Humm, a hawk?

[BeakSanctuary]

I've been really lucky until now, but today a pile of white feather this morning maybe 30 feet from where one of my Whilte Holland turkeys was perching on an 8' chain link fence when I locked up whover would go inside the coop last night.

SO - since white cochins are accounted for, I think it was that turkey that got attacked and virtually reduced to a few blood-tipped feathers. Darn! I thought hawks would pick only on small birds or that my birds could evade them if they were outside.

Think a hawk would do that to a 3-month turkey? Overnight? I read chickenannie's comment of pile of feathers = hawk. i can't imagine a fox talking my turkey down from the fence - unless it came down overnight for something on the ground.

So, it's a pretty morning here and everyone was loving the pond near the feathers that's full of water and ice after the floods we had in vA, but those feathers take a lot of the joy of the day away.

 

[sunnydee]

Sorry to hear of your loss. I am not sure what could of gotten her. I am lucky enough to not of had a problem with predators so far..

I hope you can figure out what it was to prevent it from happening again!

 

[BeakSanctuary]

Thanks, sunnydee. Glad it hasn't happened to you.

This makes me wonder more about my feeling that I've been seeing fewer of my chickens, too, though never have found any bodies or evidence until now. This time of year is a whir to me, just opening pen in the morning and closing at dark after work except for the weekends.

 

[ibpboo]

I'm not sure how big a 3 month turkey is, but a hawk once went after my full grown barred rock. Lucky it missed first try, and the hen ran under a tree. My son heard all the commotion and ran out, the hawk flew away, but there were feathers around, and the hen was unharmed.

 

[BeakSanctuary]

Well, the one I haven't see today is pretty good-sized, or was. I read where they can probably carry off only half their weight - so this would be have been quite a steal if it occurred that way. Not sure how much these younger turkeys weigh, but they are bigger now than my chickens.

Glad in you situation, there were only featers. Wouldn't I be happy if it turned out the feather do not point to a dead/missing bird, but so far I think they do as there were probably 50-100 feathers there.

 

[sandypaws]

#1 hawks can only carry 1.5-2 lbs at the most(1/3 their body weight). they would NOT be able to lift away anything larger than that
#2 hawk do not hunt at night
#3 owls hunt at night BUT the chicken/turk would just disappear...
#4 YES foxs and coyotes, bobcats and MTlions CAN climb and jump

 

[BeakSanctuary]

I guess it would be bad enough if "a fox" scared the turkey off his/her perch on the top of the fence - and yes, there are foxes in the neighborhood, so maybe that's it. Thanks for the clarification on night hunting and what a hawk and owl can do.

Probably a fox... and the geese were upset about something last night as well, never knew what it was, but maybe they knew something was hanging around when I closed up the pen. I believed that anything on the fence would be safe - silly me.

 

[sandypaws]

also..as a fox was trying to kill the turkey.. it would leave feathers everywhere...
not like a cat.. usually a cat will grab kill and carry off pretty cleanly..
foxes and coyotes tend to be a bit more "messy"''
and domestic dogs usually just kill for fun and kill several and leave the bodies

 

[BeakSanctuary]

Great information. As I was putting everyone inside the fence tonight and those into the coop that will go sleep in there these days, I realized how leaving my big wheelbarrow right next to the gate the turkeys like to perch upon could have contributed to the crime scene.

Here's how it was and how it might have been (crime scene analysis): white turkey was perching not upon the tall part of the gate last night which has a bar, but on the bare top wire. If it got tired of that, I believe it might have flown down to sit on the handles of the wheel barrow below, which is outside the fence and only a couple of feet off the ground (obviously). From there, it would be very easy prey. So, tonight I put the wheelbarrow inside the fence to keep anyone else from getting the same bright idea to perch on it.

 

[deerman]

Great Horn Owl, had one take a full grown peacock. He could not carry it away, saw him setting over the body at dawn.

Hawks dont hunt at night, maybe a coon, foxs can climb but most dont.

My guess Owl or Coon. Either will return