Predator attacks after 2 years of peaceful chicken raising(warning GRAPHIC Photos)

[Nambroth]

i did not suggest an owl. i suggested the birds grape growers use, while using them they "fly" around randomly around a 20m radius or so, these are used to scare off birds that eat grapes, however im fairly sure raptors in general have territory and once they see a raptor they would avoid that area.

this is a very poor example we had great ones on the farm but i cannot find a picture of them. they are essentially a long stainless steel bar about 1/4 inch (maybe 20 feet tall) with a line coming off of it, and it makes the raptor look like he's patrolling and acts like a kite.

Absolutely. That wasn't pointed at you-- I have seen owl decoys mentioned countless times in other threads, is all.
Those flying birds are absolutely a different story altogether and may work against some raptor species! It depends on the time of year, species of raptor, and if the raptor is already established in that territory.

 

[Beour3rd]

Absolutely. That wasn't pointed at you-- I have seen owl decoys mentioned countless times in other threads, is all.
Those flying birds are absolutely a different story altogether and may work against some raptor species! It depends on the time of year, species of raptor, and if the raptor is already established in that territory.

yeah i didn't take offense or anything.

and those flying birds are amazing. if you make them like the ones we had it really makes them move like a raptor and randomly..so everything else buggers off. especially if you have a garden as well it will make the birds leave. however... if you watch birds... that puts an end to that.

 

[furbabymum]

Killing it is illegal in the USA unless you have a permit (these are not commonly issued).

Killing it doesn't fix too much-- their ranges are huge, and they are migratory. It would be like catching a fish in the lake and then expecting no others to come around.

Your very best bet is to put up netting or fencing- a physical barrier between your birds and the hawk.This is the only thing that will for sure protect your birds.

Barring that, if you have a larger breed dog that is safe to have around the chickens, the presence of a large ground predator (dog) will often deter hawks. Hawks can not lift and fly off with a fully grown LF chicken-- even our largest hawk in the US cannot. Great Horned owls are the exception to this... but hawks have to consume at least part of their prey on the ground, and they generally won't risk this in the presence of a predator large enough to attack them (such as a larger dog).

Everything else is risky at best. I am never quite sure why owl decoys are suggested-- in my experience with raptors, owl decoys are actually more likely to attract hawks and other raptors as they attempt to drive them out of their territory. A falconer friend keeps a great horned owl and every time he puts her out in the yard he attracts hawks that come to harass her. If you can, it would probably be wise to return or sell your owl decoys as they rarely work (as you sadly experienced).

Ha. Great horned owls are the exception to all of that. lol Bloody birds! Lost a lot of hens to them and they were not scared of our great Pyrenees at all. They weren't scared of us either. Beautiful beastly birds!

 

[PandoraChick]

Barring that, if you have a larger breed dog that is safe to have around the chickens, the presence of a large ground predator (dog) will often deter hawks. Hawks can not lift and fly off with a fully grown LF chicken-- even our largest hawk in the US cannot. Great Horned owls are the exception to this... but hawks have to consume at least part of their prey on the ground, and they generally won't risk this in the presence of a predator large enough to attack them (such as a larger dog).

I have been leaving my great dane out more with the chickens...she is pretty good for the most part, though sometimes she will chase a little. This hawk did infact try to carry off one of my full nearly grown black austrolops...I found the original kill site, and then the body 100 feet away....So it did try to take her, but dropped her(head missing). Never did find the head, thank goodness.

Also an update for anyone following...I contact the falconers association for help...but by the time they replied with someone willing to trap and relocate, she had moved on. We tightened up the gaps with the fishing wire, and the very next day discovered a part of the wires that looked like it had been "crashed" into. Haven t seen the hawk since and my birds are happily free ranging again. I know there could be more attacks, but I have to accept that. Its where the quality of life vs quantity of life comes in.

 

[DelBlueHen]

So sorry to read this...

 

[One Chick Two]

So sorry...It's just terrible to have this happen.
Everthing was quiet for us too, for many months until one day, had 12 pullets taken out freeranging one morning by what we think were likely coyote attacks. Only small tufts of feathers were left at a few kill sites- nothing more. DH saw one show up the next day or so, around the same time, so we know it was young male, as he was dispatched by a neighbor who had the same problem with him killing their chickens too. Another morning, we had a raven attack one pullet as I walked up, scared it off her, and the pullet (who was my fav) passed in my hands. We then doubled the flock size, including a bunch of cockerels, added more fences, and supervise our freeranging now... it all helped. Best wishes to you!

 

[spies04]

My sympathy for the loss of your chickens! I had lost some to a fox while free ranging when we were home - we were devastated because these were birds we had had for some time. They were quick and fast, but they normally do not leave much behind except for feathers because they will take it back to their pack. But please be careful - once they find a feeding source, most definitely they will be back. We have had to build a large pen for our chickens to be out and only let them free range when we are about on our property to control the foxes, eagles, etc. And we have also had to take other measures when we have seen predators coming closer into our property because even after a year that this occurred, they still try to come back.

I do understand that this type of thing can be the circle of life, but they can wipe out your flock in one large swoop taking some of of your precious birds in an awful death. Just something to consider.

Best of luck to you! And again, I am sorry for your loss.

 

[Chickenlover20]

I have a golden sebright rooster, he fight the hawk and stray cat away in same day.
And he did it to save the hens and chicks, he won the battle.
I still have him now, he's not top of peck. I have 4 bantams roosters, 3 are wimpy and one is brave.
Lol.. His name is Derek.

 

[moetrout]

I shoot bottle rockets at the hawks that get too close. It's not a 100 percent solution, but just like flying the predator kite, if you do it often enough they may just move on somewhere less intimidating. for the record there is no way I could ever hit one. Also I use the whistling bottle rockets with report (bang at the end). I will shoot 2 or 3 and the hawk usually moves on.

 

[chiknhurder]

you could consider killing the raptor. i know i would. just check what kind it is and if it's locally endangered before ;]

All raptors are federally protected. Your local conservation department may allow you to protect your livestock but the federal government will not. You have to obtain a permit and they aren't easy to come by. Their view is that it's up to you to secure your flock.