Dammit, two rabbits were killed by coyotes right outside my back door last night.

[beam me up scottie]

I have never seen them in our pasture before.

They were hunting on two sides of us Saturday night, I chased them off but I guess they got what they came for after all.

And now that they found a way in I doubt we'll be able to stop them from doing it again. Will walk the fence later.

I have a Warmblood filly that's way too big for them to f*ck with and we just bought a burro - hoping we can control this so we don't have to kill anything ourselves. I want to adopt a rescue dog (or three) but I couldn't leave them out to be chewed up since they're way outnumbered.

Sigh...

[MuseRider]

1. The way I have had to deal with this

is to just understand that they have to eat too and that I moved into their house. I watch my animals as best as I can. You should see the enclosure we built for our little goats! We are overrun at the moment with coyotes but winter is coming and there will be some loss I suppose. Your burro will go a long way to protecting things, or should. We added an extra chain link for our dogs and that seems to keep them out especially with a den (or whatever you call it) right off the backyard Still, the coyotes will come up and pass the front of the house and cross our patio.

Sorry about the rabbits. I hate when that happens.

I don't know how big your place is. One solution might be the use of temporary electric fencing using the wide tape low to the ground. They are awfully smart though, just thinking and trying to help.

[shireen]

3. +1 nt

[beam me up scottie]

5. Thanks, we have 5 acres with horse fencing all around.

They weren't pet rabbits, actually, we have dozens of wild ones living in our pasture and lots of other assorted rodents around the estate because we're surrounded by crops and silos. That's the reason why we have so many coyotes.

Electric fence won't work since all of the vines and small fruit trees have melded with the existing fence.

I knew they're were three packs that hunt around here but this is the first time they've got into our pasture.

We do plan on building secure enclosures for any future pets/livestock. Comes with the territory, I guess.

[Mojorabbit]

2. We live in the city but they moved in here

Everyone around the lake I live on had cats go missing. Both of mine did also. ONe day I found a half of a black cat in my yard(not mine). Then coyotes were filmed at the small airport across the lake. They ate all the cats and then moved on. I understand they need to make a living but it was a real shock at the time. Best of luck.

[beam me up scottie]

6. Thank you. I'm glad we decided not to get barn cats.

Mine stay inside, thankfully. Our neighbors two labs will run the coyotes off if they catch them near our driveway but even they won't follow them.

I had a dog years ago who was killed by coyotes, he was brave but outnumbered.

[ChandlerJr]

4. If it weren't for the coyotes you would be over run by rabbits

when the supply of rabbits falls the coyote population with collapse also.

[beam me up scottie]

7. And they can eat all the rabbits they want to - they just need to do it outside of my pasture.

I know they have pups to feed, I've seen them. Normally they gorge themselves on the mice and rats near the silos.

I'm just afraid now that they've had two easy kills in my backyard it will be almost impossible to keep them away.

[MineralMan]

8. How close are your neighbors? If you can take a couple

of shots at them, they'll find safer pastures to hunt in. That's what my father always does on his 15-acre citrus and avocado farm. When the coyotes start getting to close, he'll sit out at night and wait until he sees one, then shoot at it with buckshot. He doesn't really want to kill them, but the shooting seems to send them down the road for a while. If they make it into the fenced yard around the house, though, they're goners. That's just not allowed.

[beam me up scottie]

9. Thanks, that is my plan, actually, I'll be camping outside for a few nights.

I'll use the shot gun as a warning and the rifle if they come in anyway.

Bf just told the neighbors what to expect.

He works 3rd shift and misses all the drama. When he came home this morning all he found were two trails of blood and grey fur leading away from the back step and a 1000 lb. horse having a nervous breakdown.

[ProgressiveProfessor]

10. My neighborhood kitties are cougars

and I also have coyotes to deal with as well. Only realistic answer is to fully secure your livestock and be ready to shoot if needed.

[beam me up scottie]

11. That's a little scary.

Thing is they hunted and killed wild rabbits that live in our pasture. And it was easy.

We walked the fence and couldn't find where they got in. I'm afraid they'll actually start jumping the fence when they're hungry.

So, yeah, I'm prepared to defend my animals.

[ProgressiveProfessor]

12. At home I carry a revolver with mixed load out

snakeshot and softpoint. We have rattlers too. Scares the hell out of people who end up at the gate by mistake.

Then again I chose to live out here in the scrub desert. We knew what we were getting into when we bought the place.

[beam me up scottie]

13. Heh. Our neighbor screams like a little girl when he sees a snake.

He'll actually throw his own kid in between him and said snake.

