This site is about my life as a farmgirl, wife, mother and grandmother. We have a beautiful granddaughter and the cutest grandson. We own two farms in Craig County Virginia, leasing one and raising beef cattle on the other.
Coyote Trouble
Well the aggravating coyotes are terrorizing our livestock again.
Hubby caught this one in a snare on the fenceline of our property and neighbor where our cattle stay in the winter months.
Please don’t give us grief for killing the beast. When we’re trying so hard to make a living these day with our cattle, we do everything possible to save the calves born and then stolen away by these vicious animals.
Our area is full of them and they keep our dogs upset night and day but we don’t dare let them out to protect because a pack or even a large male coyote would tear our dogs to bits.
We had a professional hunter come in to hunt them but with no luck! These animals are so alert to the sounds the callers make and won’t come near them, so he was not successful in seeing or hearing them. This is why we and neighboring farms set snares for them.
We have heard in recent nights, three – four different packs in our area. There is no bounty and the wildlife officers are too busy with hunting violations to give any assistance so we do what we can on our own.
I am a wife, mother, and grandmother that lives on a farm in Craig County, Virginia and I am retired. I love to cook, read, quilt, craft, garden, hunt and take long walks in the woods. I have one gorgeous teen granddaughter, a wonderful little grandson and two beautiful and caring children, boy & girl.
I've been married to my farmer husband for 46 years and he's the "love of my life"!!
I love doing things the "old" way such as canning, making maple syrup & cider, handcrafts and baking. I've taught myself to crochet, embroider, and quilt with help from my paternal grandmother. I could read until the cows come home.
We live off the products we raise and hunt for the most part. We run 75 head of cattle on our farm, 30 chickens, three rabbits and one dog. I help my husband with the cattle, feeding the livestock, hauling in firewood, fence repair, and general maintenance on the farm.
I was a stay-at-home mom to my children and then went to work when they finished high school. I was a cook at a School for At-Risk Teens and part-time substitute teacher. Then I started work at our local Farm Bureau and stayed there for 17 years. I worked at Virginia Tech for almost five years and decided to take early retirement in July of 2015. NOW, I'm a full-time farmwife and loving every minute of it!
I love to read fiction and the Bible. I'm currently hooked on quilting novels and Annie's Attic mysteries.
I started this blog in 2011 and have met so many interesting bloggers and have kept up with my friends through my blog.
I love to hunt with my bow and rifle and with a camera. We hunt to fill the freezer and cellar but would never kill anything for the fun of it.
I have friends and family all over the United States. Some of my ancestry last names are Bradley, Dickson, Hylton, and Rose.
I've lost both of my parents to brain cancer and miss them very much. I have one sister and four living brothers. I was raised in Paint Bank VA and moved to New Castle VA when I married. I went to school in Waiteville, WV, Gap Mills, WV and New Castle Va with a short semester of college at Virginia Western Community College in Roanoke VA.
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5 thoughts on “Coyote Trouble”
You poor thing that is awful. I hate when our chickens are being stalked by predator’s. We had a hawk get one a couple months ago and before have had foxes. Also had some opossums around the coop caught on our trap cam. Two of those were on the road dead though so not as worried about them anymore. Also the neighbor sent us a picture of a bear that is roaming our area. I hope you catch every coyote that is bothering your livestock. Sorry you have to go through this. I know people say it is a part of having animals, but it is one of the worst parts. Will be praying for you!
OMG, Rita, that’s terrible. Four PACKS??!!! Wow. Here we rarely see more than one lone coyote. I’m so sorry you’re having to deal with this. I know life’s not always fair, but still. It’s amazing that (1) there’s such a thing as a professional hunter and (2) he couldn’t get any. Gosh, I hope the snares do the trick. Thinking of you.
This is the blog for our little farm in Skagit county. Here we have Shetland sheep and Nigerian Dwarf goats. In addition we have donkeys, cattle, pigs, chickens, geese, and peafowl. The blog describes the weekly activities here.
countrygirl-lifeonthefarm 
You poor thing that is awful. I hate when our chickens are being stalked by predator’s. We had a hawk get one a couple months ago and before have had foxes. Also had some opossums around the coop caught on our trap cam. Two of those were on the road dead though so not as worried about them anymore. Also the neighbor sent us a picture of a bear that is roaming our area. I hope you catch every coyote that is bothering your livestock. Sorry you have to go through this. I know people say it is a part of having animals, but it is one of the worst parts. Will be praying for you!
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They would not be such a bother if they targeted only unwanted wildlife, such as the turkeys that have moved into our region over the past few years.
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That’s horrible!! And scary. Did they get any calfs? Hugs to you, Eddy, Sadie, Donald, Daisy and all the other critters. Please be safe! Love you
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OMG, Rita, that’s terrible. Four PACKS??!!! Wow. Here we rarely see more than one lone coyote. I’m so sorry you’re having to deal with this. I know life’s not always fair, but still. It’s amazing that (1) there’s such a thing as a professional hunter and (2) he couldn’t get any. Gosh, I hope the snares do the trick. Thinking of you.
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That’s terrible! I’m so sorry they are causing you such heartache 😥
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