Okay, so geese maybe aren't the answer. We'll just use the netting over the run, and let them free range when we think it's safe.
As for shooting raptors, I personally wouldn't, whether or not it is legal. Raptors are a necessary predator for the wild. When you start removing top predators, it can throw off the balance in a given ecosystem, and have long-lasting effects that may not be felt immediately. More and more studies within conservation biology and wildlife ecology are proving this, and are discovering that humans are not so insulated from these effects.
My personal viewpoint is to understand that raptors do what they evolved to do, and I as someone with a vested interest in my chickens can protect them without interfering with trophic systems of the wild.
Again, my personal opinion based on science, and not a judgment on anyone here.
Also, I am sorry to hear of these other losses. Good luck with your flocks, everyone!
As for shooting raptors, I personally wouldn't, whether or not it is legal. Raptors are a necessary predator for the wild. When you start removing top predators, it can throw off the balance in a given ecosystem, and have long-lasting effects that may not be felt immediately. More and more studies within conservation biology and wildlife ecology are proving this, and are discovering that humans are not so insulated from these effects.
My personal viewpoint is to understand that raptors do what they evolved to do, and I as someone with a vested interest in my chickens can protect them without interfering with trophic systems of the wild.
Again, my personal opinion based on science, and not a judgment on anyone here.
Also, I am sorry to hear of these other losses. Good luck with your flocks, everyone!