Tips & Tactics For Catching Coyotes In Cow Pastures

I trap in farm country, doing what I can to harvest fur and also keep the local coyotes in check.

- Pat Donnelly

The farmers appreciate my efforts to protect their livestock, yet sometimes the best places to trap are right in the pastures and the biggest challenge is keeping that livestock out of my sets.

One farmer was particularly adamant about wanting to be rid of coyotes that were “running around with the cows.” When I walked in his pasture the next morning with a bucket of traps, the cows were nowhere to be seen. This was not a happy accident.

I get out early when the farmers are just starting to feed and the cows are interested in little else. For the most part, cows around here are fed round bales of hay out of feeders located in high places out of the mud. In winter, the cows may not move far from the hay.

But seeing someone passing through their turf can pique their curiosity, and the last thing I want is cattle following me as I make sets. If I ride in on a four-wheeler they hear it and are even likelier to come by for a look-see.

The second “trick” is to set traps in cover that will not impede a coyote but will deter a cow. The third is to not use strong lure. That may sound weird to someone who hasn’t trapped around cows, but I have seen where many a cow got right on top of a dirt hole to stick its nose in for a sniff. I don’t believe cows are particularly attracted to trapping lure. They are just curious about any strong odor, and for whatever reason, young calves that have been separated from their cows seem most prone to this.

I use only urine or a mild castor-lure that goes right in the dirt hole. The cows don’t seem as drawn to these mild smells, yet the keen nose of a passing coyote will have no trouble detecting either scent.

I make blind sets wherever I can, and that includes trail snares where feasible.