I may not be a country boy but I've lived around coyotes all my life. There are plentiful here in So Cal. In fact my parents have had two dogs killed by coyotes. And they were coyotes, not wild dogs, not dingos. The first occasion my mom saw the coyote feeding on their dogs carcass, on the most recent occasion their next door neighbor heard the ruckus and saw the coyote. The last dog that was killed was attacked mid morning (about 11:00). It was one coyote, not a pack. Coyotes are bold here in So Cal. My wife and I have spotted Coyotes running down the street on several occasions. Usually you spot them at dusk or dawn but we have spotted them at all times during the day. Some are real skittish and will disappear the second they see you others aren't hardly afraid of people at all.
You can generalize all you want but my experience with them is that they are opportunistic hunters, they will hunt any time, and they don't have to be in packs to hunt. They have no problems what so ever killing small to medium sized dogs in a one on one situation. If they live around a city they become acclimated to being around people quickly and they will view small dogs and cats as a food source. It would not surprise me at all that they would kill smaller livestock.
I took this photo in June of this year. I've always wanted to see the Rubicon trial head. So on a side trip to Tahoe we drove up a trial to see the Rubicon staging area. On the way back we spotted this Coyote. This guy was not afraid of us all all. He ran across the road as were driving out and stopped along side the road, turned and faced us, actually took a couple of steps toward the car then turned away and loped off. He did not appear to be intimidated by us at all.
Although I'm not particularly in favor of poisoning or traps that maim I also have never had to deal with repeated death of livestock. I have however had to bury two of my parents dogs (or what was left of them). I believe that they are intelligent and adaptable and would quickly learn how to take advantage of a new food source. They sure have around here.
