We lost Mildred last night **update - she came home!!**

[Lunachick]

Congrats on finding Mildred! Yay!, Oh and in NJ the past couple of years coyotes have attacked small children in their own backyards! I think they are being displaced by overpopulation of the people kind. :|

 

[chicknmania]

Not everything you see in writing is true. Those instances could easily have been feral dogs, who are not afraid of people and yes, feral dogs can be and are vicious towards people and pets. I personally would have to have more documentation then a written account of something that happened thirteen or fourteen years ago. In the case of rabies I suppose maybe. But we have coyotes everywhere here and always have, and they are certainly used to people, but they don't hang around wagging their tails and waiting for food. They have never even bothered our chickens. And they cross our yard once in a while, too. There is lots of game and other stuff in the wild for them to eat and that's what they do. They are terrified of people. I agree though that it is never a good idea to feed any wild animal, unless it's something like wild birds. In your instance I would guess that it was either a wild dog who resembled a coyote, or maybe the coyote had rabies or was sick with something else. Or maybe your dog was in heat. I guess I would have had to've been there, but I think it is very unfair to all wild animals to automatically assume that every wild animal is an enemy meant to be destroyed, just because they have the misfortune of entering your property. If they are preying on your livestock or legitimately posing a threat, ( beyond just being afraid of anything that looks like a wolf), that is another story. There is open season on them at all times here, because there are so many of them. Coyotes have a reputation for being smart and resourceful, and are very interesting animals.

I'm glad your hen came home.

 

[mom'sfolly]

plenty of documentation of coyote attacks on humans out there, from a variety of reliable sources. Just google it. However, there are far more dog attacks on people, with more severe consquences. Most of the coyote attacks are from animals habituated to humans. Feeding wild animals makes them dangerous; because they loose their fear and associate people with food.


Congrats on Mildred!!!!!!

Silly Chicken, scaring you like that

 

[horsejody]

Quote:
I actually like coyotes and we have seen them around here for years. They never bothered anything until stupid people started feeding them. The one DH shot was definitely all coyote. The DNR people and the trapper that picked up the body to skin it said it was all coyote too. BTW, the dog wasn't in heat. He is a neutered male. Coyotes are smart. It doesn't take long for them to learn to come to the houses when people are throwing scraps to them. As far as not everything written being true, I agree. There is a lot of garbage out there, but it is kind of hard to discount some of the government fish and wildlife sites and news sites.

 

[SpottedCrow]

I'm so glad Mildred came home!!!

 

[Sunny Side Up]

The prodigal returns and we all rejoice! Now if only she could talk and tell you where she's been all this time. I pray that she & her flockmates continue to stay safe & accounted for.