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Coyotes -how to keep them at bay?


laurie etc
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I lost 3 of my 18 sheep to coyotes last night- two recently weaned lambs, and a very large (250#?) working wether. None of the rest have a mark on them. One lamb and the wether were obviously attacked, (throat wounds and gutted). The 4 month old ram lamb was a new one, fairly small, and didn't have a mark on him - I think he was probably trampled. The sheep were on my neighbor's pasture - a 1/4 mile or so down the road from me - fairly isolated - with woods/pasture on 3 sides, and I-81 across the fence on the other side. When my homeowners assoc. decided to pressure me to get rid of the sheep, my neighbor (not part of the subdivision) offered me this 12 acre pasture. I didn't know (until today) that the guy nextdoor to him has had a number of his boer goats picked off by coyotes, and has seen them on his property by spotlight. He keeps a number of donkeys there, too, which apparently don't protect his goats.

I thought about it all day, and decided to move the sheep back up the road to my own pasture this evening. I feel like they are "sitting ducks" where they were - now that the coyotes have discovered them. They have never been bothered at my house in well over a year- I also have a donkey and horse that seem to watch over them to a certain extent. I'm guessing that the fact that I have a number of dogs who go out in the yard at odd hours, (and so do a couple of the closest neighbors), may be keeping the coyotes at bay? Is there anything else I can do (short of putting the sheep in the barn every night or getting a LGD) to warn off the coyotes? Would putting human or canine scent around the perimeter help at all? Any suggestions welcome...

Laurie

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Sorry about the loss of your sheep. We've been there and done that. It didn't stop for us until we got enough guard dogs to patrol & protect the flock.

 

Human & canine scent has never worked for us. Right now I have 3 dogs to protect my flock. Once the coyotes know that there's an easy meal, it's hard to get them to stop. Electronet can work, but I think in your case a guard dog or putting them in the barn at night would be your best bet.

 

Laura

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Our sheep sleep close to the house. When our big Alpine buck was alive he kept coyotes at bay. Now the fencing and noisy dogs help. We have field fence with 4 point barbed wire on top and on the bottom. We used to pen them in the goat's milk room at night but haven't done that for years. Good luck. Pyrs are good as neighbors do have them for their milk goats. N

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Drastic measures now. Get them in somewhere at night, and get yourself two lgd's. They will keep coming back. Cripes, that really sucks. I worried about that where I had my sheep too. My town paid the sheep owner of a place down the road from me, for his losses due to coyotes. They gave him $65.00 a piece, and my town is a cheap as the day is long. I think they know that they have some responsibility, if the owner can't shoot the coyotes (due to being close to residences).

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Drastic measures now. Get them in somewhere at night, and get yourself two lgd's. They will keep coming back. Cripes, that really sucks. I worried about that where I had my sheep too. My town paid the sheep owner of a place down the road from me, for his losses due to coyotes. They gave him $65.00 a piece, and my town is a cheap as the day is long. I think they know that they have some responsibility, if the owner can't shoot the coyotes (due to being close to residences).

 

Would love to, but I don't think my 3 acres and my neighbor's 3 acres is really enough to put LGD's on in a subdivision (we each have 5 acres lots - each partially fenced in pasture, and partially "yard/dog yard"). Last night the sheep seemed relieved to be "home" and they did sleep in their usual spot on a rocky knoll near the house. I also left my back spot lights on aimed at the pasture - will motion lights deter the coyotes?

I have permission to put them in the neighbor's barn at night- but due to my work schedule, that would be at about 4:30 pm most days- or I'd have to try to find them in the dark at midnight when I get home from work. I do have hot wire around the dog yard (to keep my dogs from going over the fence to the sheep), so maybe the thing to do would be to run it around the outside of the sheep field as well (or make an electronet "paddock" that they can go in for the night but still have some forage)? Laurie

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Good fencing is your first line of defense. Properly set up and electrofied electronet is probably the most coyote-resistant fence on the market. You could buy a couple of rolls, a battery powered energizer and a deep cycle battery for a total of about $350 to $400 and make a night pen to keep the sheep in on your remote pasture.

 

The bottom line is that nothing will work unless you have a good fence system. At my old farm the coyotes used to actually roll around laughing at my six-wire HT electric fence. But I have never lost a sheep in electronet. Loss have come when sheep got out of the net and in one unfortunate case when we fenced a den in.

 

As far as guard animals go, I wouldn't bother with anything other than dogs.

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Good fencing is your first line of defense. Properly set up and electrofied electronet is probably the most coyote-resistant fence on the market. You could buy a couple of rolls, a battery powered energizer and a deep cycle battery for a total of about $350 to $400 and make a night pen to keep the sheep in on your remote pasture.

 

The bottom line is that nothing will work unless you have a good fence system. At my old farm the coyotes used to actually roll around laughing at my six-wire HT electric fence. But I have never lost a sheep in electronet. Loss have come when sheep got out of the net and in one unfortunate case when we fenced a den in.

 

Thanks, everyone, for the responses. I will definitely see about ordering some electronet today for a night paddock. That sounds like my best option right now. If they get fed in it, I think even my neighbor will be able to bring them in without a dog if I can't be here for some reason. Laurie

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