Can a muscovy kill a hawk?

[goosedragon]

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If a hawk kills something he can't fly off with it strips out the parts it wants and leaves the rest. Speed amd surprize has won many a fight so that is a point for hawks, but heaven help the hawk if it misses and the muscovy gets ahold of it. those tallons on a muscovy are a match for a hawk. I have seen fighting cocks torn up by muscovy drakes!

 

[alaskaduckgirl]

I would always bet on the hawk to win, as I have had experience with birds of prey and I for sure know that their beak and talons are WAYYY worse than any duck, goose, or chicken. We have red tails and goshawks that regularly fly by. They tend not to stay around here long because we have a nesting pair of Bald Eagles that are VERY territorial. The only other bird of prey that has the guts to stay around is a couple of great horned owls.

We live around a pair of eagles who think nothing of picking off a full adult canadian goose off the lake near us.

My cat also got picked up and dropped by a bald eagle.

He sadly did not survive, though I did see him give the eagle a nice fight with his claws (why the eagle dropped him).

 

[aduckstolemyheart]

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This is one of those times when I am glad I live more in the "city." The hawks don't hang around much because the crows chase them off pretty fast. I rarely see large birds here, and couldn't imagine dealing with all those predators!

 

[Bleenie]

"Our" Eagles (they nest on our hill, lol) tried once to haul off a chicken hen but quickly dropped it when my father ran out into the field screaming at it..... about the last person i would expect to rescue a chicken.

thankfully she was just fine though.

 

[desertdarlene]

Eagles are very powerful and can carry off some pretty heavy birds. The same goes for great horned owls.

I live in a very urban area, but we have all kinds of hawks and eagles around me as well as coyotes and foxes.

 

[Bleenie]

Yep, I was constantly patching up my crested Pekins after the owls tried to get them. I finally got rid of them and haven't had a problem since.. I don't know why they 'liked' them so much.

 

[Buttercup Chillin]

Had a hawk pick up a big Turken once, I guess she was to heavy for it in the space it had to go high. (Trees in the way). Dropped it. She shook herself off and continued to look for bugs.
Now the chickens run under the tree and the Muscovies surround it when the hawks are flying near and that is everyday.

Haven't lost a Chicken or a Muscovy yet. Chicken run is covered and that cover gets messed up a few times a year when they try to come thru it. But I have a lot of trees and actually they are safer out in the back yard with the Muscovies than they are in their run. When I have young chicks or adolescents, the Muscovies hang out with them instead of the older hens. Just what they do. Yet, they let the Cardinals and squirrels eat their food, but they kill mice, rats and snakes. And will go looking for them.

Coarse when I see them flying low, I caww like a crow and off they go and the dogs chase them off regularly.
Maybe my giant wrought Iron White bird on top of the grape arbor makes them think twice, too. Haven't had one land in the back yard since we put that up.

Muscovies just keep getting bigger, I doubt a Hawk could fly with my big boy, let alone get him off the ground. Now the girls, maybe, if it could get past the Drake. They evidently don't think they can get away with it. But my Buttercups are so tempting to them, but are likely to attack a hawk in mass. Wouldn't put it past them. I can just see a hawk trying to get away from 16-18 Buttercups. No wonder they don't try.

 

[jrsqlc]

within the last 3 weeks i have lost jumbo pekins, both my cayugas 4 muscovies, and a few BEI's taken by the hawks.

They took the whole BEI, but with the others they just ate their heads, neck, and some of the insides and left the rest for me to clean up

 

[MysticalMom]

A friend of mine who runs a muscovy duck rescue JUST showed me pictures and told me the story about a little hawk he is "rehabbing". He got this hurt hawk when he rescued it from underneath his muscovy drake who was giving it quite the stomping. Poor hawk will never fly again. And the muscovy drake was just fine.

 

[chickensioux]

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My calls, teals and mandies are totally enclosed (just lost a teal when I let them free range for a little while and I turned my back) My large ducks, geese and chickens freerange. When we move we will cover a very large area of an acre for all to be safe and freerange but for now I can't.

I have 5 dogs and I have not had a flea or tick problem at all for the past 3 years because of the ducks. But I don't like losing one to a hawk. It is a Coopers Hawk and not a very big one. BUT, they are powerful birds and I don't want it to even hurt or constantly frighten my ducks and chickens. I have had ducks and chickens for years and this is the first winter I have had this problem to this extent. I don't work (outside of the home) so luckily I am here alot and can keep an eye peeled for the booger.