Calf distress

cathntr

cathntr

New member
This may be a dumb question but does anyone make a cow distress call for calling coyotes? I have never heard of anyone using such a thing but seems like it would surely do the trick around a farm for problem coyotes. Or do you think using cow distress would cause more problems for farmers by attracting more coyotes to the area? Josh
 
Foxpro has a calf dist. I have not used it alot, ( maybe 50 to 60 times over the years) but i have never had a single dog come into that sound . so no i dont think it would attract anything but a few more cows lol.
 
Josh-

Great question.

I use cow calf-distress on lots of stands. I use the sounds that I believe the predators in the area are accustomed to hearing. If cows & calves are present in good numbers I use cow-calf distress.

Paint a sound picture based on your environment.

Mark Healy
 
+1 with Mark. Use the sounds that match their habitat. If there's cows in the area, use calf distress. If there's deer in the area, use fawn distress. And so on...

Steven
 
One of the variations of a lamb distress is pretty close to a calf distress.. Its a good curiosity sound and well work around larger groups of coyotes when something different is needed..Like some mentioned don't use it around cows or they willbe all over you..
 
Cat if you don't mind me puting my 2 cents in, I read in a study that coyotes just don't kill livestock but it's a learned behavior. What the study says is that a sheep farmer had never had problems with coyotes. The farmer took his naturally dead sheep to some kind of fill or quary to dispose of. (Before I forget these coyotes had been tracked with gps.) The gps showed that a pack of coyotes stayed right there where the farmer dumped his sheep. Well when the farmer was'nt throwing out sheep much then the coyotes found their way to his farm and starting killin his sheep. So if you go by this study I would think that only a yote that has already been killing livestock would be interested into a calf distress. That should target the trouble makers. I hope this makes sense, I'm not a very good story teller. Western Rivers has baby cow calf you can download but I dont know of any distress.
 
I would of thought for sure that during calving season the ones that are lost to coyotes would make some sorta noise that a coyote would remember as a sound being associated with food just like rabbits. Could be wrong though. As for attracting cows, I sure dont need none of that. I have a bull up at my grandpa farm that will moan and grown the whole time im calling and all but run me out of my stand. I usually just set put no matter how close he gets within reason, knowing that the cows dont belong to anyone in the family, I will not hesitate to shoot it if it charges. My grandpa rented the land out to the same guy for as long as I can remeber but my grandpa passed away a little over two years ago and my mom and uncle inherited the property and let the guy keep the cows there. His rental payment pays the taxes come the end of the year. Besides my four year old duaghter has way to much fun chasing them on my fourwheeler (with me on the back of course)
 
I agree that it's a great question. One that I've always wondered, myself. I've almost always used rabbit distress with the thought that "if they are going to come, they're going to come...period".

I'm working on an open-reed moose calf distress call for an Alaskan caller, this week. If/when I get the sound nailed, it could be easily used as any type of calf. I'm happy that he commissioned me to take on the project, but it's got me banging my head on the shop floor right now, though.
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I'll probably build myself one (or use one of the prototypes) and try it out. I have a few fall-calving ranches that historically have had serious coyote problems during the November calving. I'll put it to the test, before the gunning airplane is called in. I'll keep you posted if it made a difference or not.

Tony
 
I know coyotes eat alot of after birth and hang around when cows are calving so maybe this would be a good go to sound when the time comes. I dont have any of them fancy calls you other guys have so wont be downloading any sounds anytime soon. Hopefully one of these days I can afford a fox pro or something similar but for now ill stick with hand calls and the little Johhny Stewart Attractor. They get the job done so for now they are good enough for me. Thanks for the comments guys. Good Hunting, Josh
 
Have a cattle ranch just a 10 minute drive from my house , he was useing a dead pile when i first started calling the area , that was about 8 years ago , I told him he was attracting the dogs and teaching them to like blue ribbon beef LOL. he quit useing this method of disposal four years ago , as of one year ago i was still taking coyotes from the area ( within 300 yrds of the old dead pile) goes to show you what learned habits of feeding areas will do .As time goes by i am seeing less and less sighn in that area , and there is alot less damage control work to be done . Hes not losing anywhere near as many calves as in years past , i attribute this to my culling out the older less able and also the removal of the dead pile . If you call them they will come , If you feed them they will come and sometimes kill . I think alot of calves die naturally and when the rancher sees coyotes on the remains they just conclude that it was killed by the coyotes . When i get a call from a rancher stating ( I have coyotes out with my calves) I always ask Are they killing any? they usually say no , I tell them to leave those coyotes alone , they are keeping the bad ones out, and simply feeding on the afterbirth. most of all predation i have seen over the years by coyotes has always been done by a older or injured coyote.Now that coyote may come into a calf distress but i personally have never had any luck useing it .But ill keep trying it from time to time , I hate saying never . Jerry
 
You mess around with a calf in distress sound, near cows, during calving, & you're liable to wake up wondering how you got hoof-prints all over your camo - AND - why you hurt so much ????
Mark
 
Mark, I sure wouldnt be doing it anywhere close to the cattle and wouldnt advise anyone else do so either. I was thinking maybe on the other side of the property from where the cows are and if they start to show up quit calling until they lose interest and move on or atleast so I can move else where. Josh
 
Skeet & Jerry good posts. The same goes for fawn distress, not all coyotes kill deer, but a fawn or doe distress sound still brings them in.. maybe more out of a curiosity or a terr. response..
 
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I have came real close to getting the crap stomped out of me by some mad cows using a calf distress, also by deer using a fawn distress.. Be careful when using it around cows, make sure your on the other side of the fence LOL.. When the come in they ain't happy campers..
 
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