How Do Coyotes Kill Calves?

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Ive never seen a coyote attack a cow or calf except when calving. Cows are pretty good at protecting themselves just ask anyone whos been kicked. We have more problems with buzzards around here eating the soft parts of a cow or calf (eyes or butt) during birth. The coyotes usually just go after the placenta.(ewww)


I agree. Buzzards and domestic dogs kill 10 times the calves coyotes do.

Jack
 
It depends on many factors but yes coyotes do take a few calves every spring in this area of Wyoming. Wildlife Services (ADC) of the USF&W runs on the theory its a learned behavior which a few coyotes learned to do. Yes, cows are very protective and full size cow is off the menu unless something else happens to it. I have not seen one kill a calf but the ones that were determined to be killed by coyotes had tremdous bruising under the skin on the neck right behind the lower jaw. All were calves less than a few days old. Maybe they were sick calves that the coyotes finished off when the cow went to water or feed hard to tell but they were killed by coyotes according to the Wildlife Services investigators.

How do coyotes kill? From my observations of coyotes attacking fawn deer on two separate ocassions they will grab its throat pulling it down. Both times I witnessed this it was a pair of coyotes and the other coyote was being chased by the doe and the other member of the pair would dart in. After 7 or 8 attacks on the fawn it was unable to get up then both coyotes started working the doe deer. She eventually after 10 minutes of this attack moved off and left the fawn which was claimed by the coyotes. I have helped post sheep to determine what killed them by skinning back the hide over the throat and looking for bruising. Apparently they manage to damage the windpipe enough the animal will suffocate as it swells or they hold it shut.

When they consume any large animal the internal organs are normally the first to be eaten in my experiences on finding coyote kills that are fairly fresh. I think that with horses and cows they have a tough time getting through the hide to the quarters. They will get it done eventually just the internal organs must be easier of more perfered.

Had a rancher once also show me two calves that had died about the same time. Coyotes had eaten one to the bone and not touched the second one. Rancher claimed that they wouldn't eat the second one because he had given it several large dosages of antibiotic just piror to its death and they don't seem to like eating calves that have had this treatment. Anybody else ever heard of that?
 
I know the coyotes around here will not touch an animal that died of illness until it has been out rotting for 7 to 10 days first. They will take a dead newborn right away but not adults. They won't touch it even if you just shoot it without treatments. Once rotten, they come right in and eat up. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/shocked.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/shocked.gif
 
Years ago a neighboring rancher SWORE coyotes did NOT kill calves. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/blush.gif

...... that is until one day ..... he happened upon a coyote that had a hold of a fair sized young calf of his. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grinning-smiley-006.gif

Here all at once ...... a former NON-BELIEVER pulling on one end of his calf and on the other ...... MR. COYOTE ........ hangin ON ..... refusing to let go!!!!!! ..... no equalizer handy .... the rancher won out when the coyote wore out.

Score one more believer! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smiliesmack.gif

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How do coyotes pull down young bovine calves?

With ours .... their favorite kill shot is to grab the flank right in front of the hind quarters and pull out the intestines.

The largest calf I remember being nailed by 'otes was about a month and a half. It was NOT sick ..... it's mother was preoccupied with the bulls ..... junior was left unattended too long.

Alpha 'otes with cattle experience and a den w/ pups in your range or pasture unit bring on the SUREST kills!

With domestic dogs we have most of our problem with them running stocker sized cattle.

Three 44s
 
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I have to change some of the opinions I just stated earlier in this thread. Just got word from a large rancher south of here and coyotes are playing havoc with his calving season. He has a pack dragging down fully mobile calves and attacking cows in the process of calving... substantial losses and some of us have been called in to do something about it. I know he has a healthy, closely monitored herd. I am inclined to agree with some others in this thread about Alphas teaching and training other dogs to take out calves. We are working out a trapping and calling strategy but from the evidence he presented to me I believe we are going to have to take a significant portion of them or this trend will continue. There is plenty of game this season and there have not been unusually difficult weather patterns. These coyotes are hitting his herd because it is easy and they know how to do it. I don't see any other environmental patterns except that there is a high proportion of mange in those taken at this point. But I'd say that we have to significantly reduce the local population or it will continue.
 
The Feds did some research on livestock killers.

They found that around 80 to 90 percent of the kills involved the Alpha Male or Alpha Female or both.

I would start with challenges/pup in distress ..... brings both parents in full steam ..... get ready for hot action!

This way you may be able to get the brakes applied PRONTO 'cause you only got those babies that survive.

Good luck!

Three 44s
 
IBGunner, sounds like time to hang a few snares if there legal. My son and I caught 14 coyotes in a ranchers field off of a dead 500 lb calf. We pulled the dead calf into a large branding trap that had woven wire all the way around it. We hung snares on every coyote size hole all the way around that branding trap. In 3 weeks we caught 14 coyotes and shot two others. Rancher had been complaining about coyotes harassing his livestock. We had called and killed two but just could't get any takers after the first couple of times calling. Coyotes can't seem to figure those snares out. Good Luck.
 
