Keeping Chickens Free Range

[SmColorInDaPan]

I THINK I put up a picture of my Walker hound Nervously watching chicks wander around. She goes NUTS if something is nearby, Bless her. Yes, a good dog is worth their own weight, when it comes to chickens.

 

[Beekissed]

Mine are up there barking right now...been barking for the past several minutes, which is rare. The neighbor saw a big black bear on his game cam this past week, so I'm thinking he might be making a visit to our land tonight. Usually it's only big preds like bear or coyote that will get the dogs that riled.

 

[SmColorInDaPan]

Mine are up there barking right now...been barking for the past several minutes, which is rare. The neighbor saw a big black bear on his game cam this past week, so I'm thinking he might be making a visit to our land tonight. Usually it's only big preds like bear or coyote that will get the dogs that riled.

Boy, I'd be worried. One swipe from a bear and it's vet time...No bears around here but I Think foxes are all Over the place animals.
Good luck!

 

[Beekissed]

Boy, I'd be worried. One swipe from a bear and it's vet time...No bears around here but I Think foxes are all Over the place animals.
Good luck!

I'm not a bit worried...that's why I HAVE the dogs in the first place. Can't have dogs out there guarding livestock and then worry they might get hurt.

If they are smart, they don't engage with the predator, they just drive it off.

One of my dogs is part Anatolian, the other part of the mix are Maremma and Great Pyr....this is what they are like with bears:

The other dog has been working alone for the past 5 yrs and we've had bear and coyote here all that time....he's just a Choc. Lab/Border Collie mix but he's 100% hillbilly cur dog tough, so he's got no back down in him either. He's 10 now, so last year I added this LGD pup for training up and as a work partner.

Anatolians(aka Kangal) guard sheep and goat flocks over in Africa from cheetah and other big cats and have been known to kill wolves. They even play rough with lions and tigers..and win.

 

[islandgirl82]

My apologies for the graphic image but I would love some input on what type of predator got this wild turkey last night/early this morning. I found some primary feathers 150' or so away from the carcass but nothing in between. I'm not sure if she actually managed to get herself that far from the initial location of attack or if she was carried/dragged to the secondary location. I have what I believe to be a Red-Shouldered Hawk (much too large to be Red-Tailed) around that got one of my hens, my Call Duck drake and nearly got my female Call when it got into her run. I have stopped free-ranging for a while because it has been relentless in perching in the trees surrounding my coop and last week my daughter pointed out what looks to be a large nest that is directly above the coop though being so high up, I'm not sure if it's actually a nest or just debris that has collected there from the few branches above over the years and I just hadn't noticed it.





These images are of the possible nest - not clear but the best angle I am able to get.






There is a nature preserve across the road from me and I know there are other predators that live there including fox, coyotes, bear, raccoons, skunk, etc. There was a bear that wandered this way a few years ago but the neighborhood dogs scared it off and none of us have seen it since (at least not near our homes). The coyotes stick to the preserve but the fox runs down the road straight past here once in a while. There are dogs here and at nearly every surrounding house and having been run off by them, the fox passes through quickly without taking the time to see what's on the menu here though with the approach of winter, I'm still not ruling it out.

I am assuming the fox would have carried the turkey off and buried it in it's cache and knowing hawks will devour what they can't carry wherever they've killed their prey, I'm also assuming that's what got this girl but I could be completely wrong. The ribs were all broken off and scattered around the carcass if that helps with identification and to my knowledge, the resident dogs have not gotten into it.

 

[lazy gardener]

With ribs being broken off and scattered, I'd guess some sort of canine. You might try calling local county Ag. Extension office and asking who in the area is the best person to id. the predator based on site description and photo. I'm puzzled, especially since the body was left in a very local open space that is obviously habitated by humans. Wondering if pred was interrupted and left in a hurry. Please keep me up to date on what you find, as we're almost neighbors!!!

 

[islandgirl82]

Thanks for the suggestion and I will certainly let you know. I suppose it could have been the dogs next door but that would surprise me as they've had wild turkeys and Canada geese foraging all over their yard for years and the dogs have never gone after them. They've also protected my flock from predators and/or warned me of them. The primary feathers I found between their house and their garage and the carcass was midway from their house to mine between the driveway and tennis court and both sites are very open.

 

[islandgirl82]

I should also add, in case it's not visible in the photo, all the meat was gone so whatever it was had time to pick it clean. I didn't move it but at least one wing and one leg were also gone nor did I find them anywhere else.

 

[Leahs Mom]

These images are of the possible nest - not clear but the best angle I am able to get.

@islandgirl82

Sure looks like a nest from this perspective. Is there any way possible to get to where it is to remove it?

I'm also going to mention the "Bird Bangers" again to help scare the hawks away from your immediate area. They've been working amazingly around here this year. Normally I have TONS of hawk activity in the area at this time of year. I've been using them consistently whenever I see any since early spring and the activity in the area is notably less this fall. When they fly over they tend to keep going and not hang around this area or sit on the towers that are nearby... totally different from prior years.

 

[lazy gardener]

It could be a nest, or a witches broom.