Feathers Everywhere - Mystery predator

[SarahGfa]

It could be a Coopers Hawk. We had one that made several failed attempts on my and my neighbors birds. We had one near miss that left a pile of feathers like your first picture, but no injury to my hen.

Verrrrry Interesting. I have seen several failed attempts by hawks but never with so many lost feathers. Maybe the last attempts were "near miss" also.

 

[ColtHandorf]

A Cooper’s isn’t large enough (or dumb enough) to take on a turkey. If a dog can get in the fence it’s probably that. Although surprising it hasn’t killed one. Run the cameras during the day for a week and see if you can catch a dog running through the yard.

 

[cmom]

I have several game cameras up on my property. Some are mounted on post that I can move around. If there is a predator lurking you should be able to capture it on a camera. You may want to invest in a camera where you can check on your phone or computer. You can get an alert sent to your phone or computer when the camera has been set off. My cameras are older ones so daily I make my rounds to check all of my cameras. I have been seeing a coyote lurking. I do have electric wires around my coops and pens and it knows they are there. Good luck...

 

[SarahGfa]

I have several game cameras up on my property. Some are mounted on post that I can move around. If there is a predator lurking you should be able to capture it on a camera. You may want to invest in a camera where you can check on your phone or computer. You can get an alert sent to your phone or computer when the camera has been set off. My cameras are older ones so daily I make my rounds to check all of my cameras. I have been seeing a coyote lurking. I do have electric wires around my coops and pens and it knows they are there. Good luck...
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Well I know I have bob cats lurking at night, but the attacks have been happening in daytime. The reason I can't run my cameras 24-7 is because the chickens running around the yard in the day time, and the cameras will be taking pictures non stop. How do you look at so many photos? There is literally not enough hours in the day for me to look at camera footage from multiple cameras 24-7.

 

[ColtHandorf]

Well I know I have bob cats lurking at night, but the attacks have been happening in daytime. The reason I can't run my cameras 24-7 is because the chickens running around the yard in the day time, and the cameras will be taking pictures non stop. How do you look at so many photos? There is literally not enough hours in the day for me to look at camera footage from multiple cameras 24-7.

Either you want to figure out what it is or you don't. Looking at footage of the cameras throughout the day is the best way to do that. Or sitting on your porch all day watching them. If you don't want to do it every day, clean up all the feathers and the next time you notice a pile, review the footage from that day. It should be fairly obvious by scanning the photos, you don't have to look at each one in detail, like some form of Chicken Criminal Minds. Normal chicken behavior is just that, normal. It won't stand out. When you see blurs and flapping look at those closer. Or literally, just scroll until you see a dog. You know your neighbors have them, so you know what they look like. I don't know of anyone with the power to divine what the issue is, so some effort is going to have to be put in on your part to determine why the feathers are appearing. Unless of course, you know a Navajo.

 

[SarahGfa]

Either you want to figure out what it is or you don't. Looking at footage of the cameras throughout the day is the best way to do that. Or sitting on your porch all day watching them. If you don't want to do it every day, clean up all the feathers and the next time you notice a pile, review the footage from that day. It should be fairly obvious by scanning the photos, you don't have to look at each one in detail, like some form of Chicken Criminal Minds. Normal chicken behavior is just that, normal. It won't stand out. When you see blurs and flapping look at those closer. Or literally, just scroll until you see a dog. You know your neighbors have them, so you know what they look like. I don't know of anyone with the power to divine what the issue is, so some effort is going to have to be put in on your part to determine why the feathers are appearing. Unless of course, you know a Navajo.

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Like I said before, I was looking for ideas so I can know where to put the cameras. If it is dogs, they would be coming from a different direction than the bob cats. The poultry yard is 1 acre with 4 coops and many trees and I already moved the cameras multiple times. I have already been looking at game cam photos for a month and I DO sit on the porch whenever I can, even when it is freezing outside, so there's no need to get snarky

 

[McChooky]

If you're try to prevent predator attacks you need to be recording day and night and reviewing the footage but if that is too time consuming just do as ColtHandorf suggested. Review the footage after the next incident. Where to put the cameras is determined by the layout of your property and where your chickens have been attacked in the past.

 

[SarahGfa]

If you're try to prevent predator attacks you need to be recording day and night and reviewing the footage but if that is too time consuming just do as ColtHandorf suggested. Review the footage after the next incident. Where to put the cameras is determined by the layout of your property and where your chickens have been attacked in the past.

I have game cameras.. They are NOT like a home security system. They are battery-operated cameras that save photos onto a plastic card, and then you remove the card and look at the photos one by one on a computer. If I could record everything day and night over the whole yard with a professional security camera, I would do that in the first place and not post here ever again.

Anywayyyyy I am close to thinking the attacker was a hawk... this guy is in the yard every day and my turkeys are TERRIFIED of him.

 

[McChooky]

I have game cameras.. They are NOT like a home security system. They are battery-operated cameras that save photos onto a plastic card, and then you remove the card and look at the photos one by one on a computer. If I could record everything day and night over the whole yard with a professional security camera, I would do that in the first place and not post here ever again.

Anywayyyyy I am close to thinking the attacker was a hawk... this guy is in the yard every day and my turkeys are TERRIFIED of him.
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Lock your chickens up a couple weeks is the surest way to prevent losses so they'll leave and hunt elsewhere.They'll teach their young to kill your chickens if they catch one. Under Federal law you aren't allowed to harass,trap or kill one even if it kills chickens. Good luck getting a permit.

 

[SarahGfa]

Lock your chickens up a couple weeks is the surest way to prevent losses so they'll leave and hunt elsewhere.They'll teach their young to kill your chickens if they catch one. Under Federal law you aren't allowed to harass,trap or kill one even if it kills chickens. Good luck getting a permit.

The hawks live here all year around. I'm NOT going to get a permit to kill a hawk. They are important for the ecosystem and this is their native habitat.