Coyotes and dead beef

Bennett

Bennett

New member
Hello folks,

I have been spending quite a bit if time on this site searching, reading, and learning as much as I can. I am new to coyote hunting and have only bagged three coyotes in the past three months in limited outings. (Darn life keeps getting in the way!) I have a question that involves a rancher's dead cows and coyotes. A rancher showed me where his "bone pile" is, I even helped him drag a dead cow out there. I figured that I had struck gold. There are now 4 dead cows and calves out there, some of them have been out there for a month. They have not been touched by coyotes. There are coyotes all over the place. Back when we had some snow there were tons of tracks in the vicinity but nothing came in for dinner. Whats the deal? The coyotes out in this area are shot on site and there are a few people who trap or call. I figured that they would still come in for some fresh beef. Has anyone ever encounted this before? I look forward to your responses and becoming more involved in this board. Thanks all,

Bennett
 
Bennett,

Welcome to the site and good question on your first post. You will learn a tremendous amount here.

As for the dead cows. How far away are they from the road, house, barn etc.? Coyotes that are shot at a lot get real leary when they are close to these things. I would suspect if the coyotes were real hungry, they would come to these carcasses at night if nothing else. Maybe a situation of not needing to dive into the "cache" yet.

I found a dead cow a couple of years ago in a great spot. I could sneak over a hill and it would've been a 250 yard shot. I thought "man, some coyotes are going to die here". Never saw a one!! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/mad.gif

I don't know why they didn't demolish the carcass but nothing ever did. Went back a year later and it still had all the skin on? Go figure! Usually though, when an area has a high density of coyotes, they will eventually eat the cow. When they start, get ready, as they'll spend a considerable amount of time on it until nothing but bones and skin are left. I had the best shoot of my coyote hunting career on a carcass. It was along a little coulee that I could sneak up in. Weaseled my way in amongst them and started shooting. When the smoke cleared, four coyotes were dead. That was with a single shot Ruger #1! I can't imagine what it would've been like with my AR /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif
 
Mike,
I don't know if this could be a biological theory or not but here goes. I have noticed as you guys have that sometimes a cow dies and is cleaned in a matter of days, I have seen as high as 9 coyotes at one time on one carcass. Other times they won't touch it period. Now I'm talking in areas of no human interference, not in someones back yard. My theory has to do with cause of death, or some odd smell. Would a cow that died of cancer smell different? Or could it be a smell of antibiotics if the cow was given something in an effort to save her? I think that certain causes of death would make the cow smell or taste different and that is what the coyote is using to decide. I have seen tracks in the snow where a coyote or two came by a fresh carcass and just kept going, so I know they knew it was there but chose not to partake. Whats you opinion on this?
 
Thanks Mike,

I have already learned alot! The bone pile as the farmer calls it is about a half mile south from an oiled road that is busy,(for around here), one mile east of a house, and then to the south and east there is nothing but desert. We have had a mild winter this year and I imagine that the coyotes have had a pretty good living chasing critters. I just figured that coyotes would come in for some easy eating rather than have to rustle it up themselves. I guess that I will keep an eye on it from time to time and see if there is any change.
Thanks for the quick response.

Bennett
 
bennett sometime a cow or calf thats sick and been shot full of medicnce dies the dogs can smell that and what we have found here on some farms is they will rot away and not even been touch by nothing. and then you take one thats just die and then its gone in a couple days. But being close to any roads or building thats never stopped them before even being shot at they just change there pattern. So next time find out if the farmers are dopeing up sick cows, thats what we observe here but it might be differnt there. Right now theres 5 cows dead at one farm not one been touch they been dead since dec.
 
I have seen that on deer and cows and a bull. They didn't touch them. The deer died of Blue Tongue. Some cattle are not touched, some ranchers thought maybe the hide was too tough to chew through on the bull. It is a mystery to me too. I might try to call a state fur bioligist to see if he knows why.
Some frozen hogs go untouched also, but the baby pigs are scarfed up soon.KY
 
I'll chime in that medication of a critter before it dies keeps the coyotes away. I've killed a fair number over dead beef and horses, and have a pro wolfer friend who did them in by the dozens over dead beeves on a big ranch. Coyotes would clean up a big Hereford in two to three days, frozen solid or not. Some they wouldn't touch so we finally started keeping track and the ones that were shot full of medicine before they died would lie on the same spot and freeze dry and then rot away in the spring. We never did enough testing to know if different medications had different results in terms of coyotes eating them.

Also, I put a target on one beef, set up a blind, and fired a few shots into the carcase. They never touched that one either, but I can't remember now if it had been medicated before it died or not. It is amazing how sensitive the nose and detection abilities of a coyote are. They will pick the best sheep in a flock to kill, unerringly. If you could train a coyote to grade livestock for you, you'd never go wrong.
 
Guys,
I try to learn something new everyday. I think you may be hitting this one on the head. I have never understood why they would pass on some carrion. Seems plausible to me.
 
I don't know for a fact but, I also think it is the medication used on them before a animal dies that can keep them off the carcass, or not quite as interested. I have always seen better attraction to dead animals that were not medicated before they died. A coyote just can't afford pass up good carrion but, on the same hand anything that doesn't smell right isn't worth the risk for them I guess.
 
I call in an area of free range where railroad tracks run through. Periodically a cow gets hit. What I have seen is if the carcass is busted open they hit it immediatly. If it is a clean kill they don,t touch it till the weather rippens it to the busting point, then they are all over it. Some of them here in the southwest dry up without busting open and they never seem to touch those. Haven't ever thought about the medicated reasoning but that also makes sense. coyotes have better sense sometimes than us humans.
 
We try to keep track of cows that were medicate and with what kind of medicine or vitamins and its hard doing that cause cows and calfs are usally given more than just one shot. But we are usally told before hand if the cow of calf been dope up so we wont waste our time trying to hunt around the carcass.
 
here on my farm I will shoot a cat or cats' and take them down to the fence row and the coyotes wont touch them other than to roll over on them when they rot. But if I shoot a deer its gone in days so what gives on that.
 
Fellows,
In the latest issue of The Varmint Hunter Magazine, A farmer from Eastern Washington who hunts from one heck of a fine shack on his property, says that the dead cattle he put out for bait that had been treated with medication, would not be eaten by coyotes.
 
First off the best thing you can do with a dead cow is to tie it to a long rope tie the other end to your truck get afrind to drive as you get on the cow and yell hit it. Now you are cow surfing hold on and hang ten. Yea man thats what im talking about. The reason the coyotes dont eat the dead cows is the coyotes in your area are all vegaterians another of lifes great mysteries solved by the dog hunter!!!!
 
I call several dairies and have found the same issue. I've been of the opinion that there is so much free food around, they can't eat it all.

Most of the cows that I see have been chewed on are all ripped open and gutted. The coyotes will go for just the good stuff since there's a steady supply. The occasional calf will be devoured, but full sized cows only get picked at.
 
I'm guilty, I have actually left the dinner table with something still on my plate. Now, I did have a calf die "Suddenly" one time from causes unknown to me but there were three coyotes cleaning the hams off of the 8 week old calf when I found her. I tried to bait with huge catfish carcasses just a few months ago. The first thing that responded was a crow, then the buzzards........then at night, the coyotes. It took over a day and a half for the coyotes to respond. When they did, all the meat was gone. I can't sit and watch carcasses for two days. I'll just call them in.
 
Something new to think about. A cow was hit on the road about three months ago, we drug her out to a place well off the beaten path about a mile back. We were going to shoot a lot of dogs off of here. now three months later she has not been touched. Never medacated nothing.
 


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