Guy found a little baby gopher snake in his yard and swore it was a Copperhead (around here every snake is either a Copperhead or a Water Moccasin), emptied his pistol on it and missed every shot. Had his kid get the shot gun but I think the poor thing had died of heart failure by then.

People who can't tolerate wildlife should live in high rises. I chose animals over people and I don't regret it.

[ProgressiveProfessor]

14. That is why I use snake rounds.

I am good, but not always that good...#11 makes up for any minor aiming errors.

I do not advocate wholesale slaughter of wildlife. In California the cougars are protected. However a few times I have needed to discourage them...

[beam me up scottie]

15. Bf's originally from Colorado- a cougar attacked his friend's horse.

It was pretty bad. They tried but never did find the cat that did it.

Oh, goody, I just remembered that our street lamp doesn't work anymore. The only thing illuminated by the house light is the back stoop. I've walked out there blindly every night (I always open the gate for bf) without giving it a second thought.

That's okay, who needs coffee when you have adrenaline?

[ProgressiveProfessor]

16. Consider low cost IR viewer

You don't need a lot of detail, just heat blobs will do. Even a powerful flashlight beam will get eye reflections.

[beam me up scottie]

17. Good idea, bf would love that!

I use a spotlight and have seen many many pairs of eyes looking my way before, but they were usually in the fields.

Bit unsettling it was.

Trying to hold a gun and a spotlight is impossible, but I do have a great led headlamp I use for caving. Thanks for reminding me!

[MuseRider]

18. Do you know when they are in your pasture?

They can be sneaky but often are loud enough when hunting to know. Here is something that we did, it might help if you catch them enough times. I don't know why I did not think to add this to my first post.

We had a large gray one that was out during the day. He would be laying on the drive or I would see him running in the pasture and then there were two. Most times those are animals that were raised by people then let loose. Whatever they are, they were out during the day, well fed looking and not ill with mange. I started to see them come up to the side of my house just under the window where I sit while I am on my computer. Freaked me out because I let my little goats out to roam around the house during the day and my cats are often out. We have some M80's left over that we save for times that we see neighbors dogs on the pond when the ice is getting thin, it scares them off quickly. We threw one out from the deck and after 2 different times we have not seen them back. Just a thought. Fireworks come in handy for the strangest things but since we do not like to shoot animals for any reason, would have to make an exception if one was hurting our pets, we use fireworks. Try it and see if that helps. With 5 acres you may be able to control a lot of it but probably only for short periods of time but that is better than nothing. It also helps to get some night vision binoculars. You would be amazed at what you can see with them on the darkest of nights. Expensive but worth it when protecting livestock.

[beam me up scottie]

20. THAT is the best suggestion yet!

Thank you, man, I've been out here night after night chasing them off and they are definitely not scared of little ole me.
I did get Stella to join in the chase and she seems to enjoy it :)

I would much rather use shock and awe that doesn't require deadly weapons.

I have no idea where to get m-80's, though, since they're illegal. Do you have any suggestions for similar fireworks?

[MuseRider]

22. Sorry, can't tell you how we get them :-)

but anything that makes noise should do it. Watch out for your horse, make sure she is where she can't get hurt. You could try some firecrackers to get her used to noise I suppose. I don't know where you are but if you are as dry as we are in NE Kansas it might not be the best idea.

I see where you are also a non kill, save the little spiders etc. I am too. Think outside the usual farm box and there are a few things you can come up with that really help.

I have solar lights all around my goat pen and have never had a problem with bobcats or coyotes digging around the pen. We also fence the top of the pen they are in when we are not around. Around here the thought is, well something will get one or two of them so have five or six so you don't miss the ones that get eaten. :wtf:

Maybe a gun that shoots blanks? I don't know but I think most things that go bang loudly will spook them.

I am with you, I love the sounds being out away from the city. When the coyotes get going it sounds wonderful. The owls too, I don't think I could live without the owls ever again.

I got the idea of fireworks one night around the 4th. I was at the horse barn. We have a fireworks school not too far to the South of us, we get lots of fireworks displays in the spring, summer and fall. That evening there was one very close by. It was just dark and as I walked around the corner something slammed into my leg really hard. It was a coyote running from the fireworks. It looked up at me and I guess I was scarier than the fireworks because it took off back the way it came. It was a pretty cool experience. Skunks will rub your leg like a cat and when you reach down to pet them and discover they are not cats just hold still and they will wander off. I love being out here!!

