Glad to hear that
@Shadrach. Are raptors protected in Spain the way they are here? We have Owls, Hawks and Bald Eagles here. We can't do a thing if they go after our fowl. DH asked me what would I do if one got tangled up in my run netting and I said I'd call the dept of conservation and tell them to come get their stupid bird before I turned my stupider roosters loose on him. They might be evenly matched with the hawk hung up in a net and maybe the hawk would learn a lesson and not come back...y'know. All the other hawks would be making fun of it.
It's an interesting question here. It's quite complicated. There are Spanish laws/regulations and there are Catalan versions. Catalonia is a semi autonomous region in Spain.
I also live in a National Park which further complicates things.
You are not allowed to trap or harass the wildlife here including the Goshawk which is the problem hawk here; there are others.
However, being farm land at the time they drew the boundaries of the National Park you are allowed to protect your livestock.
There are breeds here that have learn't to avoid the hawks. The Black Minorcans, the free range Catalana del Pratt, Feyumies, Barnvelders and the pairs of a number of game bird enthusiasts to name a few. The breeds here have been here a long time on these mountains.
I am definitely a new boy in both experience and time spent.
I've treated over 40 chickens here for various injuries from predator strikes in the last ten years.
Many years ago a bantam hen here hatched eggs that had been fertilized by a Marans rooster.
It was an unusual occurrence.
The bantams have survived pretty well considering. They will take to the trees and this helps keep them in one piece. The cross breeds although larger than the bantams have also developed better predator awareness. The Marans are too big for free range keeping with the type of predators we have here. They are not good fliers.
The truth is, and it's got me into considerable trouble here on BYC at times, is I don't expect everyone who leaves their coop in the morning to come back at night. Every day I get the same head count is a good day and I breath a sigh of relief. The bad days are still bad; time hasn't made them feel any better for me. I can't speak for the chickens.
I have killed a couple of predators here caught in the act. I notified the Park Wardens and on each occasion they've not been critical.
I like the wildlife here and most goes about it's business without killing many chickens. The weasels here are rather cute and fortunately with chickens able to run, or even take off, which hang around in groups with roosters, the oppertunities for ambush are limited and the weasel doesn't have the weight ot strenth to stop a moving chicken unless it is very small. I get a weael attack every couple of weeks on average and to the best of my knowledge they have only ever killes one hen who was small and had health problems.
I get a hawk attack about every month if not more often. The cover here is very good in a lot of places. The chickens make it to cover, they live.
There are two main problems with the Goshawk. It can fly through woodland at a cracking pace and is as silent as a mouse.
The goshawk here hunts by impact. They don't try to scoop the prey up, they hammer it into the ground. They will then try to drag their prey to a more concealed location to eat. It's often the internal injuries from the hawks impact that kill the chicken. I'm often there in time to scare the hawk off but it's after the strike. I've had hawks here drag a chicken 5 or 6 metres, by the time I've got to the strike site.
So, in order to make this a safer place I would have to shoot every hawk I saw. After the strike it's a bit pointless.
It's especially bad when someone is seeking help. Maybe I am just too judgmental.
