I am going Coyote hunting this evening- wish me luck!

They are getting too close to the house, I am concerned for the safety of my pet dogs & cats. Last night I saw three right in the treeline 100 feet from the house. Normally I leave ALL wildlife alone, I do not hunt or fish. I even leave venomous snakes alone (unless they are hanging around my yard). I can't take the risk that they will leave my cats alone, I have tried keeping the cats inside but they run outside sometimes. I have six smaller sized dogs that would have no chance alone against Coyotes. I have a couple of dogs who are braver than they are smart, an elderly dog who still thinks he can kick ass & a pup who is "pup stupid". I hate to kill anything but they are a clear danger to my animals.

I know why they are here too but there is little I can do to change their behavior. Down in the Valley there is a chicken farm. Normal procedure for the farmers is to remove any dead chickens daily from the barn & place them in a 55 gallon drum for burning. They wait until the drum is full before they burn them. The Coyotes have figured it out as an easy source of food.

I am not taking any pleasure in doing this, as a matter of fact I HATE having to do it. The thing is that I have grown fond of my pets & would never forgive myself if one of them was taken due to my failure to act.

they're having the same problem.

Around the Randor lake park area a LOT of pets have been taken. Apparently cats & small dogs are a tastey treat for the Coyotes.

A chance to use those precious firearms of yours in some bloodletting? I think you're absolutely horny at the prospect.

Some of us have been reading your posts at DU for a long time. We're not deceived. There are bound to be some non-lethal measures you can take to protect your pets;you're just not interested in implementing them. May the coyote population grow and prosper in your neighborhood....

You are one twisted individual Paladin. Seriously. You need to seek some professional help for your projection problems. Perhaps someone here on D.U. could refer you to a good psychologist?

If you're sincere about being remorseful regarding killing coyotes, don't open a thread with the gleeful request, "Wish Me Luck!" Doesn't exactly make you sound like a reluctant executioner, now does it?

Thanks for the informed professional diagnosis, by the way....

Like I said before, there are alternative means of dealing with the problem.

We've got lots of coyotes in and around our area (suburban Denver); they snag a small house pet every once in a while. The really neat thing is all the red foxes we see---beautiful animals, and totally unafraid; we see them in pairs, trotting down sidewalks in broad daylight. One early one morning while it was still dark, I had to bring my car to a screeching halt---there was a fox lying in the middle of the road, soaking up the heat from the asphalt. It didn't move until I moved the car within 10 feet of it, slapped my hand on the side of the door and yelled "Move, dumbass!" It finally got up and nonchalantly trotted off.

These animals are treasures. And I say that as an old hunter who put his guns away long ago. I sincerely hope that your coyote problem can be dealt with in a non-lethal fashion.

Two, you say you've "been reading (this guy's) posts at DU for a long time." Find better things to do with your time than stalk people online.

The Photographer:

me and my dirty mind

You decided to live where the coyotes live ...and now you think you have to kill them off ?

Disgusting. utterly disgusting.

coyotes live EVERYWHERE. i seen a dead one in downtown cincinnati one day, that had got hit by a car. right in town!

If he moved to a area with coyotes while he had small dogs then he is foolish.

The coyotes don't threaten him at all ...but since he insists on moving to a area with coyotes and insists on having small dogs ...he believes the innocent coyotes should die.

Fuck that. I also live near coyotes, yet I have large dogs ...The coyotes have killed about 12 chickens and a goat over the years, but I would never ever think of shooting them, I moved onto their turf. Think about it ...The only reason the coyotes have to die is because he insists on having small dogs.

The OP is disgusting. I always love it when the hunters shoot themselves, I love the irony.

Good fencing solutions......coyoteroller.com Note in the pic that the fence is topped with a rolling spool that prevents coyote from getting any traction to jump fenece...

Yes, I live where coyotes live. I have some "news" for you scooter, you live where wild animals used to live before they were killed off. Does it make you feel somehow morally superior that you live where the killing has already been taken care of for you? As I stated I do not enjoy killing them and have had a "live & let live" relationship with them as long as they do not approach my home.

What do you suppose animal control does when coyotes wander in cities? They kill them. In California, what do they do when mountian lions start wandering into suburban neighborhoods? They kill them. What happens when grizzly bears wander into town? They kill them. I guess THAT is ok with you because YOU don't have to pull the trigger but you sure would want something done if they were poaching on your pets, wouldn't you?

