The July 11 article about coyotes killing sheep prompted me to write in the coyotes’ defense. They are guilty of occasionally killing cats, chickens and small dogs but we are giving them too much credit as big game hunters to add sheep, unless they are new lambs.
Our farm is situated in perfect coyote country in Snohomish. We have raised sheep for 18 years and never lost one to coyotes. We did lose one to dogs. I suspect they are the culprits in most cases. In 18 years we’ve lost two or three chickens to coyotes. That took place during a bad winter with snow and freezing conditions and we actually saw the half-starved coyote walk away with the chicken.
I have watched young coyotes come into our back pasture, with sheep present, and play “tag” with our young dog. The coyote’s main food source is mice. They also like an occasional farm cat.
It was only with vigilance we discovered the area dogs had been killing our animals. The dogs were very good at secretly doing the killing. Even if the McDaniels family catches a coyote in one of the traps set by the Fish and Wildlife Dept., I would bet the culprits are the elusive area pet dogs.
Snohomish
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