Does anyone use a bird banger pistol?

[otis7]

I ordered one online after my beloved rooster was killed by a hawk. My anger is bubbling over this hawk. He comes back everyday and watches us (hens are locked down now, and have been since). No matter what I throw him, how much I scream, he doesn't care and just watches. I'm hoping this gun will give him a piece of my mind, I ordered the screamer sirens.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

I never heard of them. I use bottle rockets. The bang up where they are is more effective than a bang on the ground.

Also my roosters have been a big defense.

Sorry about your rooster but he did his job. Hopefully you have some fertile eggs from him and can raise some of his sons. What breed was he?

 

[otis7]

He was a large bantom barred rock, we like to believe he was a hero. he was an awesome rooster, always responsive and friendly towards us, gentle with his hens, protective and alert. We love him even more because he saved his girls. After the attack it took us over two hours in the pouring rain to find them all, they were so well hidden i nearly stepped on one. We miss him so much, it's been so lonely here without his crow. Funny thing is we got him thinking he was a hen, and we were distraught thinking we would have to get rid of him due to the neighbors. Well, we fell in love, the neighbors loved him, and we couldn't imagine life with out him. Thankfully, we do have some eggs in our home made incubator, I just posted a thread about it in the incubation forum. It isn't going well, but we do have one egg that continues to develop.

 

[otis7]

http://www.reedjoseph.com/pyrotechnics.htm

 

[ChickenCanoe]

He was a large bantom barred rock, we like to believe he was a hero. he was an awesome rooster, always responsive and friendly towards us, gentle with his hens, protective and alert. We love him even more because he saved his girls. After the attack it took us over two hours in the pouring rain to find them all, they were so well hidden i nearly stepped on one. We miss him so much, it's been so lonely here without his crow. Funny thing is we got him thinking he was a hen, and we were distraught thinking we would have to get rid of him due to the neighbors. Well, we fell in love, the neighbors loved him, and we couldn't imagine life with out him. Thankfully, we do have some eggs in our home made incubator, I just posted a thread about it in the incubation forum. It isn't going well, but we do have one egg that continues to develop.

What a loss. Hopefully that one will be a boy.
It amazes me (and my neighbors) that the roosters aren't that loud. We can't hear them when we're inside the house.
I've never had bantams, a few bantam size jaerhons, but that's it.
I only have Black Penedesenca roosters now. They're not huge but a LF, DP Mediterranean breed. Strong and athletic. I've actually witnessed one taking a hawk down. I keep one with each flock. When they spot a hawk, they send the hens for cover and each stands at attention facing the threat in the middle of their respective pastures and pens.

http://www.reedjoseph.com/pyrotechnics.htm

Thanks for the link. We have a lot of people around here with hawk issues.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Continue to collect eggs. They can be fertile for up to a month after the last mating. A hen is unique among warm blooded animals as she can store sperm at body temperature for a very long time.
That's the way they evolved, the rooster gives himself up for the flock and the hens go off and brood some more replacement roosters.

 

[otis7]

Up to a month? I thought it was only 7 days, wow! If things aren't successful maybe I'll put a few aside! Because he was a bantam, he only successfully mated with our red hen, he tried with the others, and it may have worked, but he was on her every morning... I would love t learn more about those roosters if our eggs aren't successful! They sound amazing!

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Even if bred by a new rooster, the original roosters stuff will still be in the sperm storage glands. So one needs to wait about 3 weeks to be relatively sure the chicks are from the new rooster.
The red hen was probably his favorite but I'm sure he didn't leave the others alone either.
I would open an egg from each now and check to see if they are fertile. Then you'll know which hen/s he mated. If they're fertile today, I would collect them from those hens for the next 10 days and set them.

 

[foamyownsyou]

I being a licensed falconer in the state of California own a red tail any raptor if given the opportunity will go after a chicken or other bird you are keeping but the best way to solve that is not to take matters into your own hands and shoot the bird because you can be fined up to $25000 and spend 5 years in jail and its just plain messed up so the best way to deter raptors it's to put a cover over your chicken pens also accept your are going to lose birds but the non leathel idea is really great

 

[otis7]

Would never shoot a hawk, or any animal for that matter!