You can act as pissed off as you want to, there will be blood tonight. No way am I going to let my pets be killed by Coyotes.

(On edit; I had NO DOGS when I moved here. My dogs were all dumped on the side of the road for me to take care of or take to the "shelter" to be put down.)

The coyotes are not a threat to you....just your pets.

I must ask, what 'city' do you live in ?

From the TWR web site;
Hunting Season
Coyotes may be hunted year-round in Tennessee . There is no bag limit.

Don't worry too much, we will never run out of coyotes in Tennessee.

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Then again... the coyote was there before your pet.

The houses were built in coyote country. People are pushing these smart and necessary canines out. Rabbits are now overpopulating due to the coyote being forced out.

The balance of nature has once again been tipped by the encroachment of "outsiders." That would be any of us who are not Native Americans. Your cats and dogs (and mine) are fair game for any animal, in this case coyotes, who have been hunting on the land for hundreds of generations of their kind. If you kill off the natural predators to protect your pets the order of nature will become totally out of whack. I suggest you find other ways to keep your pets safe. Coyotes are nocturnal and rarely hunt in the daytime. Keep all of your pets inside at night and think about fencing part of your property to lessen the coyotes opportunity to strike - They will go after wild game if a fence is formidable enough to delay them. A 7 foot tall fence will most likely keep them out all together.

I don't understand the problem of coyotes eating dead chickens?

Please reconsider your actions and do not go out and kill the coyotes.

1 large dog can keep coyotes away...I have 3 and have no problem, the coyotes don't want to tangle with a dangerous dog.

But from what I can tell, The poster has ten dogs and some cats. ..NONE of them capable of keeping the coyotes away..

I can assure you that this person DOES NOT live in any city with all those dogs..and living next to a chicken farm.

So the people here defending killing a coyote in the middle of a city ...I agree with you, but this IS NOT the case here.

The ONLY reason the coyotes will die tonight is because he insists on have a house full of small dogs.

For gods sake, the coyotes haven't even killed anything yet ...yet he wants them dead.

I have read and reread your post to me and I am not getting it. Did I somehow give the impression I am for killing coyotes?

I told the OP to fence his dogs in and keep them in at night. I explained that the balance of nature would be tipped if he killed the natural predators. I never said anything about him living in a city - I explained that I live in a canyon in S. CA and that we have coyotes - I would not kill one unless they had one of my kids or my chihuahua in its jaws.

I am totally against killing these intelligent canines.

Please read my post again.

Or explain why you think I am somehow in favor of hunting down the coyotes.... :hi:

These particular coyotes are becoming too bold & need to be put down. They are becoming accustomed to the presense of "free food" & human beings. Most coyotes will not expose themselves to human beings, these particular ones have lost their fear.

You own small dogs...this leaves you with 2 choices about where you want to live.

You can move to the city and not worry about coyotes killing your dogs...or you can move to the country and just kill the coyotes when you see them.

You made the choice to live in the country and just kill the coyotes.

If you already lived in the country ...and wanted dogs...then you still made the choice..you can get large dogs so the coyotes won't be a problem, or you can get small dogs and just kill the coyotes.

Either way ...You were presented with a choice...and you chose to kill coyotes. Tonight you will find a mother coyote looking for food for her young, you will shoot her dead, her orphaned pups will starve and die a horrible death in their den, take a bow.

I adopted the dogs after my neighbors home burned down. They couldn't take them to their apartment in town so it was either take them in or they would have been "euthanized" at our wonderful animal "shelter". The other dog (pup) was dumped here. I had no dogs prior to these events. I didn't "get" any dogs, they got me. The same can be said of the cats, they were dumped as well. Would killing them be morally superior to killing a coyote?

You are assuming I just moved here, I have been here quite some time and this is the first time coyotes have been hanging around the house in the treeline. I wouldn't worry about them if they kept their distance.

You sure are acting as if you hold the moral high ground. Have you ever killed a wasps nest? They were here before you. Have you ever had your home sprayed for termites? Why? They were here before you. Get over it, if you want to "get big dogs" go right ahead. I take care of the dogs that found me regardless of their size.

are endangered. I said that killing off the predators would tilt the balance.

