Bald Eagle Predation

[Theeggboxtoo]

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[mom'sfolly]

There is no where legal to buy bottle rockets in Southeast Alaska. Must have smuggled them in from Canada. I don't know any natives who did that, and they had fish drying racks set up all summer....just sayin'

Those pictures of the eagles on the fence are incredible.

I think you are on the right track with overhead cover, and lots of hidey holes. Eagles are definitely opportunists. If you make the meals difficult enough you will deter them, at least somewhat.

You might also consider putting out corn to attract the crows. They will definitely mob the eagles and drive them away. If you can find some ravens, even better.

 

[Minniechickmama]

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The bald eagle around here was eating our koi and our chickens.


This is kind of ironic. I found this out a few years ago and then had to chuckle that we picked the eagle over the turkey for the national bird. Here the Bald Eagle in all its majestic appearance is more of a scavenger than hunter, and the turkey is the long lived forager on the ground and very hardy in all climes, at least in the lower 48. But if I am going to have to live with a scavenging killer, I would rather have a Bald Eagle than a hyena.

 

[Pele]

Utmost respect to the moderator who removed my comment, but I felt that I was possibly preventing a very sad situation for the OP by explaining the potential dangers of using bottle rockets to scare the birds. I had no intentions of de-railing the conversation.

The other non-explosive related comments about string and noise are very good, and would be avenues that I would encourage further exploration in. You may also want to call your local wildlife officials to see if they have any recommendations. I am sure this is something that they deal with all the time.

 

[War Chicken]

Eagle feeding area in Homer, Alaska.

 

[cybercat 2]

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O. M. G! That picture gives me the shivers... (but creepily awesome at the same time

)

 

[cybercat 2]

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Ack!

(Sort of like a virgin sacrifice, eh?)

Actually though, I've been raising more dark feathered birds the last couple of years so they will 'blend in' to the landscape better. In the case of the eagle though, it hasn't made much difference.

 

[cybercat 2]

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Its OK, I understand about the bottle rockets. They are illegal in Oregon too. (I'd rather use my son's potato cannon anyway, heheh.) Just joking...

Doesn't it seem odd that there is very little info on the Internet about this subject from people who have dealt with it before me? It seems like it would be beneficial to list deterrents that are OK to try against eagles. I agree that the wildlife officials should be of some help. My 17 year old daughter was upset about the situation and asked what a person could do if he/she was being attacked by an eagle, and you know what- I couldn't find anything online that said its OK to protect yourself. Next time I will think twice about confronting an eagle killing my birds, because I am unsure of what the legal consequences would be if I needed to defend myself against the eagle.

 

[cybercat 2]

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Yes, I agree! The shelters need to be low. I have all sizes of birds though, so the geese may be out of luck (too tall). Did you have to feed your birds under the plywood at first to get them used to it?

 

[Kevin565]

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Killing the eagle is the last thing I'd ever do. My birds are free range, so until I get some additional covered runs built, the birds need hiding spots. Do you think that the CDs would work on eagles? The radio is an interesting idea as well. I might be able to run string across a couple small areas, but I can't do that on 1-1/2 acres- especially as there are llamas and mini horses in there too. Thanks for the suggestions!

Edited to add: maybe I will string some wire across the field with CDs attached to it way above the llamas heads. Can't hurt to try...

Sorry i did not know you replied. Yes i do believe the cds would help. These extra diversions will hopefully give the chickens a few more moments to hide or for someone to interrupt the attack.