Growin' them thar coyotes big around here this year

[chickortreat]

When I say "pack", I mean the family unit. I know they don't generally run in packs as is populraly believed. But no, I don't think he mistook dogs for coyotes. I'm thinking this has been known to happen before around here. We have few feral dogs around here. Lead poisoning has a grave effect on them, I'm afraid.

 

[WillieBoy]

I don't recall anyone saying Coydogs were "running rampant in the woods" Woodmort.. "Coydogs not being in the wild " is also not an accurate statement.They do not only exist where someone my be trying to breed them.I doubt anyone would have an animal like a coyote around anyway, to breed with a domestic dog..!This could go back and forth forever...however, their are Coydogs in the wild, as a internet search will reveal...

 

[woodmort]

I've been all over the Internet and can't find any reference to coydogs being in the wild (I did find a few sites offering them for sale.) but can find a lot that say it probably isn't possible. I'll stand by my and the NYS DEC statement in this regard until proved otherwise.

http://northernwoodlands.org/knots_and_bolts/coyote_or_coydog/ and http://www.projectcoyote.org/newsreleases/news_eastern.html

 

[Rare Feathers Farm]

Are you sure it's not dog prints?

Our coyotes are pretty good-sized--about 40-50lbs! But most are closer to 30-35lbs. We have wolves as well but we've only heard them and not seen them, yet....

 

[CMV]

Here's a decent pic of a (dead) coydog from a post a couple years back.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=248200

Coydogs are a pretty rare phenomenon, but not unheard of. But the OP has already stated that their problem is a feral/free-range pack of dogs.

Let's not fight guys!

 

[Rare Feathers Farm]

Quote:
That appears to be a black fox.

 

[woodmort]

Quote:
Read the third section of this link. http://www.esf.edu/pubprog/brochure/coyote/coyote.htm it pretty much sums up the current research.

ETA I'm not really trying to start an argument just trying to clear up some misconceptions that are floating around. Wildlife biologists have been trying to set the public straight on this "coydog" thing for a lot of years. As I said in an earlier post, I'm really intrigued by the Eastern coyote since I saw my first ones in 1945 and have done a lot of reading on and observation of them. I'd like to see the myth separated from truth is all. They are a very interesting species and what they have done to fill the predator niche in the Northeastern US is both interesting and a little scary.

BTW before I'd call any canine a coyote/dog cross I'd want some DNA, as opposed to visual, evidence.

 

[Show Me Chick]

Here's some pics of coyote dog crosses. Some may find it graphic. http://coyoteclub.org/coydogs.html I've killed coydogs myself and know they breed in the wild. Most state have DNR websites that state that they breed in the wild, a example is Wisconsin's DNR.

 

[woodmort]

Quote:
Your link didn't work for me and, when I Googled WI DNR coyote sites I couldn't find anything about coydogs breeding in the wild or anyplace else in Wisconsin. They do have pictures of wolfdog crosses, however. Also I have seen those coydog cross pictures/sites--there is even one for rescuing coydogs--but most are intended crosses or ones made to females owned by someone who raised the pups--there is even some guy that is crossing poodles and coyotes--but they aren't wild animals. I have no doubt that the two species can cross, just that it is not one that, given the reproductive cycle of the two species, is happening without human help--just like wolf/dog crosses.

Now, realizing we have hijacked this thread and it will probably be locked soon I want to add some history. Back in the 1930's/40's when the Eastern coyote began showing up, because they were so much larger than their Western counterpart, the assumption by most who saw them was that they had to be a dog/coyote cross. In some cases, because of the low numbers of available mates for the coyotes, it briefly was. However, the proof of this was pretty much anecdotal and it was spread, primarily, by outdoors men reporting what they thought they saw. In the last 20 years or so, using DNA and skulls, wildlife biologist have pretty much proved that dog genes are not found in these animals so if there were coydogs this cross has died out. Unfortunately, in the general population the myth persists. This is usually the reason given for any aggression shown by coyotes when, in fact, the aggressive animal is either a feral dog or a coyote that has lost fear of humans because it associates them with food. It is for this reason I ask that, if you insist they are out there, you give me a viable link to some information where reliable wildlife biologists are finding populations of coyote/dog crosses. Until that happens I have to insist that they do not exist--except in very limited areas like the edges of new ranges as the population of coyotes moves out from the northeast--and that any coydog spotted is either a coyote or a dog not a combination of the two.

 

[Show Me Chick]

I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong when trying to link to the website. If you type the link in manually it will work. And here is the link to the DNR of Wisconsin http://dnr.wi.gov/org/land/wildlife/PUBL/wlnotebook/coyote.htm You may have to type that one in manually also. This is from their site:

Coyotes will sometimes mate for life, but in Wisconsin--more often than not--they do not mate for more than one year with a particular partner. Coyotes have been known to breed with domestic dogs in Wisconsin to produce fertile offspring called "coy-dogs." These often look identical to purebred coyotes.​