I suggest that instead of believing that by killing 3 or 4 coyotes that your dogs and cats will be safe that you keep your animals indoors at night and fence off a piece of your property.

I'm not going to tell you that you're evil or hateful or something, but I lived in a semi-rural neighbourhood in California with LOTS of coyotes. We could hear them every night, and not a day passed when I didn't see them. They were just outside the yard many times. I never once heard of them messing with any dogs. They certainly never bothered our dog, and she didn't seem to care about them at all. Some people let their cats outside, but that was a little risky - I don't know of any confirmed cases of coyotes killing cats, but I do know of cats going missing.

These coyotes were very brazen. They'd walk down the road and get really close - if I was out for a walk at night and I'd just holler and waves my arms around or stomp my feet, and they'd bugger off eventually.

Basically, I think they'd rather not eat your pets. Try to get some authority to deal with the problems at the chicken farm, if you can, and keep the cats inside at night if you're really worried.

Or, hell, shoot them if you want, but you said you'd rather not. Where my parents live in Michigan, there is a serious white tail deer population, but I don't hunt them, because I can't bring myself to do it.

Same story here.

Lived next to Santa Monica Canyon and the SM mountain foothills for years.

Our cats were kept in a large garage with food, water and litter box every evening.
There were rafters and lots of places to explore/hid there, too.
First thing in the morning, they were let out and spent most of the day around
the backyard or in the house.

Coyotes are some of the most intelligent mammals around.
They have a strong social connection to one another.
I've heard they choose one mate for life!

Loud noises will deter them, as will a pair of large dogs.

Please, Wcross try something else!

;(

during the day. In fact, one walked by me on the street as if it were a normal thing to do. Neighbors have lost small dogs in fenced-in yards during daylight hours too -- coyotes dug under the fence to get them. These are rare events because most of the time the coyotes aren't interested in mixing with humans. They have plenty of prey in the park land. However, when a dry winter or other conditions reduce the ground squirrel population, the coyotes come out of the open space looking for other small prey. It's mostly cats at night but when the coyotes are really desperate the pets are attacked during the day.

No one here is allowed set off fireworks, never mind trap or shoot them. It's just a fact of life that some years there will be coyotes hunting in our yards and people keep their pets inside for a few months or risk losing them.

We will be hosting a Varmint Tournament in ***** Texas.
The Dates May 17th and 18th..
This is a Team Tournament= 1-4 man Teams
$350 Per team.
1st place $10,000.00
Most coyotes killed in Twenty Four Hours.
There will be a small dog Prize of $350.00
Most Bobcats $500.00

They can be heard for miles, and keep the coyotes away.

I said I didn't WANT to kill them. I will give it a couple of tries before I do anything else. I saw them in the treeline and they saw me. They didn't flee until I yelled at them so it tells me they have become comfortable around people. All I want for them to do is regain a healthy fear.

When I used them I didn't wait till they were around...because they were always around, I lived with them. Just blow some off every night for a week or so and it just might work.

My neighbor has a barn with ducks, geese, goats, horses ect... One time the coyotes were over there howling like crazy, during the day, so I ran over there to scare them, I rounded the corner of the barn full speed, knowing they would be right on the other side...I came around and almost tripped over 3 of them in mid howl, I swear one of them jumped straight up 3 feet...I yelled and screamed for maximum effect ..they booked, tucking their tails.

They are no threat to us, in fact they fear us for the most part. You are right, just reinforce their fears, you won't win overnight, but you are smarter than them, you will win.

One more thing, I have another neighbor who said he kept guns by every door so when he saw one he could shoot it, he bragged about shooting coyotes all the time ...yet they were always around. When you kill them, another one moves in, and the new one doesn't know what happened to the last one, therefore a fear is never built, it's about turf, if you can get that pack to fear your property, then you should be safer, your property is on their turf.

We are the only animals on the planet that have the power to protect the rest of the animals.

I lost my temper even though you would think from hanging around here for so long it wouldn't happen so much. You are right about coyote "control", from what I understand they control their breeding. Killing one just means two pups survive next spring instead of one.
I just didn't like the fact that these particular coyotes were so close to the house & not really afraid of me. I guess I will have to stock up on M-80's down at the "fireworks superstore" near work.

