Help with coyote deterrents??

[GoneAwayFarmCT]

I've lost two most excellent barn cats within the past two months, and am just devastated. Both were feral adult rescues that over the years had turned into the most lovable, huggable companions I could've asked for. Right now I don't even want to go out to the barn, knowing that they're not there.

I know that will pass, but I don't want to bring in new cats without a better plan, and we have four other former-ferals-now-pettables in another barn, too, and I'd like to increase their chances of surviving what seems to be a newly cat-focused coyote population.

Hubby doesn't love my idea of wire fencing the boundary line of our property, both for $$ and upkeep reasons. I don't love his idea of getting an anti-coyote dog to patrol the property (not sure how that's saving any money versus fencing, really). Neither of us is really big on the idea of going coyote hunting. [Which isn't to say we won't do the above, just that they're not our first choices.]

Does anyone have any experience with auditory coyote deterrents (i.e. the little boxes that make cougar screeches at regular intervals)? Or any other suggestions??

[TheRedFox]

I think your best bet would be a nice big watch dog like a Great Pyranese which were bred to watch over the sheep and cattle and protect them from wolves and other predators. My second suggestion would be to hunt them (actually, this would be my first suggestion) usually a little spilled blood is enough to keep a pack at bay. I'm so sorry for the loss of your kitties and I hope that you will be able to find a solution very soon.

[wildlifer]

Actually, shooting them will have the opposite effect -- it simply opens up the niche for more to move in. And in the presence of pressure on the population, coyotes can actually increase their reproductive efforts, so that is a poor choice of action.

The devil you know and all that...

A livestock guardian is a good choice -- be it dog, llama, donkey or whatnot. Keeping a small pet outdoor is always a risk, one of the many reasons why cats should always be kept indoors.

[GoneAwayFarmCT]

RedFox- Thanks for the kind words (sniff). Okay, one vote for Guardian Dog and/or Mr. Remington Shotgun.

wildifer- While I agree that the best way to keep small pets safe is to have them indoors, we count on the barn kitties for de-rodenting, so unfortunately that's not really an option. We do shut them up in the tack room at night, but yesterday's attack came in broad daylight in our driveway, in part (we suspect) because the beginning of hunting season pushed the wildlife in our direction yesterday a.m. Sigh. Okay, that's another vote for Guardian Dog. I have a feeling I may lose this debate with hubs!

[MistyBlue]

Hunting supply store and ask them to order you in wolf musk. Spray liberally around area you want coyote free. Coyotes avoid wolves like the plague if possible.
Doesn't hurt to have your husband urinating around either. :winkgrin: In coyote speak the urine of another male is a territory marking. Some coyotes decide that the new male is to be avoided, but other coyotes might ignore it. Can't hurt either way.

[Bluey]

We finally got smart and quit feeding pets to the wildlife.
No more barn cats and dogs in a well fenced large yard when not with us.

Our neighbor had many barn cats, that dogs and wildlife would thin for him.
Once, the cats were all gone and he found out that he had less rodents with poison than he did at all, for those years he depended on the cats.

You can keep trying to get new cats, but I think that something will keep eating your cats.
Some think that is ok, some prefer not to continue the cycle.

After losing my last border collie to a rattler, when left alone for several hours in the house and yard, it took me four years to get another dog.
That dog has now been bitten twice, but survived with immediate attention.
I think this also will be my last dog.

There are no easy choices in life in the country.:no:

[TheRedFox]

We used to sell coyote repellant at the garden supply store years ago. Some people said it worked great and some people said it didnt work at all. Another thing that I heard of which will also keep deer and rabbits away too for those that garden, is to get shed dog hair and put it around your property line. If you dont have a dog that molts, you can go to the local groomer and ask them for their dog hair clippings and sprinkle them around your property.

[GoneAwayFarmCT]

MB- Thanks for the suggestion, and will do on the wolf! As for hubby marking the boundaries, that'll just be a case of getting him to put it where I want it. What *is* it with guys and peeing outside?

