Close call

[My2butterflies]

Little story.

The other day my husband and I were sitting by the pond just relaxing and chatting. I noticed a couple guineas fly in from the field, but that wasn’t too odd. I didn’t think much of it. My males are often chasing each other right now.
A moment later I see what I first thought was two more guineas flying in. Turned out to be one pearl guinea and a hawk that swooped down at it!
I jumped up and ran towards them calling my guinea that turned and flew/ran towards me. The hawk took off the moment it saw me coming. And thankfully my guinea got away with nothing more then a couple ruffled feathers. I thought I’d have a heart attack That’s the first time I’ve seen a hawk or any bird of prey swoop at my birds.
I see them fly low and slow over head often, but this was a heart pounding first.

The experience lead to a discussion between us about what size bird an eagle could carry off. Hawks and owls I suspect could only carry off with a standard size guinea, turkey hen, or chicken. Eagles I’m sure can take those plus the French guineas. That leaves the turkey Tom’s. I don’t think an eagle can carry a full grown Tom. My husband thinks they can.


Anyone know the answer?

 

[Stipenvlerk]

Little story.

The other day my husband and I were sitting by the pond just relaxing and chatting. I noticed a couple guineas fly in from the field, but that wasn’t too odd. I didn’t think much of it. My males are often chasing each other right now.
A moment later I see what I first thought was two more guineas flying in. Turned out to be one pearl guinea and a hawk that swooped down at it!
I jumped up and ran towards them calling my guinea that turned and flew/ran towards me. The hawk took off the moment it saw me coming. And thankfully my guinea got away with nothing more then a couple ruffled feathers. I thought I’d have a heart attack That’s the first time I’ve seen a hawk or any bird of prey swoop at my birds.
I see them fly low and slow over head often, but this was a heart pounding first.

The experience lead to a discussion between us about what size bird an eagle could carry off. Hawks and owls I suspect could only carry off with a standard size guinea, turkey hen, or chicken. Eagles I’m sure can take those plus the French guineas. That leaves the turkey Tom’s. I don’t think an eagle can carry a full grown Tom. My husband thinks they can.


Anyone know the answer?

Glad your Guinea escaped...

 

[red horse ranch]

I've seen video of an eagle attacking and killing a full grown antelope. The eagle can't fly off with it for sure but they will kill and eat prey that is much larger than the eagle. Not likely that they would fly off with a tom turkey but they could kill it if given the chance.

 

[Sydney65]

Survey says- 4-5 # in flight. More if they are just hopping around. But they also eat carion, so wouldn't necessarily need to fly away. We had one in a tree in our back yard a few months ago. She could see & hear the goons but I haven't removed winter shields yet so no way for her to get in. Last I heard she was in subdivision about 3 m up the way from here & folks were freaking out for their dogs, cats, etc.
I wonder who would win between an eagle and a turkey vulture..we have lots of those.

 

[Mixed flock enthusiast]

Little story.

The other day my husband and I were sitting by the pond just relaxing and chatting. I noticed a couple guineas fly in from the field, but that wasn’t too odd. I didn’t think much of it. My males are often chasing each other right now.
A moment later I see what I first thought was two more guineas flying in. Turned out to be one pearl guinea and a hawk that swooped down at it!
I jumped up and ran towards them calling my guinea that turned and flew/ran towards me. The hawk took off the moment it saw me coming. And thankfully my guinea got away with nothing more then a couple ruffled feathers. I thought I’d have a heart attack That’s the first time I’ve seen a hawk or any bird of prey swoop at my birds.
I see them fly low and slow over head often, but this was a heart pounding first.

The experience lead to a discussion between us about what size bird an eagle could carry off. Hawks and owls I suspect could only carry off with a standard size guinea, turkey hen, or chicken. Eagles I’m sure can take those plus the French guineas. That leaves the turkey Tom’s. I don’t think an eagle can carry a full grown Tom. My husband thinks they can.


Anyone know the answer?

Wow - too close! We’ve lost a duck and a guinea to a red tailed hawk, I think. The duck was a small mallard girl, probably 3 lb and was left in place. The guinea disappeared, but that might have been a scavenger removing the carcass at night. If a raptor can’t carry more than its own weight, then it would have to be a truly massive raptor to carry off a guinea or large fowl chicken.
http://hawksaloft.org/hawks-aloft-inc-2/frequently-asked-questions/

 

[My2butterflies]

4-5# is kinda what I was thinking.
Definitely too close for comfort. We’ve done pretty good the past two years. Only lost one young pullet to a bird of prey. This year looks like it could be a bad year for us. So many large birds around