The trick is to associate humans, or at least associate you, to that loud sound. That might be another alternative approach worth trying first.

I hesitate to do that because it would mean I would have to clean it.

them waving your arms in the air and making all sorts of weird noises, but make sure you set up a camcorder first so you can win the $10,000 on America's Funniest Home Videos.

Your neighbors will probably pretty much leave you alone too after that. Bonus! :thumbsup:

I couldn't resist that last sentence. This thread could use some humor. :P

In any case, I hope you can find a way to deal with it where you can make sure the pack that you share territory with knows to back off and stay backed off. That sounds like the key to the whole thing.

:popcorn:


Edit -- to add something (maybe) useful, what about fencing part of your yard to keep the pooches safe?

anytime :loveya:

there are better ways to handle this.

I'm sure you are doing what you think you need to do.

But so are they. Aren't you glad they don't have guns?

I have sheep, cow/calf pairs, horses and free range laying hens and also ducks. Not to mention 6 cats and two dogs. We are surrounded by coyotes and they give us no trouble. We need them to go after the rocks chucks, gophers and mice. It's plain ignorance to kill them!
OK, I own 1000 acres and I don't poison or harm in anyway the coyotes natural prey. Deer hunters are told to fuck off. When my chickens die from natural causes I don't leave their bodies kicking about. My dogs are both airedales and my cats are savvy and also some are very elderly, they hunt gophers in the meadow all day long. Cattle are unmolested by the little coyotes, my cows ignore them when they hunt mice in the meadows right next to the calves.
Just giving you a little clue how life can be when your open minded, live with nature instead of being fearful and ignorant.
We farm for real and we're not fucking about here.
In your situation I'd get a huge dog to protect the little ones. There is a breed of dogs that was breed to keep wolves away from sheep. Look it up. Also some illegal firecrackers shuts the coyotes up at night when their having a singsong to close to the house, although yelling at them works as well. There are many thing's to try before doing something so stupid as killing.

I don't know where the original poster is located, but our NorthEastern coyotes are bigger due to more direct ancestry to wolves compared to the WEstern ýotes. THey also pack hunt and are notorious for fitting into any ecological niche. LEARNING about their behavior and hunting patterns will do miles more towards preventing any mishaps than going out and shooting a few. They won't attacl grown humans and some smart tactics to make your little slice of the world less attractive to them is all it takes to keep them at bay.

I will try the fireworks idea as you suggest (not illegal here in Tennessee)first. I have an obligation to protect these dogs from harm & I am not comfortable with letting them "take one" before I take action. They have never gotten this close or this comfortable around my home before which leads me to believe they might not have any fear of humans any more. You can be as pissed off at me as you wish but if they pose a threat to my animals one of them has to die. I have grown fond of my dogs & cats, not so much fond of a varmint.

you kill one coyote, and another will take it's place. Nature abhors a vacuum. Here's the thing; the more killing that's done, the more the population shifts, the better the chance of bringing rabies or some other gawdawful disease to your neck of the woods. If the population is stable, then taking measures to EXCLUDE the animals from your property will be better for everyone's sake.

I live with a large family of raccoons in my garage, another under the house, and occasional possums in the attic. We've all gotten along well for 12 years, and none of them ever bothered the outdoor cat which came with my home. Coyotes will go after cats and small dogs if given a chance-but so will large feral dogs and rednecks. Keep them safe from one and they will be safe from all.

I doubt shooting one or two is going to have any real impact on whether or not they consider your territory part of theirs. They took one of our dogs a few years back. Yes it was sad but we didn't go out hunting on a bloodlust. We just sprinkled wolf urine around, kept the dogs inside around dusk and at night, and next season the coyotes had moved on. The biggest thing to controlling coyotes is controlling your rodent population. I can't stress this enough. Coyotes won't fuck with your land unless they want it for food and they rarely eat dogs and certainly don;t go out of their way to hunt dogs. Dogs are just territorial competition. Go talk to the chicken farm about their corpses. Shooting one or two is gonna do Fuck-all to solve your problem and makes me think you are somehow hunting them for some other purpose, entertainment for example.

If the coyotes are not afraid to come on his property and are threatening his dogs, then he should be able to protect his dogs. It amazes me that people will kill roaches, rats etc... without batting an eye. I however would set some traps and see if there isn't a re-locating company or even a Govt entity that might be able to put them somewhere that will allow them to live and protect your dogs also.

