How can I tell a hawk in the sky?

[Notaneggspurt]

I seriously wish there was a drone fashioned in the silhouette of a hawk that I could buzz my chickens with a few times a day, get them in the habit of running from danger. If anybody knows of such a thing, post it.

You can use a card board cut out of a silhouette taped to the bottom of a drone. Use it on a sunny day to cast shadows. Areas high in pigeons and other "nuisance" birds have done this with noticeable success. Just don't over do it or there's a chance in over stressing them and quite literally having them scared by any shadow moving. Not fun in autumn with leaves falling or having them scared to go anywhere with moving shadows.

 

[HenOnAJuneBug]

Buzzards/vultures don't make sounds, rarely flap their wings and tend to hunt for dead animals in groups of two or more, but not always.

Hawks frequently make sort of screeching sounds; a red tail hawk's screech sounds different than a chicken hawk's screech. They will soar like buzzards looking for prey, but also will flap their wings in rapid succession frequently. They will hunt in pairs, but more often hunt solo.

 

[WthrLady]

Our volt of vultures is about 30 strong. They nest in the cavities of the dead trees in the part we adjoin. What's fun is when they sun themselves, wings out, as a group on the cattle fencing all in a row. Kind of a morbid drive home. You find yourself checking your own pulse.

 

[MissChick@dee]

Knowing wing shape & body shape along with the way they fly is the best way to educate yourself. From barn swallows to doves or buzzards to hawks. They are all different. We have buzzards that come every year from Mexico...it’s cool the way they circle before roosting at night. Quite a sight when you’ve got at least 50 in a flock. But Don’t park your truck under one of their favorite trees.

 

[MissChick@dee]

Our volt of vultures is about 30 strong. They nest in the cavities of the dead trees in the part we adjoin. What's fun is when they sun themselves, wings out, as a group on the cattle fencing all in a row. Kind of a morbid drive home. You find yourself checking your own pulse.

They call them volts??
Wanda know...I learn something new everyday

 

[Wendy Case]

I seriously wish there was a drone fashioned in the silhouette of a hawk that I could buzz my chickens with a few times a day, get them in the habit of running from danger. If anybody knows of such a thing, post it.

Here's one!

 

[Wendy Case]

Here's one!View attachment 1626650

 

[Wendy Case]

View attachment 1626652

View attachment 1626652

 

[Wendy Case]

I seriously wish there was a drone fashioned in the silhouette of a hawk that I could buzz my chickens with a few times a day, get them in the habit of running from danger. If anybody knows of such a thing, post it.

C

 

[Kris5902]

Lambs are pretty helpless. They can't do much about corvids. Chickens run and flap and squawk, they're a lot of effort to get at. Either way, corvids predating on things their size or larger is fairly rare, it's too much effort. If you see an entire mob of them watching your chickens, you might have cause for concern, but one flying overhead is no problem.

Vultures are scavengers, unless driven to be otherwise. In areas with a lot of farming, where all the dead animals are farm animals that are quickly disposed of, they don't have enough food and will resort to attacking live prey. They really aren't made for it, though- their beak and claws are weak. Black vultures in particular are the ones that more easily turn predator, and are known to kill weakened small animals, but unless they're especially hungry they won't go after a healthy chicken. They're smallish vultures with black feathers and greyish-black heads, and are often seen in groups. Turkey vultures are usually solitary unless gathered around a kill, are larger and have a hint of brown coloration, and have pink heads, and they're a lot less aggressive in all circumstances.

We have turkey vultures, an extremely large population of them. They are as big as the eagles and more likely to go after things here. I have watched our mobs of ravens attack and kill a full grown ewe that broke a leg before we could get the gun to her.

Occasionally we have flying goat kids when the eagles get really ambitious... but by no means would I describe the beaks and claws of those vultures as weak. During slaughter season, August through December everyone is well fed with the offal. And they can all clean up a whole deer in less than 2 hrs!

Just saying I wouldn’t discount some “scavengers” as predators as well, especially ones as smart as corvids (which I love!)