Coyote Signs

Chris, Shane, Loki, and I were walking around the fields this weekend when Shane said, "What's that?"

I looked out into the pasture he was pointing. Among all of the poo piles, one pile looked like there was a little red in it.

First thought: "Did one of the horses have an issue?"

Second thought: "Wait, is the pile looking at me?"

The pile would have been looking at me if there was still an eye left in the socket. 

It was no pile. It was a mostly eaten deer face.

The coyotes haven't gone away. They've been sneakier....and apparently messier too since they're leaving food scraps in our field.

I walked out later to collect the head and found a femur licked clean in the grass about 50 yards off from the face.

I took a picture if you're curious, but put up a "click for more" in case you're really not. The deer's head almost looks like an overgrown mouse's. 

Coyotes Beware

I haven't wanted to own a gun. I've been to the shooting range with friends and it was fun, but once I handled them a few times in real life I decided I did not need or want one.

That stayed true when I got married and became doubly true when we had Shane. 

I felt safer not having a gun in the house. Kids get into things.

I remember finding some WW2 guns in Papa's closet when I was a kid. I knew they were trouble and I didn't want to get in trouble, so I didn't tell anyone. I peeked through the scope at the ceiling and marveled at how close everything look. They were there a couple more times, but eventually disappeared. 

Now our situation has changed. 

We live further out from support services, have large animals, and I've seen bears and coyotes. 

Carrie and I talked it over and we decided to purchase a rifle. She used to be a rifle team captain and state champion shooter in high school, so she sighted the rifle while I was at school and sent me a picture of her final grouping.

Saturday, while Shane was out with a friend, Carrie and I took a few practice shots.

We've seen the coyote walk through the arena and along the fence line several times, so the log pile made a good backdrop. (The last time, the coyote walked the whole line and then down the highway!). 

Our sliding glass door is our stand. It's elevated which is great for safety (shots will hit the ground rather than continue if they miss).

We went with a bolt action, small caliber. The hope is to either kill or scare off predators.

We took six shots total. Three each. No surprise that Carrie's the most accurate. She's got the most experience by far and was annoyed with her last shot. My first shots were too far left and I over-corrected right on the final.

The animals handled it well enough. The horses started a little on the first shot and then went back to grazing. Bucket normally runs when I sneeze, but she stayed in the kitchen after ducking under the table.

Loki? He was sleeping in his pen and we scared the piss out of him.

It feels weird being able to safely and legally have target practice in our backyard. Maybe the noise taught the coyotes some caution and we won't see them again....but I doubt it.

UPDATE: We haven't seen the coyotes at all since the two times we had firing practice. Coincidence? I like to think "working as intended."

Prowler

It was a good Sunday. Shane helped me with barn chores. We went to church. Henry came and played for a little before going home. Carrie opened a bunch of windows to let in some fresh air.

Carrie and I were sitting at the kitchen table when we heard voices through the open window. Our neighbor had stopped in their driveway. The windows were down and they had to be yelling for us to  hear them from so far away.

But why were they yelling?

Carrie saw it first. A coyote slinked through our pasture and ducked under the fence line.

I wasn't quick enough with the camera, but I caught the tail end. 

Carrie saw a coyote along our west fence line a few days ago. She'd been inside and saw it prowling. She had an "Oh no..." moment and ran out the front door to grab Loki who was on his line.

Turns out it wasn't an isolated incident. The neighbors reversed their car and drove out over their fields tracking/shooing the coyote.

I caught another picture of it as it exited through our horse arena.

Coyotes are normally nocturnal. It's odd for one to be out in the day, alone, and easily visible. There's been howling at night, so there's a pack somewhere. Perhaps this one is sick? Horses are large, so it's not like they're a desirable target.

I've got a bow, but it might be time to upgrade to a pellet gun or air rifle of some sort. Maybe a crossbow? I've avoided having a gun with Shane around, but coyotes that wander in midday may be a larger concern. A lot of barns have a guard donkey or llama, but I don't want to own another animal.

It was fun talking to our neighbor! Her name was pronounced Dee-nah. Her husband came rolling out in his truck a few minutes later. She'd been yelling and calling for him to do something about the coyote. They've been seeing them frequently outside their backyard. One was lounging around and it spooked her enough to send their dog to live at her parents until the coyotes situation was sorted out. Her husband hinted he'd thought about sitting up on the roof at some point as a giant tree stand to eliminate the problem (And that'd be the way to do it, too. Any missed shots would hit the ground and coyotes are too smart for traps most of the time). 

I've done some reading on coyotes in VA since. They're a problem around farms and it's always open season on them.

Shane came out while Carrie and I were talking and he was thrilled to meet Shelby and her younger brother!

I can't remember little guy's name, but all of the kids ran among the harvest soybeans playing (some of which are sharp, by the way!). I stood further out by the tree line just in case to discourage anything lurking.

Shane desperately wanted to show Shelby Loki and Shelby wanted to see all of our animals. She walked over with us while her mom and brother drove around in the car.

Shane hammed it up, of course.

The kids ran all over the front yard with Loki chasing them. Loki is pretty good about pacing the kids and not nipping....much.

I took the fence line position again, just in case.

Shane loved having other kids around.

He wanted them to visit again. Soon. Preferably now. "Do you want to have dinner with us?"

Our neighbors went on their way to the grocery store after a little while. We calmed down and Shane helped me with the night's barn chores. 

Carrie's having us put out four flakes of the mixed grass and one flake of the orchard grass now (that's the good stuff!). I have been putting the orchard grass in the middle of the stack, but I put it on the bottom to see if the horses noticed.

They noticed! Sam and Nibs were trying to eat only from the bottom as we walked off.

The coyote didn't spook the horses at all. Hopefully, we won't see a coyote again and/or our neighbor will call us over for a bonfire to celebrate a successful hunt.