The "they were here first" sentiment doesn't hold water to me though, if you really look at things that way, then we as people should all just shoot ourselves for living where wildlife once did. All of us, there is no place in this country that at one time wasn't inhabited by animals.

The op does seem to be purely here to tick people off though.

Sorry 'bro-- I think you should reconsider and MOVE if you and your pets can't coexist with the wildlife or simply accept some risk of mortality if that's where you want to live. I too live in coyote country, in a small rural town in norcal. We even get occasional reports of mountain lions in town at night. I have indoor/outdoor cats that I love more than most humans I know, and so far none have been killed by predators (in ten years, knock on wood). Still, living with wildlife is one of the costs of living here and I moved into their territory, not the other way around.

I've struggled with small mammals for YEARS here-- skunks and raccoons mostly, but also fox and opossum that enter my house through the cat door most nights and trash it occasionally. I relocate them when I can, but I won't kill them no matter how much they inconvenience me. The world doesn't exist for my convenience. Just my $0.02. If you're looking for advice, trap the coyotes and relocate them (and understand that if you want to live in their habitat, you'll have to trap and relocate forever).

As I mentioned, I don't WANT to kill them. If they continue to approach the house when there are hundreds of acres they could enjoy, otherwise something will have to be done.

:hug: What a hard decision! Coyote is one of my animal guides so you can guess what my preference is. I know you will try all avenues before murder...you are just that kinda person.

It is because the hunter population is dwindling. I don't really want to get involved in the flamebait, but if you do shoot any, you better start looking up recipes now.

Using "protection" as an excuse doesn't work. That is the reason they are having to make a comeback in the first place. Same with most predatory creatures... what's next? Are you gonna use the same reasoning to start blasting hawks, wild dogs, groundhogs, wildcats, woodpeckers?

:grr:

Find some other way to protect your pets. We live in a very rural area and have lots of coyotes but our dogs, who are outside all the time, keep them from the house. They never bother us or any of our pets.

I so love waking up in the middle of the night and hearing them come yipping and yapping up the creek bed.

They are such beautiful wild creatures and this is not fair to them. Humans encroach on their territory and then expect them to find some other way to love.

I'm begging you to please do something else and let them live.

Edited to add: I just perused the rest of the thread. Thank you for agreeing to try other measures. They are just as leery of people as people are of them. I really appreciate that you will try to do something that won't harm them. Thank you, thank you, thank you! :hug:

When they stand in the treeline and don't run until you yell at them there is something wrong. I will do my best to scare them off first, I promise.

to having people around. If they weren't still afraid of you, they wouldn't stop at the tree line. Hopefully, the firecrackers will mimic gunfire closely enough that will keep them at bay.

I get so upset with a local guy that kills them and then hangs their carcasses on the fence post until they rot and drop off. It's really sad and gruesome. And since he feels the need to keep doing this, he hasn't figured out that doing it doesn't keep them out of his pasture. :eyes:

It just seems like since they are here first, and this is their traditional hunting grounds, it would be up to us to keep our pets from being out unattended which is what really is the cause of the risk. It's like baiting the poor coyotes, ya know? Give 'em easy pickings and they'll take it. Just like the polar bears drawn into town by the trash dumps in Alaska.

I really do appreciate your willingness to not make this a fatal encounter. Really I do. :hi: :hug:

you are so full of shit. YOU are the irresponsible cat-owner making excuses for your idiocy.

my cats would love to go out. and they do IF I decide to put them on a leash.

spare me your pathetic excuses. I hope the coyote has one more leap in him after the bullet

Dogs don't always come right inside when you open the door. Cats can be fast if they want to be. Sorry, I try my best but apparently it isn't good enough for ya.

you are irresponsible

thought of these animals being killed, but I think talking civilly about it and helping him explore all of his other options given the situation has been more productive than striking out at him. :hug:

1. Coyotes are pests.

2. Coyotes are by no means an endangered species.

3. To all those whining about the "balance of nature", the balance of nature was seriously fucked long before Wcross started shooting coyotes - letting predators get so populous that they become pests is not doing anyone any favors, including the predators.

