No kidding. I've said before how amazing it is that I don't have predator issues living here surrounded by forest. I had a large chick, fully feathered, disappear last week. The other day the chickens all screeched and ran inside the garage and wouldn't come out for quite awhile. I was just standing by the barn watching them eat their morning scratch and saw a huge eagle swoop down over the garage, toward the barn and then into the trees along the edge of the yard. It was within 100' of me so there was no mistaking it. I've not seen eagles here before.
Just had my first ever sighting landing of a pred. Was a sizable chicken hawk and landed on corner post of pen itself to look at birds huddled in corner. My pen is open to sky and 2000 sq ft, but I have a large, ever-present crow population. Thought I was safe, but that day the crows were nowhere to be seen. It flew off when we opened door and came out. Shotgun is now loaded and at back door of garage for return engagement. Next one will likely have toxic metal poisoning problem! have heard that criss-crossing pen with polypropylene twine is good deterrent as hawks like to do a 'swoop & grab' if possible.
Eagles & hawks are a protected species and it is illegal to shoot them without special permission. Hawkproof your pen.
When my daughter was 2 she was playing in her sandbox when a huge eagle swooped down like it was going to try to carry her away. Scared the life out of me. The eagle obviously mistook her for something smaller because she was leaned over playing in the dirt. When she sat up suddenly, the eagle mid-swoop veered off sharply and almost flew into a tree trunk. You never saw such a surprised eagle in your life. My daughter was never even aware of what had happened. I laughed my fool head off. Fishing line strung over you run is helpful at deterring airborne predation, as are CD's strung around. I do not recommend shooting raptors as it is a federal offense and will land you in a heap of trouble. Raptors are also frequently microchipped so they can be tracked during migration. Good luck.
I let my birds freerange all day and they roost in the barn at night. I don't even have a run. I'm very close to the fish hatchery and we're at the end of salmon season. Maybe he'll move on when the fish are gone?...or look for chicken instead?
Quote:You can get a dog to stay with your chickens. Mine scare off the hawks. Do you have dogs that are well behaved with your chickens? an already trained great pyranese will do well too. They're not hard to find. Just contact a GP rescue and they will fit a good match for you
We have hawks and crows around all the time and never a problem. This guy though..I'm thinking might have more balls than the crows and hawks. There's enough cover for the chickens to be safe for the most part.
