kill a coyote and hang the dead animal on one of your fence posts. They won't come around one of their dead. When I just moved here from CA and saw a fence line with with about 3 of them hanging I thought an occult group lived there. LOL They were getting my chicken's in the broad day light till I had my son kill one and hang it. My chicken's were left alone. Donkeys do work also.
Smiles, Melody June
God's gift to you are your talents, your gift to Him is how you use them. |
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CherryMeDarlin
True Blue Farmgirl
602 Posts
Cherry
Odenville
AL
USA
602 Posts |
Posted - Jul 16 2009 : 09:16:07 AM
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I was gonna give the same advice, Melody. We've never had to do that, but I used to work with a "mountain man" who said to do the exact same thing when they began to get too comfortable around our place. We were also having a problem with trespassers in our woods and figured that would kill two birds with one stone, so to speak. I know it'd freak me out if I came across a dead coyote hanging in a tree! I'd think the same thing about the occult!
~~Cherry~~
http://cherrymedarlin.blogspot.com
"A thing is as simple or as complicated as you make it." --TT Murphy |
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kristin sherrill
True Blue Farmgirl
11303 Posts
kristin
chickamauga
ga
USA
11303 Posts |
Posted - Jul 16 2009 : 10:36:10 AM
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We have them around here. I hear them at night sometimes. Very spooky sound. But they just run around out back and they're gone in a few minutes. We live at the foot of Lookout Mt. and it's real woody behind the house. I have my goats back there behind the house in electric fence. I have never had a problem with them. Never have lost any chickens, either.
Kris
Happiness is simple. |
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Bear5
True Blue Farmgirl
13055 Posts
Louisiana/Texas
USA
13055 Posts |
Posted - Jul 16 2009 : 11:24:39 AM
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Here in SW Louisiana we have alot of coyotes!!!, especially in the winter. Often when I put my dog out late at night, I've thought I heard children playing in the distance. Nope! It's the coyotes. When they run in their packs at night, they sound just like a group of kids laughing and talking.
Marly
"It's only when we truly know and understand that we have a limited time on earth- and that we have no way of knowing when our time is up- that we will begin to live each day to the fullest, as if it was the only one we had." Elisabeth Kurler-Ross |
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1badmamawolf
True Blue Farmgirl
2199 Posts
Teresa
"Bent Fence Farms"
Ca
USA
2199 Posts |
Posted - Jul 16 2009 : 12:39:00 PM
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I have lots and lots of coyotes here where I live, never ever lost anything to them, neighbors dogs and ferral dog packs, but never coyotes. Many, many years ago a bunch of ranchers/farmers around here deceided to hunt them down and shoot them all, what happened next was horrible, we were over run with rodents, rabbits, ground squierrls, chipmunks, mice etc. Peole who grow alfalpha for a living here were losing acres of #1 to the rodents, having to re-seed constantly, home farmers and ranchers were losing pasture by the acres, veggy gardens and flowers, when we went into one of our drought years, the rodents were girdling and killing trees to eat, it was horrible. Needless to say, everyone who agreed to shoot the coyotes, (I was not one of them), were sure sorry. There are many precautions you can take to prevent loss due to predators, good tight fenceing, electric strands down low and up high, donkeys, guardian dog breeds, my personal favorite, "Anatolion Shepards", motion detector lights which also set off alarms and or water cannons. We have encroached into the outer edges for years, and the wildlife is now pushing back in order to survive, without a proper balence of predators, we will be over run with diseased, weak and over populated wildlife, not good for them or us. I'm off my soapbox now,lol.
"Treat the earth well, it was not given to you by your parents, it was loaned to you by your children" |
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AlyssaMarie
True Blue Farmgirl
287 Posts
AlyssaMarie
Palouse
Washington
USA
287 Posts |
Posted - Jul 16 2009 : 4:37:32 PM
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We have lots of coyotes around where I live in the middle of farm land on the Palouse. We are lucky that we live right on the highway so that acts as a way to deter them. However we've installed hefty electric fence along with our hog wire fencing. We also have our guard Llama Maisy. We thought about just having our dog, but then when we did the research we found a Llama was the best option for us to stay in with our sheep. So far we haven't had any problems with loss of lambs or chickens (which we have 25 free range). My husband also taught me how to shoot blanks out of our gun. At this point we really just want to scare them away rather than kill them. We have a huge mouse problem out here and I don't mind them eating as many mice as their bellies can handle. I know our farmer neighbors are of the same mind (at least the ones I've talked with.) I don't like listening to them howl in the evening though, it is rather eery and my almost 4 year old is so scared of them at bedtime. But I'm hoping we'll all learn to enjoy every part of living in the country, even those that make us uncomfortable. Best of luck for protection of your farm!
AlyssaMarie @ Link'd Hearts Ranch
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Alee
True Blue Farmgirl
22941 Posts
Alee
Worland
Wy
USA
22941 Posts |
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country lawyer
True Blue Farmgirl
1022 Posts
1022 Posts |
Posted - Jul 16 2009 : 5:22:19 PM
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Thank you guys for all the diverse and interesting suggestions! It's always great to hear the different voices of Farmgirls here.
