Guard bird for chickens?

[Isyovi]

We want to have a guard bird for our flock. We have brahma chicks around 5 weeks old so they can't go outside yet, we think two rosters and two pullets but we are going to get more pullets if that is the case. But we want to be prepared. We have around 3 buzzards and quite a lot of foxes in the neighbourhood, so we want them to be safe. My grandma really wants a peacock and i heard some neighbours with chickens also have them. The chickens have a big coop and they can go between the prune trees that we have so lots of insects go there. Does anyone have more ideas?

 

[The Moonshiner]

Ive never had issues with buzzards messing with my birds. Now foxes are another story.
Anyways any other bird besides maybe an emu or larger will do nothing more then provide a fox a larger meal.
They won't provide any protection.

 

[Wolfefarmyard]

I agree with everything @The Moonshiner said! I would never expect or rely on another bird “protecting” them.

 

[PatriciafromCO]

in the first years of doing birds my strongest bravest defenders were not birds in the flock that deterred the wild bird predators they were the ones that sacrificed themselves to distract and allow the other birds to get away. Bless my Guinea Hens for their consistent bravery and courage they not only alarm, but run out in front.. <3 Adding (we have guardian dogs now )..

 

[cmom]

You will loose birds if you let them roam. Many predators lurk looking for an opportunity to take a bird and often times you won't even see them. The best protection is a good sturdy pen or some type of enclosure. I have lost too many birds to predators over the years and with each loss I have beefed up their protection. I have electric wire around the coops and pens, heavy duty netting covering the pens, concrete under the gates and in some places welded wire buried under and attached to the bottom of the fence. As others have said, some birds will sound an alarm but still get killed by a predator. Good luck...

 

[cmom]

Ive never had issues with buzzards messing with my birds. Now foxes are another story.
Anyways any other bird besides maybe an emu or larger will do nothing more then provide a fox a larger meal.
They won't provide any protection.

I agree. We have a lot of buzzards around here. I see them every day flying overhead but they have not bothered my birds even when I used to let the birds free range. Foxes are another story. A fox took my most special bird one day even though I was out working on the coops. She was dust bathing in one of the garden beds when the fox took her during the middle of the day. I still blame myself for not putting her back in her pen. I knew it was a risk but I never thought a predator would come around while I was out there. Good luck...

 

[nao57]

Well...the most economical scenario would be a guard goose.

This has specific rules and conditions that you have to setup though in order for it to work. Like you have to train them while young (I think? I haven't done it myself) to grow up among what you want them to guard.

But this would be an interesting scenario. You wouldn't have to buy ANY food, just let it eat the grass!

It would take time to grow it up.

I'd heard occasionally geese try to mount ducks, so maybe a female might work better?

A number of people have told me some (but not all (?)) pekins will have a guard alarm trait. (Not sure how this works? Does it have to be the main duck, etc?). This is interesting.

I wouldn't do guineas because people say they quite literally never shut up the entire day and will make you and your neighbors insane. But some people say they are great and how valuable they are. (That sounds like a great way to get people to show up on your front door angry.) I guess it depends on how far away your neighbors are.

 

[Wolfefarmyard]

Well...the most economical scenario would be a guard goose.

This has specific rules and conditions that you have to setup though in order for it to work. Like you have to train them while young (I think? I haven't done it myself) to grow up among what you want them to guard.

But this would be an interesting scenario. You wouldn't have to buy ANY food, just let it eat the grass!

It would take time to grow it up.

I'd heard occasionally geese try to mount ducks, so maybe a female might work better?

A number of people have told me some (but not all (?)) pekins will have a guard alarm trait. (Not sure how this works? Does it have to be the main duck, etc?). This is interesting.

I wouldn't do guineas because people say they quite literally never shut up the entire day and will make you and your neighbors insane. But some people say they are great and how valuable they are. (That sounds like a great way to get people to show up on your front door angry.) I guess it depends on how far away your neighbors are.

The thing is that with a goose they can’t actually guard them but rather sound an alarm, and are easily picked off by predators as well.

Also geese don’t always get a long with chickens.

 

[PatriciafromCO]

The thing is that with a goose they can’t actually guard them but rather sound an alarm, and are easily picked off by predators as well.

Also geese don’t always get a long with chickens.

agree,, a goose may be territorial of their own area, but not bonded to the chickens to engage protecting them.

 

[The Moonshiner]

Ya I had geese that were raised with my chickens and they could care less if a predator went after a chicken.
I believe once a goose tossed a chicken out of the bushes to be taken.
It's true some don't get along together. Ive had a lot of different types of poultry together and I think it could of been hazardous if they didn't have such a large area.
My geese and peacock didn't care for any of the others. Male ducks sometimes cause chickens grief but won't go into that detail.
Guineas cause everyone issues at times.
I've had turkeys kill chickens.
The only protective creatures ive had were dogs and even with three ive had foxes take birds.
They don't call them sly for no reason. They can get in and out in a hurry and quiet enough that dogs didn't notice.