By yesterday FreeBee was somewhat better.
He refused to eat anything I brought him until I brought him some freshly baked bread.
Pig bread.
Then he up and followed me out of the barn and into the driveway for a nosey.
He is still coughing a bit but eating well now. (As long as it is bread). I will finish the worming course and hope that is the cause of the disruption. And thankfully that nasty cold snap has moved through and we are warmer again.
I am separating him from Jude for feeding which takes a bit of doing – back soon.
Wai has come out now too. Maybe they both hate snow!
I recorded coyotes howling last night. I will pop it up on SubStack and send it to you. Make sure you are subscribed and 10 mins of the sounds and sights of the farm will land in your inbox every week day at 5pm. (PLUS this very short sound clip which will come out for everyone once I have fed the pigs – it is a bonus and quite short BUT chilling).
Gave you heard a coyote chorus before?
Have a lovely day.
Celi
The Kitchen's Garden 
41 responses to “Coyotes in the Night”
I’m sure the pig bread would perk me up too 😉
The pig bread was divine full of corn and oats and molasses and flour from the fields
I want to put my name down for a place in the barn 🤣
I would make the effort to get up for warm bread myself. It’s hard to resist!
Gorgeous last photo 🙂
Which is why i don’t make it TOO often! Very hard to resist.
Yes, I have heard them in the night here in town. I live on a creek & GreenWay & across from a tract of woods & meadow owned by the University of NC-Asheville. There is a pack of them nearby. When I think that we lived in an old cabin on a mountainside within the Pisgah National Forest for 12 yrs. & never heard them or saw a bear. They had not arrived this far east back then & the bears were still minding their own business before we disturbed their habitats. Coyotes are a terrible menace to small creatures including stray cats.
Though the cats are the imported creatures. So one might say that leaving a cat out in coyote country is the problem. The coyote does not know that she is not allowed to eat it. An old man told me that when the deer migrated down here to the corn fields the coyote followed. He never saw one before that either/
Well, I don’t think a dumped cat meant to interlope. All I know is coyotes are predating bunnies, squirrels, & myriad other small creatures, including pet cats that city people put out to roam in the dark, as if coyotes had migrated here & are out at night on the hunt in our yards. Motion camera photos of coyotes are posted constantly on Nextdoor Neighbors websites. I agree that leaving a cat out in coyote country is dangerous for the cat. But where they have hiding places like in barns & sheds, cats have a chance. Mice don’t, of course.
It certainly is a conundrum.
We have them here too. We hear them at night, but I’ve never seen them.
I have never seen one either! I honestly have no idea what our pack looks like.
Didn’t expect to hear that great news, go Freebee!
And she was back out in the field again this morning. I wonder if she had hurt her foot and was resting it – or simply did not like the cold. I guess a good rest helped.
Always surprised when I see how such dainty little pig feet support such large piggy bodies. We have coyotes and they’re ruthless with any small creatures. I know it’s their job, but I dislike them intensly. Also, a beautiful and huge black bear who lives in hope that I’ll forget to bring in my bird feeders each night. Hoping he/she hibernates soon!
Bears! I have never seen a bear in the wild. Fancy her watching your bird feeders. I bet they do get attracted to all those lovely nuts and seeds.
What ingredients go into making pig bread? Strangely enough I have never run across a recipe for that!! Maybe there is not much of a demand for it unless you happen to have an ailing pig around.
Good to hear that FreeBee is perking up.
It has everything but the kitchen sink plus the worming meds. That way I know he gets the right amount.
FreeBee resembles a baby seal here:) X
He certainly is seal like – sleek. I think he has lost a little weight too.
So assurable:)
Unfortunately, I have heard coyotes, when I lived in Colorado, and since coming back home to Savannah. In Savannah, I have only begun to hear them recently, but a friend saw one lounging in the sun in broad daylight. On the other hand, I have not seen a firefly since I was a child. I think all the development around the country is forcing animals and other critters to relocate. I’ve heard most corn now is GMO.
I’m glad FreeBee is better. Tweety is better, too, and we are all enjoying this delightful sunshine. She is still not up to snuff, but she’s back to pecking at my leg, outside.
So glad to hear Tweety is up and about. Ours is the only corn that is not GMO out here on the prairies, so they can spray the fields with round up. Nasty stuff.
I do NOT like it when the coyotes sing. I usually means they have a kill. I know, they also have to eat, but they don’t need to gloat about it. The coyotes roam even in our yard at night. They are very scary
Yes – you have had some nasty run ins with your pack. Mine is not nearly as brave. I have literally never seen them or any evidence of their passing.
Good! Because you have lots of excellent food there!
Yes, we have some big fat white tasty chickens sitting out there under the trees but BooBoo checks them 2 or 3 times a night so only a few more days to go!
“… but BooBoo checks them 2 or 3 times a night… “ And there’s the reason the coyote pack stays away – because, very sadly most have lost their fear of/ respect for humankind and have no reason to keep their distance.
A few weeks back, I saw one cross the main street in our nearby town when the car ahead of me had to slam on its brakes to avoid hitting it!
Mind you, twas just after dark and it had very likely been hunting the green space along the railroad tracks and only forced into the street to avoid using the train bridge that passes overhead.
It was very long-legged and larger than normal, so I’m guessing it’s a Coy-Dog cross that are becoming more common here.
I am not ‘in Town’ and the local pack likes to run the animal highway between farm fields – the creek-beds meandering down the Moraine toward Lake Ontario.
It sounds to me like the city coyotes behave differently from the rural packs. Like foxes in London I imagine. I have actually never even seen this pack but I do recognize their calls.
When I lived in St Louis we would see deer in the streets!
Aye, farmers & their dogs ready to protect their livestock are a bit of a deterrent (but wise predators maintain their distance and are generally left alone to control rodent and deer populations: )
When I had my business the building was along a canal in a southwest Chicago suburb and the coyotes were there right behind us almost any time of the day or night and we were very careful when we would leave at night (rarely before 10:30 p. m.), especially if they were howling. Often we would move our vehicles to the front of the building before sunset as it was better lilt and safer. One night the coyotes got a deer right behind the building and were howling. They would walk down the middle of the street where I lived and several neighbors lost small dogs or cats to them. So far I haven’t seen them here in town (north central Indiana) but occasionally see dead ones along U. S. 24 and other roads away from town. they certainly spread across the eastern half of the country after crossing the bridges over the Mississippi river.
Wow. I have never been afraid of them – but I do have two dogs. Though I don’t think Ton would scare any coyotes away now! Fancy seeing them take down a deer – in town. That would be un settling.
Didn’t see them take the deer down, did seem them around the carcase howling right out the back door of the store. Even when I lived in the city (Beverly neighborhood) I didn’t let my three dogs out after dark if I didn’t go with them in their fenced part of the yard.
Glad freebee is doing better
I love the last 2 pictures – and the good news about Freebee. Sometimes animals know best how to take care of themselves. Cheered to hear and hope improvement continues (warmer always helps!)
Hoping your sweet Freebee❤️ continues to get better. So glad the bread opened up her appetite!
Yes! I think that is exactly what happened. He is a sweet pig. And I know is they are getting on in years but I always get a fright when they go into a pause.
That’s totally understandable you’d feel that way. You care so deeply for him, you just want the best for him. Animals are so intelligent, especially precious pigs! So happy he’s on the mend. That’s so cute you made him fresh bread, I’m sure he appreciates it and you!
I could not go past the photo of Wai. He looks as if he is wearing pink ankle socks and black ballet slippers… I am entranced.
I amtotally entranced with Wai as Celi knows. Pink ankle socks and black ballet shoes – go Wai.