For me, well...I'm a total animal lover...when I find bugs in my house, I catch them and take them outside, if you can believe that. So, I was really interested in just figuring out how to keep coyotes off my property. I don't want to hurt them, I just want to protect my animals.
But, let me say this too. Just because I'm a bug catcher, I don't expect others to be. Everybody can decide for themselves about bugs and coyotes. :)
For me, the electric fence sounds like a good option. I don't know anything about how to do that, but I'll look into it. And a llama? Oh my gosh! That would be so cool. An excuse to finally bite off the responsibility of a farm animal? Hmmm......
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1badmamawolf
True Blue Farmgirl
2199 Posts
Teresa
"Bent Fence Farms"
Ca
USA
2199 Posts |
Posted - Jul 16 2009 : 5:54:50 PM
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You can get electric fencing that works with solar panels, very nice in areas you do not have electricity, just remember they have to be on the outside of your fences, to keep predators out, not inside to keep livestock in, or you could do both sides. If you deciede on a Llama, make sure it has been raised with other livestock and is tame enough for you to handle, and keep your own dogs away, cause they will go after them also.
"Treat the earth well, it was not given to you by your parents, it was loaned to you by your children" |
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Woodswoman
True Blue Farmgirl
512 Posts
Jennifer
Altamont
NY
USA
512 Posts |
Posted - Jul 16 2009 : 6:44:41 PM
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We have many coyotes here-we hear them howling at night and occasionally see them while we are out walking the trails.
They always run away when they see us, and have never caused any kind of problem for us, so I haven't much looked it to keeping them off the property. To keep bears away from our hives, though, electric fencing works.
Jennifer
Farmgirl Sister #104
"Nature brings to every time and season some beauties of its own".
-Charles Dickens |
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Woodswoman
True Blue Farmgirl
512 Posts
Jennifer
Altamont
NY
USA
512 Posts |
Posted - Jul 16 2009 : 6:47:21 PM
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Sorry, I hit post before I was finshed.
The other reason I've never tried to discourage them is that I've watched them in our fields hunting mice-pouncing on them, throwing them up in the air and eating them-both summer and winter. Anything that kills those darn mice that get into everything is welcome here!
Jennifer
Farmgirl Sister #104
"Nature brings to every time and season some beauties of its own".
-Charles Dickens |
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CountryBorn
True Blue Farmgirl
1545 Posts
Mary Jane
New York
USA
1545 Posts |
Posted - Jul 16 2009 : 6:59:54 PM
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The coyote population has grown a lot in the last few years around here. We live far off the road and are used to seeing a lot of wildlife. But, they are very bold. More than once I have seen them walking right out in front of our house or on the long driveway back to our house. It unsettles me because I have two little doxies and I worry every time they go outside. You can hear the coyotes howling and yipping at night almost every night.My husband says he thinks there must be a 150 of them. Hopefully that is a gross exaggeration. We have a forest in the back and side acres of our property and I know they are back there. When we had our big lab, nothing and i do mean nothing came in the boundries of the field our house and barn sits in. Now they are very bold. I know that shooting them is about the only way to cut down on the population. But they have been hunted here for sometime and it doesn't seem to slow them down any. We don't hunt them, but a farmer behind us does. When I read that a 4 ft. fence didn't keep them out I was thinking my fence wouldn't either. When I hear they are right in LA I don't think they are going to leave here anytime soon.
MJ
There can be no happiness if the things we believe in are different from the things we do. Freya Stark |
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1badmamawolf
True Blue Farmgirl
2199 Posts
Teresa
"Bent Fence Farms"
Ca
USA
2199 Posts |
Posted - Jul 16 2009 : 7:41:07 PM
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Coyotes are in ALL of the lower 48, plus Alaska and Canada, and of course Mexico. They are extremly adaptable, and will only breed and produce if there is enough food and water to sustain the pack. They have been captured in Central Park in New York,& downtown Chicago,they live in large numbers all over Los Angeles, including Hollywood and Beverly Hills, they will live on carrion, garbage and what they can hunt, which is mostly rodents. IF YOU LIVE WHERE THEY ARE, please use comman and practical sense with your small pets, small livestock and your children. The are an importent part of the eco-system, and YES, sometimes the numbers have to be thinned down, but mother nature usually takes care of her own, try first to co-excist, and if that doesn't work, I'll loan you my guns.
"Treat the earth well, it was not given to you by your parents, it was loaned to you by your children" |
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EagleNest
True Blue Farmgirl
192 Posts
Mary
Yakima
WA
192 Posts |
Posted - Jul 16 2009 : 10:02:19 PM
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We put up with the coyotes. A trapper told me that having coyotes means you don't have cougars. Now I get a little concerned when I don't hear the coyotes at night. We also have high horse fencing and that helps keep them off the property. They can still get in if they want to but they need to work at it. I also think our 2 very large barking labs help to keep the coyotes away.
Mary
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Gal 5:22 |
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Across the Fence: Coyotes? |
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Coyotes?
