# Are coyotes all that dangerous??



## zimboleigh (May 18, 2012)

We have some coyotes around us and my permanent fencing wouldn't keep them out. For my goats I use electronet (electric net fencing) which as worked wonderfully but is a pain to move. Soooo I want to try strand fencing but it won't be predator proof. We have six does, three Nubains, two Lamanchas and a Nigi, they all have three week old kids. Do you think the coyotes will kill them? Some of my friends said coyotes didn't bother their goats at all. Don't know if I should take the chance...


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## KW Farms (Jun 21, 2008)

Coyotes are a very big threat to small livestock. If you have them around...i'd stick with some very secure fencing.


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## happybleats (Sep 12, 2010)

I agree with KW...my neighbor has lost four of his goats to coyotes ...mine have been safe because we have dogs and good fencing..He does not...its sad.


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

Coyotes are smart, you have to have 2 LGD's at least, because they will elude one dog away from the goats ,while the others grab kids. Coyotes will eat the guts of the kids and leave the rest . Your goats are in big jeopardy.


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## nancy d (Oct 5, 2007)

A friend has a T shirt that reads "Goat Meat. 100,0000 coyotes cant be wrong."


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## rhodalee (Feb 11, 2013)

I just lost my ducks to them they wouldn't go in there house at night. I'm glad I lock the goats in at night.


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

Agree with everyone else. Coyotes are a huge problem for goats.


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## Ember (May 23, 2011)

My husband has had them start to circle in on him before.

We put our goats away at night.

He used to raise pygmy and had about 100 head of them and coyotes cleared out about 90% of the herd.


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## sweetgoats (Oct 18, 2007)

OH heavens, Goats are a easy meal for them


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## goatgirl16 (Nov 21, 2012)

That is so sad and my biggest fear. We have fence and the goats are in the barn for the night but I am always afraid of them getting to them some how.


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## lottsagoats (Dec 10, 2012)

I have a couple of packs of coyotes around my house. Yes, they will make a meal of the goats, and keep coming back until there are no more goats (chickens, ducks, sheep etc).

Electric fence usually will not keep them out. High, sturdy fencing will help. Bright lighting, a radio playing at night, blasting off fireworks or gunshots into the air, stuff like that can help. I have 2 Great Pyrenees to help keep my goats and poultry safe. I don't like killing the wildlife unless i absolutely have to. So far the way I do things work well and I have not lost any of the goats. I did lose some ducks and chickens from fox and *****, but that has been addressed and is no longer a problem right now and I didn't have to hurt the wildlife.


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## HarleyBear (Aug 31, 2012)

I worry about it every night. I hear them howling at night and it makes my spine crawl. We lock up our goats in the barn every night and even then, I worry about them. We do have fencing, but I think they can easily jump over it if they were determined enough. 

Scary!


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## happybleats (Sep 12, 2010)

a hungry coyote will do most anything to eat...my neighbor shot at one he said it looked half starved and mangy...they are becoming bolder ...we keep even our donkeys up..nothing is left to pasture...But dont think they just come out at night...I was heading to my daughters and saw a huge coyote run across the road just in front of me...I slowed my car and watch him run in to a pasture he stopped and stared me down...I have to say..this one was not half starved or mangie..he was quite beautiful...but super scary...and well fed...which means he is a good hunter...


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## Ember (May 23, 2011)

We sit on the roof of the barn and snipe them out of the pasture. There a huge problem here


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## MotleyBoerGoats (Mar 23, 2013)

better safe than sorry just make sure that you dont have any goats with open wounds because decay will attract coyotes. If what you have is all you can afford right now i would get an LGD if you can, we dont have one because we have predator secure fencing but even that didnt keep out a coyote that was limping on his leg although he never touched any of our goats


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## lottsagoats (Dec 10, 2012)

I love listening to them howl. I have some sled dogs who will answer the coyotes and scare them off. The coyotes natural enemy is the wolf, which is what my dogs sound like. The coyotes howl, the dogs answer and the coyotes take off running.


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## LuvmyGoaties (Mar 9, 2010)

I lost my first two goats to coyotes - and it was in the middle of the day. I now have "the goat fortress" (5 foot no climb fencing with 2 strands of electric angled out on top for a total height of 6 feet, all posts are cemented 2 feet into the ground and there is 36' of chicken wire buried all the way around to prevent digging). My goat mentor says that a coyote would need a jet pack to get to my goats now.


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## goathiker (Apr 14, 2011)

lottsagoats said:


> I love listening to them howl. I have some sled dogs who will answer the coyotes and scare them off. The coyotes natural enemy is the wolf, which is what my dogs sound like. The coyotes howl, the dogs answer and the coyotes take off running.


 That's what I have here. My neighbor has a wolf Malamute hybrid. Haven't seen a coyote since he moved in. They howl he howls.


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## zimboleigh (May 18, 2012)

Wow!! Ok you convinced me. I'd love to get a Great Pyrenees but I think the feed would cost quite a lot. Thank you all, you just saved my goats from destruction! lol
T


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## imthegrt1 (Jan 13, 2013)

nancy d said:


> A friend has a T shirt that reads "Goat Meat. 100,0000 coyotes cant be wrong."


