I have always shot and left hogs in the woods during the late Spring and early summer months with the thought that if I could keep coyotes busying eating pork, they would be less likely to go looking for fawns. As it turns out, a recent study by two wildlife biologists in South Carolina uncovered some interesting findings that seem to support my rationale. The study involved tracking the movements of radio-collared does with fawns and coyotes to see what could be learned from their movements. One of the key findings was that much of a coyote's success in finding fawns comes from following their mother. More specifically, the study discovered the following...

1. The number of times a doe visits her fawn each day increases the chances the fawn will be found and eaten by coyotes.

2. Does that visit their fawns more during the day when coyotes are less active have a greater chance at survival.

3. Does that visit their fawns more at night decrease their fawn's chance at survival.

4. The abundance of other, seasonal food sources including wild berries and fruit, keep coyotes occupied so they spend less time looking for and following does.

It's this last point, that in my opinion, seems to indicate that if you offer coyotes something else to eat, they spend less time looking for does and following them to their fawns. Also, common sense would seem to dictate the more hogs you leave for coyotes during the fawning season, the greater chance fawns will make it.

For those who might want to learn more about the study, there's an article in the current (June) issue of Deer and Deer Hunting magazine that covers it quite well.

I like to leave the pigs in the bone yard and then kill the coyotes that come to eat the pigs. A dead coyote won't be eating any fawns.

We used to set up cameras on guy piles and hog carcasses.

Never had a coyote come to one. Seems they didn’t like them.

Out west the coyotes would completely erase an aoudad carcass overnight.

Coyotes get all over our gut piles and carcasses.

I think the biggest thing to protect fawns is good cover.

I have tons of cedar and shinnery oak brush, but I think the coyotes learn to hunt it pretty well. Between that and the heat/drought, the last two fawn crops were rough. I can tell when the fawns start coming as the yotes quit eating my sheep for 8-10 weeks. However, my trapper has worked his tail off and this last fall we didn't lose a single lamb (I lamb starting in October). We caught our last coyote in early March. We'll see what happens when the fawns start dropping.

I've known them to sit and watch a feeder from a distance. This recent study seems to indicate it could be a good spot for them to start following does back to their fawns. If so, simply limiting feeding times to the middle of the day when coyotes are less active or turning them off completely during the peak of the fawning season might help improve fawn survival.

You have sheep, chances are they eat you good fawning cover. We hav loads of coyotes and bobcats. Every year without fail hot mild wet dry we have a great fawn crop. We have zero stock.

Yup, I have seen 2 yotes laying in the brush behind feeder waiting for a free meal to come along

For coyotes if ya don't have many rabbits I suggest you trap some and turn em loose on your lease and don't kill rabbits. Our survival rates remain constant so I don't think we ever had a problem with Coyotes or bobcats. Bobcats eat mostly birds and rabbits, however, if a fawn dies they will make a mill or two. Our bobcats eat in the pen with deer only a few feet away. Our deer will run away at the site or smell of a coyote.
When we kill a hog the buzzards clean em up pretty fast but coyotes will help eat also...mostly buzzards were on our cameras. We dropped off three hogs after lunch and they were all gone the next morning.

Every place is a little different, and each micro ecosystem has variations that make things different for each place.

My place has a lot of good fawning cover, an abundant supply of small game, and we have a audible population of coyotes but rarely see them on camera or in the wild. Hogs are around, but not a terrible nuisance, and we always have an abundant fawn crop.

Places that have less fawning cover will have more coyote action on fawns, but it might not be just because the fawns are easily hunted but also because the exposure may weaken the fawns and allow them to die off easier. Another aspect that is overlooked is the effect moisture has on fawns. Mainly within the first week of life, moisture will work to weaken a fawn to the point it can not maintain body temperature, and research has shown for each inch of rain in the first month of life the fawn mortality increases proportionately.

There is also theory that coyotes don't mainly eat live fawns but mainly scavenge the dead ones or very sick ones they find. The play between predator and prey in mother nature is a delicate one, and one we should let happen. When we try to control mother nature too much, typically bad things happen.

As a general rule of thumb, I try not to play God.

Coyotes are the most prevalent fawn killers here. I watch it all play out every day and there’s no question.

Absolutely true. I hate them and kill them anyway I can.

Being less under the weather now, I might set my hog trap. The wife wants him gone, she thinks he’ll eat fawns, and I think she has designs on his back straps. After the last time she cooked hog backstrap, I am all in favor of keeping her supplied.

This morning we had our first yard fawn show up. Cute little thing. The mama parked it in the tall grass near the corn feeder. That’s good, but yesterday we had a coyote in the yard, which is rare.

So…trap hog…shoot coyote…

This reminds me, every year my folks have several does drop fawns I. The chain link fenced backyard the fawns can’t get out. They leave them off and on during the day. No dogs and fawns are contained. I think they treat it like a play pen lol.

Around our house and maybe 8 acres, we have net wire fencing. Deer are relatively safe, compared to the rest of our place, so it’s normal to have a fawn or two deposited here by mama. Here’s one being investigated by Sunny the cat. Sunny bopped the fawn lightly on the head and the fawn wobbled away. My wife loves watching the fawns.

^^^^^

It's not playing 'God' to (manage) the numbers and presence of certain animals. We aren't permanently altering the ecosystem He created and it was God that gave US 'dominion' over the animals. Trusting us to be good 'stewards' of everything given to us.

When things clearly get out of balance.....it is our duty to try to correct it. Everything has its place and purpose, I would not argue that. But, it isn't playing God for man to responsibly take actions when things get out of kilter. 'Nature' was never meant to be left completely to its own devices.

I bury hog carcasses with my tractor so as to not attract every coyote to my place. It works. The city lease hunters shoot them and leave them so they can have the bulk of coyotes here.

Reading my last paragraph and the last sentence together gives where I was coming from. I wasn't suggesting we can not try o manage things and control some aspects, but when we get too over-controlling and try to exert too much control over God's domain, normally there are repercussions. That's all I was getting alt. I probably should not have left that last sentence as a stand alone, it belonged at the end of the paragraph to read :

The play between predator and prey in mother nature is a delicate one, and one we should let happen. When we try to control mother nature too much typically bad things happen. As a general rule of thumb, I try not to play God.

Gothca, thanks for the clarification.