I know now what killed my bird. What next?

[cmom]

The one on the nest box has a snake.

 

[RosemaryDuck]

Problem is hunting, trapping and shooting predators is about the only way you'll stop them

Red Tailed Hawks, as well as other birds of prey are protected under the Migratory Bird Act.

It is also illegal to hunt, trap, or kill them and they are federally protected. It is a federal crime to kill them and you can be fined several thousand dollars or jailed for doing so.

https://legalbeagle.com/8621183-laws-redtailed-hawks.html

https://www.fws.gov/birds/policies-and-regulations/laws-legislations/migratory-bird-treaty-act.php

 

[BigBlueHen53]

I never thought of that. Huh. I wonder if black birds have a higher survival rate in free ranging flocks than others.

Unfortunately, I have not a single black bird in the bunch. I had intended to keep one cock from my bunch of d'anvers, but given that both have major faults that disqualify them in quality from showing I think it's irresponsible to let them have access to my hens, and on top of that they're like... 600gram birds as adults. Not exactly a rooster that can pull a punch. I think I'd need a brahma rooster, except I don't want brahmas, I want a glorious flock of barbu d'anvers. I hope they tolerate confinement well... I can tell that they enjoy foraging a great deal but they're just so small and vulnerable.

Honestly, the hubs is taking a new position at a different company that's going to push our income to the next level and I'm hoping to ditch this banana stand in a year or so. Somewhere bigger so I can get really serious about my goals and dreams of raising beautiful show belgians.

Belgian horses? Ooohhh. Pictures, pictures, pictures please!

 

[McChooky]

Red Tailed Hawks, as well as other birds of prey are protected under the Migratory Bird Act.

It is also illegal to hunt, trap, or kill them and they are federally protected. It is a federal crime to kill them and you can be fined several thousand dollars or jailed for doing so.

https://legalbeagle.com/8621183-laws-redtailed-hawks.html

https://www.fws.gov/birds/policies-and-regulations/laws-legislations/migratory-bird-treaty-act.php

I have a lot of friends who raise chickens.Some of them raise a big garden too. Most of them try to keep a young flock of good layers by buying chicks every spring because they lose a lot to predators. They eat any extra roosters or old hens that don't lay. Some of them hunt and fish too. They control the population of predators to give their flock a better chance of surviving because they free range (I don't)They lose about 10-12 chickens a year to predators. Most people don't kill Owls or Hawks & realize free ranging comes at a price.I have no desire to hunt or kill predators and keep mine in a good coop and secure run.

 

[cmom]

I do the same thing.

 

[_Moon_]

Hawks aren't afraid of other birds, they just put up with them. Watching a bluejay act up on top of a platform bird feeder, that was six feet off the ground, one morning got really interesting. While I was watching the Jay showboat there was a blur and a sudden plume of blue feather drifting to the ground where the Jay had been standing. Following the blur I identified it as a large red tail hawk with something hanging out of its talons. Pretty sure it was mister showboat. A blink of the eye and it was over.

edit: oops quoted the wrong post ... Meant to quote SarahLad

Blue Jays and Crows are territorial birds. In their terriotory they will have a nest they both use year round. Blue Jays and Crows are VERY protective of their nest. One time I was walking under a tree and next I know it, Blue Jay in my hair . But anyway Hawk flys over territory,just low enough to make them mad, and BOOM gets bullied. lol.

 

[Aclurk]

We have hawks and bald eagles, unfortunately my girls and boy are serving life confined to their run. I have been thinking of building a playpen so to speak out of 1x2s and chicken wire (4 sides and a roof), but they’d still need supervision.

 

[helgaruss69]

I have a murder of crows that patrol my property. Problem is that they also patrol many other properties. I make sure to feed the crows every day. We have A LOT of hawks in the area. My roosters free range throughout the day and they keep an eye on the sky to alert for a mere butterfly or anything that moves in the sky. They tend to freak out anytime they see a hawk so I'm assuming they know their predators. Do you have a rooster? They won't always alert and I believe they rarely protect, but there are some amazing roosters out there. Sadly, everything likes a chicken meal, so short of keeping them up in a secure coop and run, I'm not sure that anything is 100%

Edited to add: Another helpful tip, make sure you have a lot of low things for the birds to hide under. Shrubs and bushes, leaning shelter (secured so they don't get crushed), etc just things they can easily and quickly hide under

Heather you and Sarah Ladd might also a goose to the flock. It is my understanding that the gander is more protective. I have 5 and they alert to everything.

 

[yaldnif]

When I saw crows harass a hawk away from my chickens and run it completely off, a lightbulb went off in my head: what I needed was a flock of resident crows. Or barring that, a flock of black chickens that look like crows! So that spring I ordered Black Australorp chickens. It seems to have paid off: my 8 BA hens free-ranging with my EE and Brown Leghorn hens apparently look enough like a flock of big black crows on guard that I have not seen or heard a hawk in a year. I will always have BA hens in my flock now!

I also have had only black australorps and hawks have left them alone .. so far. Ive seen hawks sitting on the fencing looking down at them before but I still run out there yelling lol. Mine have a coop inside a covered run but are let out into adjoining fenced areas (no top.) I do run strands of green twine / rope from top of fence to a couple of t posts in those areas to also deter flying predators. I know it’s not fool proof but has worked for 7 years so far.

 

[Luv Ducks]

I have 13 ducks. The pen is up next to my house with strong netting over several dog kennels that also have netting surrounding them to keep sparrows out of the pen. It is a large area with different houses in it and even a pet cazebo with a strong top on it. I have predator protector lights on each side of the pen that I bought online that are solar powered and flash red all night long. I let them out into a dog run area that is grassy for an hour a day and they always keep one eye on the sky. If anything scares them they run back into their pen. We have a lot of red tail hawks but I have never lost any of them and some are pretty small as seven of them are Mallards. The rest are Rouens and a couple of young but very large Muscovy ducks. Keeping them in a covered pen is the only way I know to prevent loss from predators in the air. Good luck with whatever you decide to do.