Are bantams safer from Eagles than full size chickens?

[navajas]

Hey folks,

We've got a small (now very small) flock of free range chickens living with us on five acres of mostly extensively wooded land. I thought the amount of tree and shrub cover would be enough protection, but after starting with 10, we're quickly down to five. Lost two to an owl, and the other three, I assume to eagles: One rooster and a blue disappeared without a trace, and one of our pearls got eaten last week... with lots of trace.

Anyway, trying to figure out what to do. Give up? (Bummer because I spent a lot of effort building the coop and my Mom loves the birds.) Just figure we lose 10 chickens a year and keep cycling through them? Try a guard goose next time?

Then I thought, what about bantams? There are a lot of chickens, including two small family commercial endeavors, within about 5-20 seconds flight time for our resident Balds. Are bantams worth an eagle's trouble? Also, since they're (I assume) much faster and more flighty, are they harder, more skittish, less desirable targets?

Thoughts?

Thanks!

 

[nuthatched]

Won't make a difference, sadly

 

[SilverBirds]

Free ranging comes with the risk of losses. In my experience, bantams are more likely to get taken by predators than standard size breeds. I recently moved, but my property was mostly woods with a few fields, populated with many wild animals that like to eat chickens: raccoons, opossums, foxes, bobcats, coyotes, feral cats and stray dogs, snakes, owls, hawks, and eagles. In the 5 years of living there I only lost 3 standard sized birds to predators and 12+ bantams (I had an even amount or more standards than bantams in my flock ratio). Most of the attacks where by aerial predators, including the bald bagles that nested in the pond across the street. If I noticed an increase of predators or had an attack everyone was locked up for a few days before getting let out again.

Getting a guard goose, dog, rooster, or any other protection animal is not going to guarantee your chickens safety. Usually a "guard" animal will just sound an alarm before running away itself, or a larger animal may deter certain predators. Very rarely do you get an animal that rushes into battle, and when you do, they don't usually have very long lifespans. If you don't want to lose anymore birds, you'll need a predator proof coop and run and only let them free range under supervision.

 

[mcdze]

haha, ultimately not really .. however they tend to be super fast and ive watched them dodge hawks literally outrunning them faster than the hawks can maneuver .. its when they get blindsided ..nothing usually escapes that kind of hit ..

 

[SwampPrincessChick]

It is true that bantams have a much better ability than large fowl to escape predators, since they can fly better and are a lot faster. They can also maneuver in flight at an unbelievable rate . . . I have seen my bantams turn quickly and with ease during flight. The only exceptions are Cochin Bantams, Silkie Bantams, and other bantam brewds that are heavy or have feathers that make it hard for flight. However, they could certainly not outpower an eagle and can be easily killed by one.

Do NOT get a guard goose, whatever you do. Keeping one goose by itself will make it depressed and lonely, as any social species will be when separated from its own kind. Waterfowl and landfowl should not be mixed together anyway. If a male waterfowl mates with a female landfowl, he will tear her insides apart and she will bleed to death or have a serious injury. That means keeping a male goose for protection is not good at all if you truly care about your chickens. Geese in general are too large and powerful to be kept with chickens, as they can easily kill a chicken, especially a bantam.

 

[MapleLaurelFarms]

Can you get them out of the wooded area? Hawks and owls perch in trees to look for prey, and most of the chicken-loving critters live in the woods (raccoons, fox, etc). Shrubs hide chickens but they also hide predators. Allowing chickens to free range in wooded areas is usually just feeding the beasts lol.

I wouldn't give up if you love chickens, especially if you've already invested in their housing. Just reevaluate and find a way to keep them safe. It's not very hard to protect them, so I'm glad you reached out here for advice first!

 

[NagemTX]

Hey folks,

We've got a small (now very small) flock of free range chickens living with us on five acres of mostly extensively wooded land. I thought the amount of tree and shrub cover would be enough protection, but after starting with 10, we're quickly down to five. Lost two to an owl, and the other three, I assume to eagles: One rooster and a blue disappeared without a trace, and one of our pearls got eaten last week... with lots of trace.

Anyway, trying to figure out what to do. Give up? (Bummer because I spent a lot of effort building the coop and my Mom loves the birds.) Just figure we lose 10 chickens a year and keep cycling through them? Try a guard goose next time?

Then I thought, what about bantams? There are a lot of chickens, including two small family commercial endeavors, within about 5-20 seconds flight time for our resident Balds. Are bantams worth an eagle's trouble? Also, since they're (I assume) much faster and more flighty, are they harder, more skittish, less desirable targets?

Thoughts?

Thanks!

No they are not! I've had bantams pulled from trees by owles so pretty sure they are not safe from eagles either. Best option is covered run and those sparkly hawk deterrents. They just break up the vision of the hawk or eagle but it might help. Or get a dog that gets along with the chickens. They are great at keeping hawks and eagles away.

 

[Sic]

Hey folks,

We've got a small (now very small) flock of free range chickens living with us on five acres of mostly extensively wooded land. I thought the amount of tree and shrub cover would be enough protection, but after starting with 10, we're quickly down to five. Lost two to an owl, and the other three, I assume to eagles: One rooster and a blue disappeared without a trace, and one of our pearls got eaten last week... with lots of trace.

Anyway, trying to figure out what to do. Give up? (Bummer because I spent a lot of effort building the coop and my Mom loves the birds.) Just figure we lose 10 chickens a year and keep cycling through them? Try a guard goose next time?

Then I thought, what about bantams? There are a lot of chickens, including two small family commercial endeavors, within about 5-20 seconds flight time for our resident Balds. Are bantams worth an eagle's trouble? Also, since they're (I assume) much faster and more flighty, are they harder, more skittish, less desirable targets?

Thoughts?

Thanks!

I don't think Bantams are your answer. Bantam or other chickens capable of flight are better able to avoid ground predators, not aerial predators. Light or bright colored birds are more readily seen in the forest and will be targeted. My very large and heavy bruges fighters have never been targeted by eagles no matter their color, my partridge chanteclers also avoid predation, my small and flighty deathlayers are apparently flashy bait and draw attention, but I have large dogs that have learned that eagles are bad birdies, so as soon as they hear one they start barking their heads off. I've not lost a single chicken or duck to predators, we've had a few injuries due to eagle and mink attacks on white ducks, Pekin are too heavy for eagles so they end up on the ground and the dogs always interfere and save the day. We no longer have white ducks either. We're on a heavily forested island, with typically 10 to 30 eagles in the trees above our house. Because the eagles have plenty of fish during the spring, summer and fall, they only hunt birds in the winter, typically taking gulls, but sometimes smaller birds, they aren't picky when they're hungry... we've also strung fishing lines across the trees to prevent the eagles from swooping down in a few places inside the treeline.

 

[gimmie birdies]

I had a little bantam years ago it was a cochin. A hawk got it. I have more of a hawk problem than a eagle problem- but we do have a nest of eagles about 6 acres away.

 

[Folly's place]

When you have a predator attack of any sort, it's necessary to lock your survivors in their predator proof coop and run for a while, maybe forever!
For raptors, locking them in for two or three weeks usually is long enough, as long as the offending bird has moved on to hunt elsewhere.
Most of our losses to raptors (hawks here) have been juvenile birds and bantams, any color.
And right now we have AI in wild geese ten miles in each direction, so our flock in inside all the time!
Mary