Might owe an apology to a coyote

[Callender Girl]

When Golly, one of my American Buffs, disappeared without a trace, based on known area predators and some partial pawprints in the snow, I blamed a coyote. They are plentiful here and a new litter was born last spring.

However, a couple of things seemed off, right from the start. First, in 18 years, I've never seen a coyote come up close, past the fence, right to the foundation of the house -- which is where the geese were napping that day. Also, it was mid-afternoon, and coyotes prefer dusk and dawn for their forays.

Yesterday, at 2 p.m. as I trudged out to the mailbox across the road, I spotted a previously-never-seen large black dog loping along the front of my property. When it saw me, it took off toward my barn. I lost sight of the dog, but I was able to find multiple pawprints that seemed to come out of the barn. There was no dog inside, but it clearly had been there before.

While I am not happy about it, contending with one dog rather than a pack of coyotes seems incrementally better.

 

[Debbie292d]

Wow, that is scary!

That dog maybe was a godsend. The coyotes must be hungry, thus why they're coming so close and during the day. They're desperate for food. That dog must be scaring them off.

Since it's cold where you are, perhaps a a couple of days of locking everyone up will get those coyotes to move on for somewhere else.

 

[Callender Girl]

Oh, no. The coyotes are here to stay. I consider coyote hazing to be one of my most time-consuming hobbies. It's usually worst in the spring, when new litters need feeding.

I chase coyotes through fields -- yelling, clapping, throwing field stones. They respond by running faster, cruising over fences I struggle to climb or slip through and, generally, treating me like a most insignificant annoyance. Their most infuriating action is simply stopping to look back at me and see how far I've fallen behind. If they could laugh, they would.

Everyone is locked up now. I've let the ducks and the remaining goose, Gussie, out of their coops/runs ONLY when I am outside, cleaning coops, adding water and bedding. They're not happy, but they're alive!

 

[BlindLemonChicken]

I chase coyotes through fields -- yelling, clapping, throwing field stones.

Have you tried throwing bullets?

 

[neo71665]

Have you tried throwing bullets?

.223 or 30-30 does a far better job a whole lot quicker and you don't have to run around

 

[BlindLemonChicken]

.223 or 30-30 does a far better job a whole lot quicker and you don't have to run around

I don’t generally throw bullets by hand either lol

 

[Goosebaby]

In my own experience I can’t really say a dog is any better than coyotes. Both will keep returning if they think they’ve already gotten away with it once. Coyotes are more skittish out in the sticks but in rural communities they can get pretty bold, though not always, but a lot of dogs are just naturally that way.
The main thing that makes them worse than a coyote is coyotes don’t tend to have a human excusing and enabling them that will pitch a fit if and when someone takes out their fur baby for harassing or preying on their horses, birds, or other livestock.