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Some of you fellows in other states are experiencing what has been going on here for the past 6 years or so. The coyotes are taking down big calves and then dragging them off after killing them. In all cases that I have been involved with, a big alpha male and female were involved. They haven't always done this, so something had to get it started. There are hunters who don't think the pups are taught by mom and pop, but I disagree. I think it is like everything else connected to genetics. Like produces like. The farmers who say "I don't think they bother anything" just haven't had a long enough history with them. It is not their nature to just leave stuff alone. They are going to eat and that is the bottom line.
 
I've watched does run off coyotes stomping at them with every other step. Most if not all of the does we have around here protect their fawns with authority, some get eaten however, but they have been doing it for 10,000 years and we still have deer and here in Mt anyway we give out 6 extra doe tags account there are to many deer. and we have lots of coyotes too
 
Been asking around with all the local farmers getting permission to hunt coyotes and fox on their farms.I'm getting alot of permission and finding out that they all are having problems with coyotes killing their calves in the spring time.
 
Three 44's how does a pair with pup's get after those calves? Spring calving here is Feb/March you may have a couple late ones first part of april, those coyote pup's are dropped in April and first weeks of May they are not weaned until middle/end of may.My worst killing is June/August as they are then meat fed and growing problem is most all calves are to big to mess with and lambs are much more to there liking. Risk Versus reward.
So how does this theroy of "some" 1 1/2 month old calves or later take place? Are you calving in May? Then when do this go to market? Bulls in calving pastures? Most I know seperate those bulls from the cows until calving is done in seperate bull pastures.

Do coyotes take some calves? Yes! Do they take the numbers and size some want us to expect later in the spring/ summer? I have my doubts. Pictures are worth a 1,000 words!
 
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Spring calving here is Feb/March



We had 550 head of brood cows on our farm in Fla and our calving season was Dec/Jan. Where I live now in North AL. there are a lot of small farms with only 25 to 100 head of brood cows. These guys leave there bulls in year around and have calves all during the year. They just sell one to three at the time.

This is why on big cattle ranches you may actually have less predation but on smaller ranches you have higher predation. When the studies come out they are over a broad area not just the large ranches.
 
I think around here the majority of the problem is with domestic dogs and buzzards. I have heard of it happening here but its not common at all. I know some people in NM that have a decent sized ranch and they have problems with coyotes killing calves. I think the coyotes only do it if there is no other choice. They prefer easy meals just like everything else. In the desert or extreme cold I'm sure predators target livestock much more frequently.
 
Quite the contrary CCP, farming cattle in smaller acerages and in vast areas of the west are far different, but the majority of cattle depredation comes from out west in larger land tracts not smaller! The USDA stats will show you that.

In states like Iowa, Illinois and other areas where cattle are kept closer to the operation and smaller pastures coyotes kills while they do take place are very,very minimal.The more livestock the greater the chance for loss! USDA reports show many estern states just don't have near the depredation that the western states do!

They have more advantage in areas of larger size and where calves can get away from ma cow much easier and better places for the coyotes to attack. You have cow/calf pairs in smaller pastures much harder for coyotes to do the deed without them getting a nice beating from several cows. Not to mention more human interaction as well.

We have more head of cattle than we do people in our state and other western states are the same way, we have almost 50% of our human population in sheep. Range sheep are far more suseptable to depredation than many in eastern states that have 50-90 ewes per farm and kept closer to the farmsteads.

The reason you run large bands of sheep on pasture is far cheaper than small pasture supplamental feeding, our lambs go to feeder operations further east to be finished off for the most part.

Each area of the US is different but out west the majority spring calve and spring lamb due to our weather, keeping them over winter is much more labor intensive and you have higher feed cost than spring calving and lambing.

If the numbers where as common place in the East as some say, then USDA would show that in the reports. I don't deny there are some depredation issues in the eastern half of the US on livestock, I just don't buy it as common place and that 300 lb calves are getting whacked on a normal basis by coyotes is all.
 
Here locally if its a 300 lb calf that is killed I bet its a 150 lb or larger canine doing the killing. Big calves are on the menu for lions, wolves, and the occasional bear (black or giz) that has a taste for beef.

One local ranch run by people from somewhere else did start calving here in July and August. Why because thats the way they did it where they came from. Does it present opportunity for a pair of coyotes raising a litter of pups? Heck yes but I haven't heard of them suffering any losses. Not sure if they would notice.
 
coydogs are thick around here.. a cross between a domestic dog and a coyote. they each up to 80lbs and look like a german shepherd thats coat is coyote colored. they will kill anything. they have even been noticed killing a adult stallion that was left in a corral to long while the owner was on vacation. the reason was supposed that the coydogs kept him away from food and water to long then he died from weakness and blood loss.. A neighbor checked on the horse and shot two of the coydogs in the pasture.. it was worth like 15 grand or sumthin.. There were supposed to be about seven coydogs attacking the animal..
 
AHelton,

Can you get & post any pics of those Coydogs? They are a rarity here in central Iowa. As of last yr, two different ones were in my hunt area.
 
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