At our place in LaGrange, Hwy71 west frontage, just outside of town, railroad on the back side.

Yesterday at about 11:30 my mother-n-law calls to tell me we have a new calf. She is excited and commenting on how active the calf is, saw it nurse on two occasions, hollering for it mother, jumping around and playing with the other calves. My wife and I were there last Saturday to feed and MNL and wifes uncle fed on Monday and no calf, so based on this calves activity, etc..I am assuming it was prob born Tuesday or Wednesday..

I go down this morning and the herd is kind of spread out grazing, I see the momma out in a distance and as the herd comes up to the pens this momma is slowly making her way.. I never see the calf, so I go out and start to look, cannot find it, I start to walk a different direction and the momma starts back towards where I saw her..she hollered a couple of times and kept looking that way so I watch her and she stops with her head to the ground and I walk up and this is all that is left.

I walked the entire property and no sign other body parts, no blood, no areas where the momma or herd tried to defend the calf and not even any buzzards, anywhere. Her bag was pretty swollen and it had not been nursed in a while.

My MNL said it was a nice sized calf and based on the size of the white part of the leg, it was prob in the 80lb range..which is good size for us.

So in 22 hours I have a calf that is active and moving well to this?

I have never lost a calf to a coyote(s) so is this possible..how many involved to inflect this that quick? At our other place, you hear the coyotes at night and have seen a few on that place and have caught many on the game cam but never was worried about them taking one out.

I guess it could have died later yesterday and they got it but, based on it's activity and nursing at noon, I don't think it did.

Pic not working. Interested to see.

Sorry about the calf.

I always lean towards the calf died from other causes and the coyotes cleaned up.

Not saying coyotes won't take one down (especially after last week), but that is what I have seen.

Sorry for the loss.

^^^ agree

We have a lease on a working cattle operation. We left camp one morning an hour before daylight and there were no cows around. None. We returned mid morning and there was a few, and a momma cow was standing next to a fresh calf and would not leave it. I walked over and it was all torn up. So was she, not wanting to leave it. I suppose it was buzzards/Mexican Eagles or a vulture of some type but there were none to be seen. Figured it was coyotes that ran off when they saw us coming. That calf hit the ground that morning, of that I have no doubt, and something got it quick and beat the hell out of there. This calf was 70 yrds. from our camp, max. This was a Sunday morning or I'd have set up that night to see if whatever it was returned.

Edit: correction from 'condor' to 'vulture' of some type.

I had a newborn this week with a bloody tail. Two days later 3/4 of the tail is gone but the calf looks fine. Found two different trails/runs going under my net wire fence with barbed wire on the bottom today. Will set a couple snares tomorrow and post what I catch.
Edit to add that red wolves were bad about killing baby calves in se Tx. when they were here. When we see coyotes in the daytime now, they are usually getting the remnants of afterbirth.

Lost a newborn and saw a big male coyote staring me down then take off. This is mommas first so really do not think she gave it much attention and the coyote made quick work of the calf.

drummer0415 said:

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Pic not working. Interested to see.

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Not sure why the pic is not working, I can see it..

Basically skelatal remains, back right quarter attached to the left quarter hanging together by the hide.

I agree that I usually think it would have died and coyotes finished it off, but that would have been a quick death based on how active it was nursing, etc..

This was also a first calf heifer so who knows..

Now I will say a wild dog will definitely kill a calf, and they are the usual suspects when we have a young calf lose a tail.

Old Sarge said:

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We have a lease on a working cattle operation. We left camp one morning an hour before daylight and there were no cows around. None. We returned mid morning and there was a few, and a momma cow was standing next to a fresh calf and would not leave it. I walked over and it was all torn up. So was she, not wanting to leave it. I suppose it was buzzards/Mexican Eagles or a condor of some type but there were none to be seen. Figured it was coyotes that ran off when they saw us coming. That calf hit the ground that morning, of that I have no doubt, and something got it quick and beat the hell out of there. This calf was 70 yrds. from our camp, max. This was a Sunday morning or I'd have set up that night to see if whatever it was returned.

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Condor? C'mon man!

I'm up in Oregon and our coyotes are larger than those in Texas. I've seen 100lb calves killed and not eaten. Any young or sick calf can become coyote food as soon as you turn your back. I've seen dead cows in the boneyard vanish completely in a couple days. Coyotes can carry off an entire calf carcass in one night. I've (more than once) seen two coyotes kill and eat an adult goat leaving nothing but a clean skeleton in one night. Put the zap on a few of them and they seem to get the idea that your neighbor's ranch is a healthier place to live.

I have seen single coyote attack perfectly healthy calf in the middle of the day. I happen to be on deer stand and the herd went crazy. Need less to say coyote died of lead poisoning. Very tricky shot but ruined my morning hunt. 7mag does a number on a coyote.

The only good coyote is a dead coyote. I kill every single one I come across. They cost me tens of thousands every year. Most of the time it seems like they kill for fun...no idea how many lambs and kids I've driven up on that haven't been touched except to kill.

Steve Rinella eats coyote on a couple Meateater episodes, so next time you pop one you should fire up the pit!

Correction, the word I should have used was vulture, not condor. I'll not try and go so fast on responses on a board like this, where comments and responses will get picked clean.