Coyotes are overrated as a predator, IMHO. They are more of an opportunist. I hunt coyotes year round, and the stomachs of most contain mostly small critters and insects. Near highways orwheatpastures, theytend to have a little more meat in them, but thatis probably more from roadkills and dead yearlings. They go after easy meals, because a kick from a healthy animal to the jaw or leg could result in a fatal injury. They would much prefer something young or sick that is too weak to put up much of a fight.

They will occaisionally take livestock, but only under certain conditions. If a cow lays down to calve by a fence, sometimes coyotes will grab the calf and drag it under the fence so the cow can't get them. Every now and then, if they get a cow and calf isolated, they will work as a pack trying to get the cow to fighting them. They will try to run the cow back and forth past the calf. In the confusion, sometimes the cow will knock over and trample the calf. But most calves coyotes get credit for killing probably were either stillborn, died shortly after birth from birth defects, or the cow simply did not recognize them as hers and walked away.

It doesn't snow much here, so healthy deer have little to nothing to fear from coyotes. Coyotes will run them a little every now and then to check for weaknesses. If they do get after one, it is because they have detected some form of weakness. It can range from something major to something as minor as vision problems in one eye or a foot infection.