Bald Eagle is watching our chickens!!!!!

[Illia]

We have about four Bald Eagles who live in the trees in our pasture. . . Sooo. . . They're common pests out here, and I'm not hesitant to shoot them with something to scare them off if they fly too low. They've already had plenty moments where I was inches from pressing the trigger.

Yeah, they are beautiful to a lot of people, but. . . They're the only predator I worry about out here, and they're no where near endangered. Out on the coast, you can see over 40 resting around the fishermen, the logs, the beaches, the trees, etc. They looove all the free fish.

 

[Equine_Angel]

I understand the feeling. Our chickens will be free around the whole property and just two or three trees down the road there is a MASSIVE Eagle's nest. We shall see what happens, but I am hoping the Roosters will do their jobs too. I will be making small chicken huts around the property as well for them to hide in if needed.

 

[gritsar]

Quote:
Regardless of whether you think they are endangered or not, they are a bird of prey and as such are protected by federal law. If you're going to shoot them I wouldn't talk about it on an open forum.
Majestic creatures.

 

[77horses]

Quote:
Regardless of whether you think they are endangered or not, they are a bird of prey and as such are protected by federal law. If you're going to shoot them I wouldn't talk about it on an open forum.
Majestic creatures.

I highly agree.

I found an article and indeed, they are off the endangered list........
"...It was first listed as endangered, then threatened, and now is off the list entirely..."

BUT, the article also reads.....
"...The birds will be now protected under the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act..."
"...The Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act prohibits anyone without a permit from "taking" bald eagles, including their parts, nests and eggs. Its definition of "take" includes: pursuit, shooting, shooting at, poisoning, wounding, killing, capturing, trapping, collecting, molesting and disturbing..."
http://www.cnn.com/2007/TECH/science/06/28/bald.eagle.delisting/index.html

 

[gritsar]

Encourage crows on your property. We have a pair of nesting golden eagles that live on the north end of our property. The crows harrass the eagles whenever they are around and the crows can do it legally.

 

[77horses]

Quote:
We actually do have a bunch of crows around here, thankfully.

And Blue Jays...

 

[featherbaby]

A flare gun works better than a rifle to scare them away. Makes lots of noise and smoke. If you have one for your boat or RV check the dates on the flares. When they go out of date you will get a ticket from Marine Patrol if you're ever stopped and they are checked. Sooooo you might as well use the out of date ones to scare hawks and eagles, right?????

Years ago I had a pond with large goldfish in it. The ospreys and hawks fished every last one of them out even though the river was only 50 ft. away and full of fish. I was walking through the house and saw a hawk take my last big goldfish and fly up with it in his talons. I ran to the bedroom for my rifle. My husband (now ex-husband) stopped me and said, "you can't shoot him....he's endangered !" I replied loudly, "you bet your a-- he's endangered, just as soon as I get the gun!!!!" Unfortunately he was out of range by the time I got outside. It crossed my mind, only briefly, that I should shoot at the one who delayed me! HAHAHAHAHAH! Just kidding. Of course, he's not here anymore........

I learned from a friend of mine that stringing 2 old CD's with fishing line and throwing them up in a tree to hook over a branch will discourage the birds from hunting the chickens. The cd's are shiny and turn with the wind. Birds are afraid of a sudden flash of light (muzzle flash???) and shy away from the area.

 

[lildinkem]

They don't seem to be too endangered over my house. I live in the city, and seen 5 Red Tails circling over my house about a mile up Weds. I looked thru my 45 year old pair of binoculars and still they looked liked gnats.

 

[halo]

I threw a coon that I killed down the back of my 10 acres, since theres lots of vultures around here and I figured they'd enjoy munching on him. Boy was I surprised when I looked out back and saw this:

Havent had any come close to taking any birds, but I only let them free range when Im home.

 

[Manok-Tao]

Most of the posts here have called out hawks as taking chickens.
When i was living in Wash St. (Mukilteo) I did alot of fishing and talked with the guides about the abundant Bald Eagle population. They all said that though the bird is awesome, big and majestic they are not very aggressive hunters. said they are opportunistic feeders and will normally eat what others leave behind..especially man. When fishing in Alaska I saw a bunch of BE's flying over an area and many perched in trees...I asked the guide I was with about it and he said over that hill is the garbage dump, it's the best place to view BE's except when a salmon spawn is over and the fish are dying, washing up on the banks and free picking. He and others went on to say that a BE's just a real good looking seagull.
Not in any way saying to let your gaurd down when there is an BE around...just posting some comments from folks I spoke with that live in their world.
The BE is an icon of America and wether it's a dead food or junk food eater or a vicious winged hunter doesn't matter to me The Bird is American.