Bald Eagles are after our chickens

[ValerieJ]

Holy cow! The eagles have killed a couple of my neighbor's calves! I've put up more obstacles and bird netting.

I thought I was going to get a rooster but I really don't want one. Then I heard Queen Bee, one of my RIRs, sounding the alarm out there and when I got there, here she was standing at a coop door, poised to jump in, but making sure all the other girls were taking cover. Bless her little heart. The eagle flew away when he saw me, and QB calmed down.

On a sadder note, after a week of Epsom baths and giving Ethel water via a dropper, she died peacefully in her sleep last night. Makes me wish I hadn't put her through the baths, as she really didn't care for that. Her wound was healing so I think there must have been some internal damage. That would explain why she wouldn't eat.

I don't know how to determine when to try and when to let them go. Sometimes I think I have the most spoiled chickens anywhere, and then I get smacked with a dose of reality when I remember I don't really know what I'm doing.

 

[jspeese]

Benjamin Franklin had the right idea about suggesting the wild turkey as our national bird. In my opinion, hawks, eagles, owls and the like are varmints as far as poultry are concerned.

 

[ValerieJ]

Benjamin Franklin had the right idea about suggesting the wild turkey as our national bird. In my opinion, hawks, eagles, owls and the like are varmints as far as poultry are concerned.

good point!

 

[kdwellssr]

I have a lot of hawks, so I just also try to provide a lot of bushy plants and I also place growing tunnels so they cannot swoop down and grab the chickens. I just put up tons of obstacles and hope that by the time something lands on the fence or something that they will go and hide. Mine are just miserable when they cannot be free.

I only have one rooster left. The hawks have killed all my others. I have a pin for them at night and that worked but during the day I let them free range. I haven't figured out anything that would work for me. The hawks even come withing 50 feet of the house to get the chickens. I have some babies now but feel that All I'm doing is feeding the hawks unless I leave them in the pin.

 

[ValerieJ]

I only have one rooster left. The hawks have killed all my others. I have a pin for them at night and that worked but during the day I let them free range. I haven't figured out anything that would work for me. The hawks even come withing 50 feet of the house to get the chickens. I have some babies now but feel that All I'm doing is feeding the hawks unless I leave them in the pin.

I agree. You need a covered run. We haven't needed one before this year, but things have changed for the eagles. We are going to build a covered run, but in the meantime I have created an obstacle course of upturned tomato cages and have run bird netting between the trees. Good luck!

 

[Vicker]

I haven't found roosters to deter any of the predators that lurk around my area. I've tried tunnels and movable covered runs. They seem to work for a while until one predator comes along that can outsmart the system. Once it has success, it won't stop coming back until there is no one left to eat. I have to switch it up. Right now, I have a raised platform that the chickens can run under if they spy a hawk in time. It doesn't work on owls, because they will land on the ground and walk right under it. I don't know if eagles will do that.

 

[ValerieJ]

I haven't found roosters to deter any of the predators that lurk around my area. I've tried tunnels and movable covered runs. They seem to work for a while until one predator comes along that can outsmart the system. Once it has success, it won't stop coming back until there is no one left to eat. I have to switch it up. Right now, I have a raised platform that the chickens can run under if they spy a hawk in time. It doesn't work on owls, because they will land on the ground and walk right under it. I don't know if eagles will do that.

No, eagles are pretty clumsy on the ground. They swoop in on their prey. I thought my run was in good shape because it's an orchard, but there were a couple areas that allowed the swoop. Those areas are now covered with bird netting. Hoping an eagle doesn't get tangled up in it. Then I suppose I'd be in trouble for harming an eagle. We have owls too. Ugh. After the attack, I now have one chicken acting like a rooster. She will sound the alarm if she sees the eagle and everyone takes cover. I saw her do that before I got the obstacle course put up. Poor thing though, she was scared. They all were. One of my girls died of shock from it all.

 

[JAFig]

Sounds like this is a seasonal problem? How often are they taking birds? Do you have an area separate from where your hens free-range where you can turn a "donor" chicken loose? I know this idea is unpalatable, and may actually be a bad idea (like, maybe it's illegal) but it sounds like you can't do anything about the eagles themselves, and raptors are "trainable". Could they possibly be diverted?

A small upside is an excuse to support poultry breeders? Hatch more chickens?

 

[NightingaleJen]

I'm very sorry to hear you've lost your two favourites! What a shame. Glad to hear your tomato cage idea is working, though. That's pretty clever.

 

[ValerieJ]

Sounds like this is a seasonal problem? How often are they taking birds? Do you have an area separate from where your hens free-range where you can turn a "donor" chicken loose? I know this idea is unpalatable, and may actually be a bad idea (like, maybe it's illegal) but it sounds like you can't do anything about the eagles themselves, and raptors are "trainable". Could they possibly be diverted?

A small upside is an excuse to support poultry breeders? Hatch more chickens?

Yes, it is seasonal, but this is the first season in the 4 years I've been raising chickens that the eagles or hawks killed any chickens. Not mine and not any of my neighbors' chickens. This year we have a situation going on and we don't know everything, but we know we have too many seals in the Columbia River depleting our salmon stock and we had a hatchery problem a couple years ago causing the destruction of thousands of fish who would be coming back this year to spawn. The eagles usually eat fish here. We have had osprey until this year too and they only eat fish. It is a little crazy and very unusual. I feel bad for the eagles. They have babies to feed, but I cannot give them any more of my babies.

I have now completely covered the areas between the trees with netting and put up obstacles everywhere else. I don't expect another eagle attack on my birds, but I'm sure my neighbors will lose more if they don't follow suit. One of them actually free ranges their chickens. I would never do that here. We have coyotes, raccoons and at least one cougar. And you know what they say, everyone loves chicken.

Thanks for your thoughts on this.