Donkeys, llamas, and dogs are often kept as a farm guard. Considering llamas and dogs as a guard is justified as they are quite good for the job but why do people hire donkeys for this particular purpose? Because donkeys protect the animals, they are raised with, like no other guard animals.
Donkeys hardly develop affection or appreciation for other animals but once they are used to living with them they get super protective about them. Donkeys are an excellent guard for sheep, goats, and calves. This complicated creature is sufficient to protect the farm animals from a fox, bobcat, coyote, and dogs.
The advanced livestock keepers know the importance of having a donkey guard on their farms to save their cattle from deadly attacks. Coyotes do not waste a single chance of attacking the farm animals and no other animal guard other than a donkey can handle them well.
Do donkeys kill coyotes? Do donkeys scare coyotes to death? Can donkeys handle coyotes? These are the most widely asked questions and I decided to discuss one today.
Without wasting any more minutes, let’s answer the most Googled questions first before we get into the details.
Do donkeys kill coyotes?
The answer to the question, do donkeys kill coyotes? is yes, donkeys can kill coyotes if they are clever enough to catch them red-handed. Even if the donkey guard fails to kill the predator coyotes it scares them away for life.
What exactly happens when a donkey finds out about coyotes?
It is believed that donkeys and coyotes are not “really” fond of each other. The coyotes are very well aware of the donkey’s reaction so they try to avoid the encounter in the first place but if they fail to notice the donkey’s presence, the donkeys, on seeing the coyotes, either scare them with the loud bray or kick them to death.
So, the most appropriate answer to this question would be, the donkey would run behind them to scare (so the coyote never dares to attack again) or kick them to death.
Why do donkeys kill coyotes?
Donkeys kill coyotes for two reasons. One is, the donkeys are not “really” fond of wild animals belonging to the Canidae family, and the other is, donkeys develop a strong bond with their fellow animals so it’s hard for them to see their enemies hurting or attacking them in any way.(Source)
How do donkeys scare coyotes?
The presence of a donkey on the farm is enough to scare the coyote away but if still, the coyote predator is brave enough to make a move, the donkeys scare them by either with their loud bray or by running and kicking them brutally.
Now, it’s pretty much clear to you what exactly happens when donkeys find a coyote trying to scare or attack their farm fellas. A lot of you might know who coyotes are, how do they look, but those who have only heard their name let’s discuss coyotes a little in detail.
According to research Coyote, a species of canine that is native to North America shares the traits of wolves, dogs, foxes, and jackals. Coyotes are generally smaller than wolves but have longer ears, larger braincase, and thinner frame. The coyotes are not specialized in hunting larger or heavier prey so they attack sheep, cattle, and goats to fulfill their needs.
Coming back to our topic, coyotes are not that afraid of donkeys even though they tend to kill them but they usually try to avoid such encounters. The coyotes understand well, that in the race, donkeys are more likely to win, so they prefer to attack the animals in their absence.
Donkey, llamas, or dog, which one is a good guard?
It’s hard to pick one and declare it a good guard from the above-mentioned options. The dogs as a guard sound promising but sometimes they get beaten by the predators to the point that they lose their ability to act as a watchdog.
Llamas are also fine guards, they can be kept as a guard of 200 to 1000 sheep but they are not as aggressive as guard animals should be.
Donkeys are an acceptable option because once they have developed a bond with the farm animals they would move heaven and earth to protect them from foxes, coyotes, and the other members of the Canidae family.
In short, no guard animal can give 100% protection from predator attacks but they can help you in alerting, scaring, and minimizing the chances of attacks. Donkeys are blessed with good eyesight, they can even continue the guard mission at night, without any difficulty. For, coyotes specifically, donkeys are excellent guards.
Donkeys use their teeth and hooves to attack the coyotes
The donkey knows well how to attack the animals. The donkeys first use their hooves to weaken the predator and then bring their teeth to the action. Hooves, legs, and teeth are their weapons against coyotes, bobcats, foxes, and free-roaming dogs.
Donkeys can be of great help to the residents of Florida
The sheep, goat, and cattle of Florida usually become a victim of coyote attacks. Coyotes are found in abundance in more than 67 states of Florida so their attacks are quite common. Donkeys, for the residents of Florida, can be the ultimate solution to the coyote’s attack.
Remember! Do not add more donkeys to the operation
One donkey is enough to deal with the problem, increasing the number of donkeys won’t help. Otherwise, the donkeys will buddy up and start neglecting the operation.
Donkey as a guard against Coyotes
I used to have two very aggressive dogs as a guard. They were protecting my sheep and goats quite well (i won’t deny) but the frequency of attacks was my main issue.
I knew from the beginning that nothing on earth can completely stop this from happening but there would definitely be something that can help me in minimizing the number of attacks.
So, while researching for the solution, my friend recommended me to keep a donkey as a guard. Well, the donkey was of no help for a month or so, and it took a while to develop the bond but once everything settled down, I found the solution. The donkey scared the coyotes so terribly that they didn’t dare again to come so heroically.
So, If coyotes are making your farm animals fall into vulnerability, get a donkey and stop looking for solutions. Try not to get greedy, consider one donkey enough for this job.
Summary
Donkeys, llamas, and dogs are all excellent guards. Dogs are mostly hired to protect the farm animals and they sure do help in bringing down most of the predators but coyotes are an exception. Donkeys can be considered a great “Watchdog” for coyotes. The donkeys are known for killing and scaring the coyotes.
They kick, bray, and run behind them to scare them for life. The full-grown donkeys are more likely to kill coyotes. So, the answer to the most Googled question, can donkeys kill coyotes? Is yes, donkeys do kill coyotes but only when they share a strong bond with the farm animals.
In the end, I would like to confess the information provided here is solely based on my experience. It can be faulty but the statement “yes, donkeys can and do kill coyotes” is 110% true.
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