Coyotes seen in and around calving pastures usually are not a cause for alarm. Some may be attracted to calving cows by the smell. After the calves are born, coyotes may clean up the afterbirth and eat the rich colostrum manure left by the newborns while leaving the calves alone. Occasionally, a coyote or a family of coyotes may kill young calves to feed their pups. Most healthy calves killed by coyotes are less than a week old and have been left alone by their mothers.
Cows often leave the main herd when they give birth.
The newborn calf becomes vulnerable to predators when its mother leaves it to seek food and water. When the cow rejoins the herd or the calf is at least 10 days old, the danger from coyotes is usually over. Just after calving, a cow may be too weak to drive coyotes away from its calf. Coyotes occasionally kill calves during the birthing process. In some cases, if coyotes find a cow having a long, hard labor, they may prey upon the calf while it is protruding from the cow, sometimes mutilating the mother in the process.