Coyotes are a real threat to sheep farmers, and protecting your flock from them is absolutely essential. Coyotes are cunning predators, capable of taking out large numbers of sheep in a single night. Fortunately, there are measures that can be taken to protect your sheep from these predators.
With the right knowledge and equipment, you can significantly reduce your chances of a coyote attack. This article will provide an overview of the steps you can take to protect your sheep from coyotes, including how to identify coyote activity, install deterrents, and more. With the right precautions, you can keep your sheep safe and healthy.
Table of Contents
Identifying coyote activity
One of the first things you should do when you’re trying to protect your sheep from coyotes is to determine if there is a significant coyote presence in your area. The best way to do this is to survey your grazing areas while they are unoccupied by sheep. If there are coyote tracks in the snow, you can be fairly certain that they’re using these areas as hunting grounds.
You may also want to install motion-activated cameras in your grazing areas to monitor the number and behavior of coyotes in your area. If you identify a significant coyote presence in your area, you’ll want to take special care to protect your flock. Be sure to keep your sheep grazing areas as small as possible, and remove all potential nesting materials from your grazing areas.
Do Coyotes eat sheep?
Coyotes are true omnivores, meaning that they eat both plants and animals. They have been known to eat almost anything they can find, including vegetables, fruit, insects, rodents, snakes, birds, and of course, sheep.
While coyotes will certainly eat sheep if given the chance, they almost always attack for sport rather than food. Coyotes are extremely territorial creatures, and often use sheep as a source of entertainment. They enjoy the challenge of taking down large, fast-moving animals like sheep.
Because of this, it’s important to take coyote attacks seriously, even if the sheep don’t appear to be injured. If you see signs of a coyote attack (i.e. sheep with missing fur, blood on their fleece, etc.), you should try to identify the culprit as soon as possible.
Installing deterrents
One of the best ways to protect your flock against coyotes is to install deterrents. There are several different types of coyote deterrents on the market, and you’ll want to choose the one that best fits your needs.
One of the most effective methods of deterring coyotes is to install a noise-making device at the entrance to your sheep pen. These devices produce a loud, distracting noise that scares off coyotes and other predators. Some noise-making devices emit a gunshot sound, while others produce a high-pitched shriek. Whichever one you choose, it’s critical that it’s loud enough to scare off coyotes. You may also want to install fencing around your sheep pen. Fencing can be effective at keeping coyotes out, provided that it’s at least six feet tall and made of sturdy materials.
It’s important to note that while fences are useful for keeping coyotes out, they aren’t always effective at keeping them in. If you’re in a region where coyotes are a significant threat, you may want to consider installing both a fence and a noise-making device.
Proper fencing
As we just mentioned, it’s important to use sturdy fencing to protect your sheep from coyotes. While it’s possible to use flimsy materials like chicken wire, it isn’t recommended.
Sheep can easily scale lightweight fencing, which can result in a coyote attack, followed by a costly sheep slaughter. Ideally, you’ll want to use woven wire fencing, which is strong enough to repel coyotes yet lightweight enough to be easily manageable by sheep. It’s also important to properly maintain your fencing, as even sturdy materials can be damaged by extreme weather or pests.
If you live in a region that experiences heavy snowfall, you may want to consider purchasing snow fencing. Snow fencing is designed to hold back snowdrifts and other inclement weather conditions, which can significantly damage regular fencing.
Using guard animals
One of the best ways to protect your flock from coyotes is to add guard animals to your livestock. Guard animals are specially-bred critters that are designed to fend off predators. There are several different breeds of guard animals, including donkeys, llamas, and sheepdogs.
Donkeys and llamas are both excellent choices for guarding sheep. While they aren’t as effective against coyotes as sheepdogs, they can be trained to protect your flock from other predators such as foxes and birds of prey.
Donkeys and llamas can be trained to guard sheep, but they require a significant amount of patience. It’s best to start training them as lambs, using positive reinforcement to reward them for good behavior.
Taking additional precautions
While installing deterrents and fencing are essential, they aren’t enough to protect your flock against coyotes. You’ll also want to take several extra precautions, including:
– Keep your sheep well fed – When sheep are hungry, they are more likely to stray from the safety of their pen, which can put them at risk for a coyote attack.
– Be careful about the time of day you feed your sheep – You want to feed them during the morning or evening, as this is when coyotes are least likely to be active.
– Be careful about the type of feed you feed your sheep – While a variety of different feed types are essential for healthy sheep, some types can attract coyotes.
– Keep your sheep pen clean – Wolves and coyotes are very sensitive to their surroundings, and a messy pen can indicate that the sheep inside are sickly. – Keep your sheep pen quiet
– Loud noises, such as those created by music, TV, and other entertainment, can draw the attention of coyotes.
– Keep your sheep pen well-lit – Coyotes prefer to hunt in the dark, and a well-lit pen can help deter them.
– Keep your sheep well-grazed – An overgrowing pasture can create a hiding place for coyotes, making it easier for them to sneak up on sheep.
– Keep your shearing area clean – A messy shearing area can indicate that your sheep are sick, which can also attract coyotes.
– Be careful about lambing – Lambing season coincides with coyote mating season, meaning that female coyotes are more likely to seek out sheep to attack.
– Be careful with lamb feed – When feeding your lambs, make sure to avoid feeding them grain mixes that can attract coyotes.
Understanding coyote behavior
Before you can protect your flock from coyotes, you need to understand their behavior patterns. Coyotes are nocturnal animals, meaning that they are most active during the hours of darkness.
As such, you’ll want to take extra precautions at night, and be extra vigilant about protecting your sheep during this time. Coyotes generally hunt in groups, and often use their pups as a distraction while they take down one of your sheep. If you see a coyote, you should be aware of its surroundings, as more may be hiding nearby.
It’s important to note that while most coyote attacks occur during the spring and summer, they can happen year-round.
Developing a response plan
As you’ve learned, coyotes are a significant threat to sheep farmers. While you can take precautions to protect your flock, you can never guarantee that a coyote won’t attack.
One of the worst things you can do is react irrationally when an attack occurs. You may be hurt and upset, but panicking will only make the situation worse.
What Other Animals Attack Sheep?
In addition to coyotes, there are a number of other animals that can pose a threat to sheep. These include wolves, bears, foxes, mountain lions, and even domestic dogs.
It’s important to be aware of the wildlife in your area and take appropriate measures to protect your flock. This can include fencing, guard animals (such as llamas or donkeys), electric fencing, and even motion-activated lights or alarms.
Conclusion
Coyotes will indeed attack sheep if given a chance, so you need to take the necessary steps to protect your flock, which can be a difficult task. By understanding their behavior patterns, and taking extra precautions at night, you can reduce the chances of an attack.
Developing a response plan in case of an attack is also essential, as it will help you remain calm and take action quickly. With the right strategies in place, you can protect your flock from coyotes and keep them safe.