[hedgehog]

30. That sounds a lot more workable for me than a shot gun.

So far the coyotes have stayed away from the house. They trot through the far side of the5 acre garden lot on their way between the woods out back and the river valley across the road.

[NNN0LHI]

19. In the long run those coyotes are doing you a lot more good than harm

If we didn't have coyotes here we would be overrun by ground squirrels, mice and other rodents.

If a natural cycle like that is ever broken it could lead to some very disastrous results. I like rabbits but I don't want to be up to my neck in them.

I would never kill any coyotes. They have pups that need to be fed too.

Don

[beam me up scottie]

21. Whoa, I haven't killed anything yet.

I'm a vegetarian, I save spiders from summary execution and champion the good qualities of snakes wherever I go. :)

The coyotes have plenty to eat around here, the rabbit den(?) is quite large and extends far beyond our pasture, and there are grain silos everywhere - you should see the size of the mice and rats! The farmers around here try to keep feral cats around the silos but something keeps eating them.

I love the sound of coyotes howling, it reminds me that I'm no longer stuck in the city. Another reason I love living here is that the owner of the estate forbids hunting and trapping. She will support me if it comes down to protecting me and mine, though.

I just want to be able to feel safe in my backyard again.

[newfie11]

23. Do you have a state trapper?

Here in Nebraska and in South Dakota we have state trappers. If the coyotes get to bad, as in killing just born newborn calves, etc, they will thin them out.
HOWEVER shooting them is not the only way they do it. They also poison. I am not sure what they did here in NE, but in SD the trapper put cyanide spray in a deer carcass. When the coyote would bite down on the meat it would spray in its mouth killing it.

That means any stay dog/cougar,etc that wonders there will also be killed as well as potentially eagles and other birds that eat dead animals.

Shooting is one thing but poisoning this way is another. Yes the coyotes will eat cats and so do cougars.

Coyotes are cowards. We had 2 labs and a little beagle in SD (Blackhills). They would chase coyotes off all the time and were never attacked but a small dog will be eaten (our beagle had backup lol).

They even chased off cougars (as a pack, not alone)

[beam me up scottie]

26. No but the farmers started using poison and traps around here two weeks ago.

Not a big fan of either method especially poison because it kills indiscriminately

I saw a coyote caught in a trap when I was kayaking last spring, he had obviously been there for some time and was trying to chew his leg off. There was nothing I could do, we were miles away from town.

Aren't trappers supposed to check their traps frequently?

[newfie11]

29. yes they are, every day

but we had one of our dogs caught in a trap when we lived in Northern MI. This trap was set on our own property. It was in a creek and the ass was trapping beaver.

My husband finally found her on the third day in the creek with her toe caught in the trap. She had to have her toe amputated but did live. We notified the DNR they came out took the name of the guy off the trap. Had a chat with him. He said he didn't know it was private property. That was the end of it.

He didn't pay for our dogs surgery. Didn't get in trouble for not checking his traps every 24 hours. nada, nothing.

[newfie11]

24. delete

fast fingers, sorry.

[LWolf]

25. Better the rabbits than the cat or the chickens.

I'd be worried about my dog if the coyotes could get inside the perimeter. A good fence is the best defense.

The second best defense is my senior mare; nothing special as far as her breeding goes, but she's been hell on coyotes in the pasture since she was a weanling. I've got one fence down, waiting for repair. A cross fence keeps them from getting to the chickens, dog, and cat, but she still, at 22, will chase them out, and stomp them if she catches them.

Where I live now they can't dig under the fence; it's volcanic, and they immediately hit rock. I gather all the rocks that sprout on the place every year and line the fences with them, too. I don't know if you've got that option.

The rabbits? Damn. I'd chase the rabbits and pack rats out to them if I could.

[beam me up scottie]

27. Stella has decided that they are invading her territory and is actively chasing them out.

She even started sleeping in the southwest corner where the fence was compromised. She loves little furry things and I think she may be protecting the bunnies.

Plus we just added a gelding to our family and I patrol the fence with the horses every night. I've also fired off several warning shots when they got too close.

Hopefully the yotes will decide it's too risky and return to their previous hunting grounds.

Red foxes are starting to make a comeback around here, so there must be plenty of food for everybody.

[LWolf]

28. I hope that works.

I don't mind coyotes, as long as they are OUTSIDE my perimeter fence.

[hedgehog]

31. We've seen the foxes and coyotes trading territories here

for about 10 years. (Upstate New York - Lake Ontario snowbelt). Some years we see foxes, some years coyotes.