That us funny I'm going to go get this shirt made


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## ptgoats45 (Nov 28, 2011)

I have bells on all of my goats and haven't had any problems. Some of the neighbors have sheep and they lose lambs every year. There have been studies done (in Kansas) that showed a coyote will never attack a belled animal (due to the different sound). We also have a huge cattle ranch around us and they hire coyote hunters to come in and get as many as they can. They use greyhounds and greyhound crosses to find them. In three days last winter they killed over 20 coyotes in one spot and the next day the guy that runs the cattle ranch saw about 15 more. They are definitely abundant in my area.


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## IONFarm (Feb 12, 2013)

The coyote's range is getting bigger and bigger. Man has never been able to eradicate them for a reason. They are very smart, adaptable and dangerous. Take any and all precautions that you can. The fence and LGD's are expensive but so is losing your livestock.


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## gaelkofarmgirl (Mar 14, 2013)

It depends on how big of area you want.


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## TheBlackPack (Mar 7, 2013)

I recently sat in on a study done on coyotes. It was very interesting. They did the study on the impact the coyotes had on deer. And also other things, such as the impact controlled burning had on coyotes, food sources, etc. 

Anyway, coyotes don't travel in "packs" it will usually be a pair and maybe pups from the last year. Coyotes don't have "territories" they travel. A lot! They estimated on the reservation they studied that there was about 2 coyotes for ever 1300 acres at any given time. Some of the coyotes went several hundred miles in just a couple days or so!! 

Out of 78 baby deer that they collared over 50% were killed by coyotes within the first 16 weeks! They swabbed the carcass of the babies for coyote DNA. It was pretty cool stuff. They tagged many adult deer as well, and 4 full grown apparently healthy does were taken down by coyotes (and like I said, they only really traveled in pairs so 2 coyotes took down a deer). They would even track the deers progress over the past few days to make sure she hadn't been hit by a car (near any roads) or anything happened that might would have injured her. 

We trap for them around the house. Seeing as how they travel like they do you'd never be able to "wipe out" a coyote population around you. We trap to try to keep them from getting close enough to kill any of our livestock. During kidding season we'd switch cars out and hang up hoodies in the trees and try to keep things moved around and different in hopes to keep them away. Our dogs are also out daily around the goat fence, however, we often catch the coyotes by placing a trap where a dog peed (and the coyote comes to mark on top of it) so I don't know that they help any. 

Having said all that we have had much more trouble out of neighbors dogs, dogs that's been tossed out and dogs that are half feral than any other animal. 

My horses will kill a dog and/or coyote so it helps that they line one side of our goat pasture.

ETA I'm in the south. Coyote behavior would probably be different in other settings and places.  The study started in NC and the coyotes they studied traveled to VA, GA and other surrounding states.


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## clearwtrbeach (May 10, 2012)

Agreed Coyotes are a huge threat! I know people who've lost goats to them, not to mention things like chickens and ducks. You need pretty secure fencing. Locking up at night can help but with kids I wouldn't trust where I couldn't see them even during the day. I had 2 coyotes come right out side my front yard fence 20' from where I was standing on the deck in broad daylight! and I had goats in front and behind this area. I went for the gun immediately. I don't have the luxury of a LGD due to small property and being on they hwy, but fence and a gun are a must for me.
The black pak- our coyote behavior is very different. We have at any time at least a dozen that run about a mile radius all the way around us. Most nights you'll hear them start calling in one area the others from the other area talking back. Last spring we had an adult pack right outside mine and my neighbors house (about 100' between them and our houses)- out come the guns. We also have cougars and ***** that attack livestock.


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## hallsthirdacrefarm (Mar 30, 2011)

I live in the city of Inidanapolis in a metropolitan area. I have seen 3-5 coyotes per year around us. None seemed to balk at passing cars or people...just lumbered on about their way or waited for traffic to pass so they could cross a street. My goats are in a chain linked fence 5' high...but could be dug under. We can't use electric or bury fencing due to city regulations, so I hear you about worrying. I suppose it depends how brave they get...but there are patches (2-3 acre) of woods all around and I've seen coyote in at least one. I'd leave my dog out but she digs under the fence...and then we have "easier access" and a loose dog... lol. Our neighbor's leave their dogs out...so I have to hope for barking to alert us I suppose. At least we're close if there ever is a ruckus.


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## Sylvie (Feb 18, 2013)

> Do you think the coyotes will kill them?


Watch out for stray dogs, too.  My friend had neighbor jump in & kill several of their goats.


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## clearwtrbeach (May 10, 2012)

I agree, neighbor dogs can be just as if not more dangerous since they have zero fear of humans. Where we lived before we had a neighbor dog take out about 39 chickens in one night! Our rule now, luckily our landlord -a cattle rancher, supports us- if it's on the property it will be shot. Even at that we aren't outside 24/7.


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## Ember (May 23, 2011)

Our neighbors raise wolves for the zoo. Maybe I should just pen one of them in my backyard lol!!


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