Bluey- That's a bit of what I'm struggling with now. I've made a point to only take in freshly trapped adult ferals who were in danger of being euthed if not placed, so I (in theory) wouldn't feel so bad if they only lasted a few years. But then I wind up spending time with them, getting them pettable and sometimes even cuddle-able, and in the end I'm still losing a friend. Which sucks. I hate that the front barn is catless, but I'm not sure I want to start over if this is going to be the end result.

RedFox- I had figured there might be something like that out there (I used to work at a feed and grain/garden center, too, and am pretty sure we sold something like that), but didn't come up with much on a cursory Google search, so had a feeling it might've fallen by the wayside.

Will continue my research. Even if it comes down to 'stop feeding pets to the 'yotes,' the conversation is making me feel like I'm doing something semi-productive on the subject, rather than sitting around being all weepy. Okay, so I'm doing it *while* sitting around being weepy, but I owe Polly some tears.

[Zu Zu]

OH ! So very sorry for your losses - I worry constantly for my barn cats - same ~ feral and somewhat domesticated I call them "DERALS" - I lock mine up at dusk and when I am not home ~ your story " in broad daylight " is heart -wrenching . Thoughts and prayers for you and and the rest of your farm family.

[GoneAwayFarmCT]

Thanks Zu Zu, I appreciate the sympathy (and the new word: Derals!) and wish safety and sweet dreams for your fur kids.

[Zu Zu]

You are wlecome GoneawayFarmCT - I love my derals - all my cats are derals ! I have barn cats and house cats. When we moved I redesigned a bedroom for some of my younger derals. These cats will remain house cats but they needed some modifications in their apartment - like a porcelain tile floor so up came the Barbour sp?carpet. Their cat facility has all windows *ceiling to floor * on one side of the room - they have cat furniture and hunt deer, turkey, squirrels, vicariously from their safe environment . My most "feral derals" take a minimum of five years to become people comfortable ~ and then with only a few people. I probably have the only feral cats who are used to room service and vacuuming every day they don't blink an eye! They make the best barn cats because they are so smart! All mine (11) are tucked in for the night. ~~ Again so sorry for your loss.

[Showbizz]

I want to send my sympathies too.

I'm not sure there is a good answer to this. We have a husky/wolf/malamute who has kept most of the coyotes at least 30 feet from the house/barn area. He didn't chase them off, they just would draw the line there and not come closer. Unfortunately, a rogue one crossed the boundary and ended up with my 11 year old barn cat for a meal. Obviously, my barn cat was not a stupid cat - he didn't last 11 years in coyote country by being dumb or even *ordinary* for a cat. That same coyote came back the next day for more - but my only other cat is an indoor cat (and she's ordinary - she would have never made it as a barn cat). He then returned again two weeks later and came *** into my fenced yard, through a 3 foot gate at my front door, in the heat of the day, with my dog 5 feet away, while we were outside riding and working***. I've never been afraid of a coyote, but this one was hungry and looking for another easy meal. I wasn't scared for myself but I do have small children. Unfortunately I'm afraid of guns and my DH was out of town for 7 weeks.

So I think you have a rogue one too. Obviously, with this kind, even a dog isn't that big of a deterrant.

I miss my kitty, as I'm sure do you. It sucks that they are such preyed-upon animals. We've just moved and I really hope the coyotes aren't as bad here. Time will tell.

[scrtwh]

I second the livestock protector. We have seen coyote here, but thankfully, have not lost anything yet. Lots of Turkey, rabbits and other food items, plus we have two large dogs and an attack ASB. We don't have "barn" cats either, just indoor/outdoor cats that seem to do a good number on the barn rodents.

Good Luck.

[Showbizz]

Did I read that right? An attack ASB - as in American Saddlebred? If so, I want one!!

[JSwan]

M1 Carbine.