Our personal cows have started having their babies. We raise Angus cattle, which are always black. The cows are Angus and the Bull is Angus.
Our second baby of the spring arrived in fine condition. The Mom headed into the corral and gave birth in the open barn. We found the happy pair just as the mom started cleaning up the baby.
We were not so lucky with the first calf.
She lost her baby to the coyotes. I won’t go into the details, but just know it wasn’t pretty. But it did happen.
And, yes we can tell. And yes, it was Coyotes, and no we did not make that up. And no, feeding the Coyotes will not keep the Coyotes from attacking or killing livestock. In fact, it might make things worse. (If you feed them….they will come.)
Coyotes (Canis latrans —means ‘barking dog”) are true omnivores and eat almost anything available. Just born calves are very sweet and tender, as you might imagine.
Coyotes eat mice, rabbits, squirrels, berries, birds, frogs and carrion. Given a chance coyotes take lambs, calves, kids, and household pets like cats and dogs. (Go here to see the Coyote attack on this blog friends little dog.)
We are very diligent in monitoring our herd and the herd of the rancher who rents winter pasture from us. The rancher is very diligent also, because we know. We all know.
But sometimes…. bad things happen.
This cow will have a large bag for some time, until the milk stops flowing. Gradually she will dry-up. For now she is very miserable and extremely alert. She looks for her calf, but we buried the last of it (7′ deep) which took the site away and the smell.
Linda
Life on a Colorado Farm 
Oh, i am so sorry. If those dang coyotes had the gull to kill the poor babe, they should have at least had the decency to drag it off. Such pests! Poor Momma cow–i can’t imagine what it must be like to know you are a momma and feel like you cannot locate your child. Will she try to interfere with other moms and calves, trying to find her little one? Hope she mends through the post-pregnancy process without complications!
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OH Linda! How sad. I know these things happen but I am saddened by the momma looking for her baby. And sad for you to lose a calf. Those coyotes are a problem.
Jennie
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I’m so sorry the first calf did not survive. How heart breaking for the mother-cow.
Yet, aware, such is life as all living beings need to eat to survive.
May the rest of the new herd stay safe.
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You tell the story of what reality is ranching and farming in a nice way if that’s possible. If people saw the reality of where their meat comes from and how it gets to their plate as a nation we would not be so keen on war.
Leaving town last week saw a coyote approaching what appeared to be a hurt yearling elk. I turned around after thinking about it and yes it had started chewing on it but ran when I pulled over on the road. Many elk have not made it through this winter and other animals as well.
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Oh, I am so sorry to hear about the calf. Our family raises sheep but we have the same problem with the coyotes. Doesn’t seem like you can get rid of those things. Do they have calls to exterminate the coyotes like they do around here?
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Yup – we don’t LIKE coyotes! Not one bit! I know they have their place and I watch for the ones in our area and my little dogs are not allowed out in the yard alone after dark and always in the fenced yard. Luckily we have so many deer and rabbits that so far they’ve not bothered us (and sigh…we also have many calving cows down the valley from us).
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Poor sweet momma cow looking for her baby. 😦 So sad.
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That is so sad.
Coyotes are increasingly attacking suburbs and even cities. Those people who live there no longer think they are cute and fuzzy. Strange how attitudes change when something happens in their neighborhoods.
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How sad to lose the calf that way. Of course you couldn’t have chosen a better breed than good Scottish Angus!
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So sad. I feel bad for the momma.
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We love Angus, but the problem is they are so expensive for us to buy and it is a lot cheaper for us to get our beefers from the farmer that we buy hay from because we only end up paying around 50 for a baby bull. I hope that someday I will be able to get angus. Must be hard to keep the coyote’s at bay!
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So sorry to hear about your calf. We have coyotes, too, and hear them howling at night. They got our stray chicken and my sweet little cat that loves everybody and everything. I’ve got a shotgun beside the back door just in case… They also ate all but one of my 9-10 beautiful watermelons last year. I think I’m going to fence my garden area off this year and stand guard…
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Sorry to hear about your calf! I hope your able to get the coyote so it doesn’t come back for the others that will be arriving soon!
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So sad.
In Australia we have dingoes to contend with.
Much the same in their behaviour as the coyote by the sounds.
Here’s to better luck with the rest of your babies.
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When coyotes got too plentiful in the farm country where I grew up, (they casually walked into our yard and carried off pets and poultry) a bounty was placed on them and hunting was encouraged. The problem turned into thousands and thousands of jack rabbits!! A rabbit drive was held out on the range. The community herded the varmints into a pen and held a bunny bash. Messing with Nature is a dangerous thing.
Several years ago a bunny bash was held on the range near where I live now. The media decided it was not a pretty way to solve a plague and blew it up all over the press and television. Much discussion and hysteria. No more of that allowed!