4. As for, "they were here first", and "you shouldn't live where wild animals live" please give me a break.

Sorry to offend anyone's delicate sensibilities but I will cheerfully shoot pigeons, raccoons, rattlesnakes and coyotes if need be and I'm not going to apologize for it.

Anyone who wants to put me on ignore over that, is welcome to.

then when we decide we can't get along with the wild life we just kill it off ?

BTW, anybody who would 'cheerfully shoot' any animal is sick.

They wreak havoc on the calves and sheep.

I have decided to give some of the non-lethal suggestions a try first. Thank you for the suggestions.

sorry I was so harsh.

Just see the world through their eyes...

They aren't corrupt, they aren't war mongers, they aren't sport hunters out to kill small dogs...they are just coyotes doing what they have to.

Moe, Curly & Larry. I adopted their mother & father plus another pup from a previous litter when their owners home burned down up the road. Our shelter is a "quick kill" shelter. There is no shortage of dogs in our county. The female arrived pregnant & within two weeks her pups were born. I felt obligated to keep the pups because the minute I took in the momma they were my responsibility. I carried these three guys into my home in the palm of my hand. I am the only human they know & trust. I hope it is understandable why I might consider killing a threat to them.

That would make sense to me anyways. :shrug:

Edit: I saw your update.

if I saw that near my house, I'd seriously consider moving.

:P

That looks like a hornet's nest.

If you could place a trash bag over it and remove it that way whilst wearing a bee keepers outfit (again with the camcorder running, but definitely minus the screaming and weird nosies), then throw it in GD: P, I'll cook us some :popcorn: and we can start taking bets. My money's on the DU'ers in GD: P. :rofl:

It's kinda beautiful but it's mostly scary :scared:

I can understand wanting to protect your pets, that's about the only thing in the world that would drive me to killin' (if I had weapons around) but I hope y'all can find another way to live together.
I'm in a paved-over sprawl, a crowded part of Arlington, but coyotes are here too.. we're told to keep an eye on our small pets. I'm sorry for the wild animals around here, this suburb goes on and on for miles.

Seriously. It's not like there's any shortage of coyotes out there, so you won't be endangering the species. I'd protect my pets.

Redstone

What if one of his dogs got loose and killed a chicken at the neighbors farm ?

Would the farmer be justified in shooting the dog ?

What if the farmer was paranoid about the dogs killing his chickens and preemptivly killed some of his dogs ? ...This is what the OP is suggesting...Preemptivly killing the coyotes.

If you use non-lethal deterrents and they work, keep doing that. But if it's your pets or the coyotes, I'd say keeping your pets safe trumps the coyotes.

In your position, I'd feel like shit for having to shoot a coyote or three, but I'd feel even worse if one got one of my pets. The coyotes are wild animals who risk death all the time. Your pets are depending on you to protect them. Last thing they deserve is to get torn to shreds wondering why you didn't keep them safe.

Also, I suspect the people being all sanctimonious and accusing you of wanting to go kill some coyotes would be singing a very different tune if their pets were the ones in danger.

I can type. I hate seeing them hunted or killed but if they were on the edge of my yard I'd consider hunting them as well. I have seen and known of many pet losses because of coyotes. I've seen them tear a dogs face off and a cat is a tasty meal if they can catch one. We use blanks when they come around. It usually works but I would suggest keeping your pets in or under your supervision until you're certain they have left the area. Dead chickens are very tempting though and as long as their is an opportunity to get a free meal they will continue to come around. Try talking to the farm owners maybe they can dispose of the chickens differently.

If none of that works you have my blessing to hunt them. Safety of your family and home is a priority.

They pretty much just left the skeleton. He's not a fan of them, but he says they're better than pet dogs running loose. He had his neighbor's dogs kill/maim FORTY SHEEP in one night. The coyotes kill for food, but domestic dogs do it for fun.

I still wouldn't want coyotes getting my pets, though. His 24/7 outside dogs are great big Kuvasks that he has to guard the flock.

Having lived in the country with Cattle, my dad had to do it too.
I'm sorry the non understanding people up thread are giving you shit about this. My dad hated to do it to, but when the population gets too big, they have to be thinned or they will start stealing pets or starving to death. DU is not really a good place to do get people to understand this though. They just see a pretty animal and go gaga. It's just like deer.
Good luck, and I hope the Wcross clan of pups and cats are ok!
Duckie