80% of my coyote hunting is at the request of local ranchers, in late Feb-mar. Of those 75% say “damn coyotes are chasing the calves” or “shoot them all but don’t shoot my cows”
Spot on Wade! Your dang right where livestock is coyotes are not far away! A lot of folks think that its because of a chance to kill the livestock. Having cattle for years the coyotes love the afterbirth and new born poop. Where there is feed and hay bales comes mice, birds, snakes and other live snacks. Seen coyotes visit silage piles , they love them. I have to laugh sometimes when I run into a know it all predator hunter on the street that doesn't realize there a lot of Yes and No answers when it comes to this. Keep up the knowledge love it!
Great topic for podcast. Here in west Texas sheep n goat country with cattle mixed in. Diet mainly whitetail , axis, sheep and goats, lambs,kids,and fawns. Until summer grass hoppers hit then their main diet and protein, that they don’t have to travel far for a full belly. Grass hoppers fad out then mesquite beans and then tunas on cactus are main diet. After all that the meat cycle starts again. Coyotes eat a lot of cow pies fact you can kill the adult yotes and if their pups are 3-4 weeks old they’ll normally survive. Eating poop and bugs, they’ll end up stunted in size but they will survive.
I agree that coyotes are opportunistic. Grew up on a 2,000 acre farm in the East US with 50-150 cattle (which I know is small compared to Texas). I only started hunting them this past year. I have never seen them attacked without some aggravating circumstance. For example, when I was 10 we had a calf get its head stuck in a fence, and they ate its ass end off while it was alive. We only found it after. However that’s the only time in the past 20 years that we have had one “attacked.” IMO, they are just waiting around until we lose one and push them into our two or three bone piles around the farm. If we move our cows from one pasture to another - almost guaranteed you will start hearing them at night in that area now. To be honest, no one in my local cattleman’s association are worried about Coyotes though. I generally don’t believe they are a problem. But I live in Tennessee and they are smaller and our cattle herds are much smaller. Now what is true for sure - other livestock are vulnerable - sheep, goats, ducks, etc. will get murdered even perfectly healthy in TN.
Also will add after listening to your whole podcast - our turkey and deer population is totally out of control so I really don’t think coyotes would need to risk that kind of confrontation with cows.
Trying to extrapolate all of your great knowledge into hunting 200 acre pastures in Virginia; and some tactics seem promising. I especially noted the tip to let them come on in; instead of taking them at longer distances. Thanks Wade!
I raise cattle and have watched a pack of 6 coyotes harass my 1100lbs steers at night with my thermal. Cattle are laying down and the coyotes ran up nipping at them until the cattle got up. It was as if they were probing for a lame or sick one. My neighbor had to shoot a calf that he found alive but had his back end eaten off by coyotes the night it was born.
Coyotes will kill 200+lb deer in Maine. Typically in the winter. They do a lot of damage when we have freezing rain and the coyotes can run on top. Also they run them on the ice where the deer can’t stand or run. Like you say, they are opportunistic hunters.
80% of my coyote hunting is at the request of local ranchers, in late Feb-mar. Of those 75% say “damn coyotes are chasing the calves” or “shoot them all but don’t shoot my cows”
Spot on Wade! Your dang right where livestock is coyotes are not far away! A lot of folks think that its because of a chance to kill the livestock. Having cattle for years the coyotes love the afterbirth and new born poop. Where there is feed and hay bales comes mice, birds, snakes and other live snacks. Seen coyotes visit silage piles , they love them. I have to laugh sometimes when I run into a know it all predator hunter on the street that doesn't realize there a lot of Yes and No answers when it comes to this. Keep up the knowledge love it!
Great topic for podcast. Here in west Texas sheep n goat country with cattle mixed in. Diet mainly whitetail , axis, sheep and goats, lambs,kids,and fawns. Until summer grass hoppers hit then their main diet and protein, that they don’t have to travel far for a full belly. Grass hoppers fad out then mesquite beans and then tunas on cactus are main diet. After all that the meat cycle starts again. Coyotes eat a lot of cow pies fact you can kill the adult yotes and if their pups are 3-4 weeks old they’ll normally survive. Eating poop and bugs, they’ll end up stunted in size but they will survive.
I agree that coyotes are opportunistic. Grew up on a 2,000 acre farm in the East US with 50-150 cattle (which I know is small compared to Texas). I only started hunting them this past year.
I have never seen them attacked without some aggravating circumstance. For example, when I was 10 we had a calf get its head stuck in a fence, and they ate its ass end off while it was alive. We only found it after. However that’s the only time in the past 20 years that we have had one “attacked.” IMO, they are just waiting around until we lose one and push them into our two or three bone piles around the farm.
If we move our cows from one pasture to another - almost guaranteed you will start hearing them at night in that area now.
To be honest, no one in my local cattleman’s association are worried about Coyotes though. I generally don’t believe they are a problem. But I live in Tennessee and they are smaller and our cattle herds are much smaller.
Now what is true for sure - other livestock are vulnerable - sheep, goats, ducks, etc. will get murdered even perfectly healthy in TN.
Also will add after listening to your whole podcast - our turkey and deer population is totally out of control so I really don’t think coyotes would need to risk that kind of confrontation with cows.
Trying to extrapolate all of your great knowledge into hunting 200 acre pastures in Virginia; and some tactics seem promising. I especially noted the tip to let them come on in; instead of taking them at longer distances. Thanks Wade!
Great content as always. Wade looking “high speed” today.
😂 thanks for watching.
When are we gonna get a 2 hour podcast with Clay Reid? 😂
Be sure hit that subscribe button!
Let us know in the comments what your experiences have been with coyotes and livestock!
Fitz doing swift cover songs across the nation.
Fitzy is definitely following the taylor swift tour..... miss the banter lol
I know you have messed with a 12.5 6 arc, have you messed with a 12.5 22arc?
I raise cattle and have watched a pack of 6 coyotes harass my 1100lbs steers at night with my thermal. Cattle are laying down and the coyotes ran up nipping at them until the cattle got up. It was as if they were probing for a lame or sick one.
My neighbor had to shoot a calf that he found alive but had his back end eaten off by coyotes the night it was born.
Coyotes, cockroaches, and Keith Richards- Clay Reid
Coyotes will kill 200+lb deer in Maine. Typically in the winter. They do a lot of damage when we have freezing rain and the coyotes can run on top. Also they run them on the ice where the deer can’t stand or run. Like you say, they are opportunistic hunters.
All Skipper. No Gilligan.