# Coyote & stray dog rant post



## Erik8181 (Jan 8, 2021)

Just a rant post. 

We have a pretty diverse group of creatures. As far as inside - we have fish, reptiles, and feeder insects - but we also have normal livestock. Sheep, goats, pigs, horses as far as the main crew on the pasture. Chickens, turkeys, ducks, and peafowl as bird bros. We have semi-wild guineafowl as our ADT, built our fencing & property up like we're Farm Knox, and a pretty big guardian crew. That guardian crew consists of alpacas, llamas, donkeys, and our LGDs. Our LGDs are Papa the great pyrenees, Potter the great dane x greyhound, and Plink the bloodhound x great pyrenees. 

I understand llamas are most effective when there's only one but the herd seems to do a good job. I know none of the aforementioned species appreciated dogs, but we've acclimated them to our dogs while successfully keeping them hostile to outside dogs. I think our guardian crew is actually doing a great job, we trained them good, this is more about the coyote population. 

We haven't had any close calls lately, but the amount of coyotes & more recently stray dogs that just lurk around is absolutely terrifying. For every coyote we kill, it's like 15 zap into existence to replace them. I **** you not, we had a wild coyote-pitbull hybrid that was hanging around the property scaring the **** out of our employees — somehow it got into the pasture, our dogs won the fight with the assistance of the donkey stomp tag team to say the least. 

It's not like we haven't been doing everything to get them to go away - we have livestock guardians, we've used commerical repellents, we've defensively gardened the perimeter of the property, we have them off with beanbag rounds & noisemaking rounds whenever we see them too close for comfort. I hate having to shoot them, they're profitable but I can only eat so much barbequed coyote. 

I'm not really looking for solutions, but does anyone else have this sort of problem with coyotes & stray dogs?


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## fishhead (Jul 19, 2006)

I've had a loose dog kill most of my birds 3 times but it's so random that it's hard to protect against without fencing in everything. I have 2 dogs and I've found that an electric fence keeps my dogs in for years after I unplug it. I put tin foil smeared in peanut butter (bacon grease will work too) on the fence to encourage loose dogs and fox to respect the fence.


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## Wyobuckaroo (Dec 30, 2011)

A predator on our place is not tolerated well as we have predators that are dangerous to both us and our small livestock..

I use a variety of sizes of live traps to selectively "take care of business" as necessary.. 
You do have to be patient, innovative, persistent... But you can get the job done..


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## altair (Jul 23, 2011)

We don't have much for a stray dog population thankfully due to the cold and animal control. Do you have them in your town? Some don't, which is very unfortunate. There was an interesting study, perhaps more, in an article I wish I bookmarked about how killing coyotes and other predators creates a vacuum for more to fill the void. If I find it, I will edit this post...


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## aart (Oct 20, 2012)

altair said:


> There was an interesting study, perhaps more, in an article I wish I bookmarked about how killing coyotes and other predators creates a vacuum for more to fill the void


I have read this too, coyotes are one of the animals that repopulate quickly when numbers are reduced.


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## altair (Jul 23, 2011)

aart said:


> I have read this too, coyotes are one of the animals that repopulate quickly when numbers are reduced.


It makes sense in general. Less competition, more resources, why not be fruitful and multiply? Part of the article also mentioned that land is held by a dominant pair or individual, who have a territory and keep upstarts away. Eliminate that 'chief' and you have the wannabes coming in to vie for the newly vacated turf (this goes for a wide array of predators not just coyotes).

For some reason I get the image of the mafia in my head, where the police want to eradicate the mob but never can, there's always another leader popping up. So grudgingly accepting their hierarchy and having a reluctant truce helps keep the flow of upstarts from doing even more carnage. Again, simplified, but relatable in some light. A reliable team of LGDs is worth their weight in gold.


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## Makuck (Nov 16, 2020)

altair said:


> It makes sense in general. Less competition, more resources, why not be fruitful and multiply? Part of the article also mentioned that land is held by a dominant pair or individual, who have a territory and keep upstarts away. Eliminate that 'chief' and you have the wannabes coming in to vie for the newly vacated turf (this goes for a wide array of predators not just coyotes).
> 
> For some reason I get the image of the mafia in my head, where the police want to eradicate the mob but never can, there's always another leader popping up. So grudgingly accepting their hierarchy and having a reluctant truce helps keep the flow of upstarts from doing even more carnage. Again, simplified, but relatable in some light. A reliable team of LGDs is worth their weight in gold.


My 3 akbash pyraneese mixes eat coyotes as snacks. Maybe you just need a couple more.


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## altair (Jul 23, 2011)

Makuck said:


> My 3 akbash pyraneese mixes eat coyotes as snacks. Maybe you just need a couple more.


I don't have a coyote issue here, not much for livestock and they aren't super brazen in my parts. But I've been following LGD breeders and groups for years, maybe someday one will be in my future.


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