Asking for ideas on how to "manage" coyotes

[Pastor Dave]

We are seeing them more and more in the day time and of course at dusk or dawn. Sometimes I can get a chance to get a shot at one across a field that is out alone in broad daylight. I prefer a .243 but Indiana is pretty flat and you have to be very careful not to miss or go through and hit something unintentional.

 

[Baymule]

We just heard coyotes killing a dog. It was very close, in front of our place and down a little bit. There are some stray dogs that hang out on our road, we keep our front gate closed to keep them out of our place. The dog was screaming, the coyotes were snarling and yipping, it went on for several minutes, then all was silent. We were in the house (well insulated) watching TV and I heard the dog screaming above the noise of CNN. We couldn't see anything, we are surrounded by woods, but we could hear it. We then called several neighbors so they could make sure their dogs were accounted for.

 

[Pastor Dave]

That would be hard to have to listen to wondering about the fate of the dog. We generally sympathize more for the dog, even a stray than the coyotes because we have domesticated them and most households have them. There was probably nothing that could be done. I don't know if firing a shot overhead or into a tree close to the action would have scared them off or not.
We were having a funeral this past Monday, and the guys came to plow our parking lot. We are in a rural farmland and wooded area. Not a stone's throw to our South is the Monroe-Morgan State Forest. The guys jumped a coyote bedded down in the landscaping shrubs next to the church. Usually all I see there are (wild)rabbits, so we are giving them a food source.
The back of the property where the parsonage and shed are at also has the small hay field I utilize, and is bordered on three sides by treeline. The front up by the road doesn't usually see the wildlife action because it is more open and exposed.
The coyotes have little to no predators to keep them in check; not that I want wolves or bears in my backyard.
The whole country has a booming coyote population, and it is a problem with our domestic animals. In order to protect the new lambs and calves, not to mention chickens or rabbits and smaller animals in a more controlled space, they need to be managed with a game hunt or something.

 

[Latestarter]

Most states that recognize the coyote issue have year round open season on them. KY has just legalized night hunting for them. The problem is they are making themselves at home in more suburban settings where hunting is rarely allowed. Would you want someone hunting/shooting around your church or parsonage? As a result, the only personnel legally able to "take" them is LEO and Fish & Game folks. I imagine some trapping could be done, but with the domestic animals running around, all it would take is for someone's fido to get trapped and a law suit to follow, and then right back to square one.

I don't really think there are any true predators of coyotes except man. Wolves will kill them if they catch them, but don't prey on them. Bears as a general rule will steal a coyotes kill, but could care less about the coyote. The same for mountain lions.

I hate the thought of a dog being taken by coyotes, but strays are strays... A stray dog can be just as dangerous to my livestock as a coyote. If a coyote or pack of them were attacking my dog, I'd be out there, gun blazing. That's why I got a LGD, and intend to get another.

 

[samssimonsays]

Baymule, that is heartbreaking to think about hearing.... and such a scary thought that it could happen. I hope it was a stray and not a pet of someones.

We have more wolves than coyotes here and the wolves have been taking peoples dogs. The folks behind us have a huge fenced in yard to protect their little poms, the people across the road have their lab mix in a dog run, the people next to us have a sr lab that doesn't really go out alone for long, we have ours who don't go out for very long unattended (they love visiting the neighbors to the side of us who have one Pom as they will watch them occasionally for us if we are in a jam and us their little pom) We have warned them to keep a close eye on the little guy as some times he will come over to our house and has to go through the woods to do it. But people less than 2 miles away had a pack lure their dog out of the yard and they killed it while the people were yelling and running after them. People the other direction within 5 miles have had similar experiences. It seems to have mellowed out since hunting season now but it was happening and even though we have 2 very intelligent and protective dogs, a Collie who would lay her life down for her people or her livestock and big great pyr/st. bernard who is growing into his pyr instincts more and more every day, they are no match for a pack of wolves. A pack of anything really.

 

[Bossroo]

The best way to solve all of the coyote, wolf, cougar, bear issues is to put a dead or alive bounty on all of the animal rights activists.

 

[Southern by choice]

 

[samssimonsays]

Nothin' but truth!

 

[Mike CHS]

I needed a laugh - Thank You

 

[Baymule]

We're pretty sure it was a stray last night and not someone's pet. There have been several hanging around. We went to the end of our driveway and DH fired off a round into the dirt and we yelled. But by that time, it was quiet and the dog was more than likely dead.

We have two house dogs, a black Lab/Great Dane cross and an Australian Shepherd. Before we got the place fenced, we went outside with them on every potty event, especially at night. They were never allowed to run loose. I don't think it is right to let dogs run loose just because we aren't in the city limits. I don't want my dogs being a nuisance and I sure don't want anybody else's nuisance dogs. And we didn't want our dogs to end up like the dog last night, dinner for coyotes.