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I lost a calf to coyotes 7 years ago. it was a twin. The momma cow was having its sister when the coyotes killed the first calf. She could not protect them both.
The coyote population here in Vermont is very very heavy. They travel in packs and have killed several deer right across the road in the field this month. ( see blog post at: http://www.tailgait.blogspot.com)
I want to get 2 livestock Guardian Dogs, Maremmas, if possible.
They kill wolves, bond well with range cattle and like cold weather.
A farmer friend of mine had several to protect her 100 angora goats and Yaks.
They were friendly, hard working and killed many coyotes, vultures, stray dogs and foxes. I was very impressed. She crossed her Maremmas with Great Pyranese to get a larger dog to fight the heavier wolves coming down from Canada.
Info:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maremma_Sheepdog
Good LSG dogs make a BIG difference.
Would you be able to do something like that on your farm?
Janis
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So sorry you lost a baby calf. I love watching the babies in the spring. My brother keeps a llama in with his cows. So far it seems to work. I’ve heard they’ll kick coyotes to death.
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Sorry to hear that. 😦
I take it you don’t milk an angus like other cows?
I hope you have better luck with the rest of your calves. ♥
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Raising sheep, goats, and alpacas, we’re certainly attuned to what nature gives and takes away, but we still can’t help but feel badly for the mama of that poor calf. We have quite a bit less pasture here and so we can put up plenty of fencing, but we wouldn’t operate without our livestock guardian dogs. We always keep a pair of these 100 plus pound big white dogs in each pasture and the plentiful coyotes here in N. Texas give us a wide berth. I’m sure our dogs could give any pack of them what-for and they would fight to the death to protect their critters. Just the other day one of the smaller goats had his head caught in the fence and both dogs were sitting on either side of him! It was quite a sight. They were glad to see us coming and happily ran along with the little buck back to the herd when we freed him. As a kidding/lambing season is just about to begin, we’re ever mindful of the little babies and the big white dogs looking out for them. Thanks for another touching post.
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Any chance of getting an orphaned calf, Linda? If there is a dairy nearby, perhaps you could buy a newborn bull calf– if that’d work. Amy who commented is right — I have seen several sheep herds ( SW Iowa) guarded by Llamas. They’re smart and yotees fear them.
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Anytime an animal goes missing, we figure it is coyotes. We have bobcats and mountain lions as well but its the coyotes that do the most damage.
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She looks miserable.. I am so sorry about the calf..damn coyotes. How about a donkey? I thought I read where they were really good at kicking the you know what out of coyotes. A rescue organization may have a donkey or a Llama that needs a good home. We have coyotes here too..but luckily we have enough rabbits to keep them from killing most Dogs:)
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Aww, that poor mama. My heart hurts for her. And you… I can’t imagine. I know the whole circle of life thing… but still am sad for the loss. 😦
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Nature stinks sometimes. I always worried in the spring when we had several mares foaling. When my husband worked on a ranch in the badlands, they lost a lot of calves to coyotes. They would even get the calves before they were completed done birthing. We hear them here, but they haven’t bothered us much.
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Linda,
I’m so sorry for that Mama cow, losing her calf to those darn coyotes! Anyone who thinks a coyote won’t do that needs to get a clue! Good grief. How can anyone living in the west think a coyote wouldn’t do that is beyond me?
Ooooh. Makes me mad.
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Awww, that poor old girl. Her bag looks HUGE. I feel for her.
It does happen though. All the time. I hate it.
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Oh that is so sad. When you say you try to be diligent, what measures do you take against these attacks. I guess it is similar to our dingos and baby sheep.
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Nature is cruel and unfair and hopefully this is the last one your lose.
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I’m sorry to hear about the first calf. I don’t know how you can keep the coyotes away from your cattle — you can’t be with all of them all of the time. But I hope you don’t lose any more calves.
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Oh Linda, This is so SAD. I know it’s “LIFE” —but I can’t help but to be sad… Do you have a place where Mom and baby could go –which is safe —until the calf gets bigger? How can you keep this from happening over and over again??? That is just so sad. I feel sorry for the Mama!
Hugs,
Betsy
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As you say, the circle of life. Darn sad.
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What a shame…calves and lambs are lost often around here…many times while the animal is being born. Since Cindy Sue was attacked, we’ve not seen one. We hear them, but they haven’t come around…guess they know I’ve got the gun handy.
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Don’t know how you handle it. I have such admiration. Yes, circle of life, but sometimes the details are just plain brutal.
This is a heartbreaker and then I start to think of Japan and the parents searching for their children and frankly – I need a drink.
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Oh, I am so sorry :-(. Poor momma. Poor grandma.
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Aww, poor mama, I hope she stomped a couple of them good. At least you got the one, and thanks for teaching us as you post.
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