Mitigating hawk attacks

[biophiliac]

I have seen the same darn redtail nearly every day around 1-2pm soaring in my neighborhood, including over my house. Just stinks!

Maybe it has a nest nearby?

 

[Jrose]

I finally decided last spring to open the pigeon run- just a small pigeon-sized opening on one end- and let the birds fly and enjoy the season. They stayed home, mostly hung out on top of the run, ate with the poultry, and put themselves to bed each night. Went great for the first month or so. Then I think a hawk figured out what I was doing. 5 of my adults went missing in 5 days, so everyone went back on lockdown. I'm not inclined to think they simply flew away, 3 of the 5 were born and raised in that pen, and weren't breeding age yet. Here's to hoping they just wandered off, but I'm pretty sure they got snatched...

I like the idea of letting them out just before dark. However, I recently lost 2 pigeons to a great horned owl who was apparently dive-bombing the chicken wire roof. Once it managed to grab a pigeon by the head through the wire, which killed the bird, but the owl had to leave the pigeon in the pen, obviously it couldn't extract it. The second time I found the owl INSIDE the pigeon pen. She'd hit the wire so hard she split the seam and toppled in I guess! One pigeon was slashed and poked full of holes and died quickly. The owl never did get a meal. I released her and re-fortified the parted fence. Which will be replaced with woven wire soon.

My point being, owls like pigeons too, so dusk still seems dangerous. My pigeons also seem to love spending most of their time on the ground foraging. They're very slow to take-off and totally predator-dumb. I've settled for spacious outdoor flying runs. I'm not sure I'll have the gall to let them out again, surely I will start losing my pigeons! :s

 

[LamarshFish]

Maybe it has a nest nearby?

I'd imagine it surely does. I think their breeding season is around February, and may just now be coming to an end. Maybe this one has a nest and is feeding babies, who knows. I wish they would just go away!

 

[LamarshFish]

One time when I was out trapping ferals, I got a few ferals in my trap and all of the sudden a redtail swooped down and landed on top of my trap and spent several minutes trying to figure out why it couldn't get the birds. This sealed my opinion that, while they might prefer four-legged ground critters like squirrels, they will certainly dive bomb an unassuming fast flying bird like a pigeon.

 

[ZeeAviatrix]

Just lost my beautiful one year old Wyandotte rooster to a hawk. He was so good at looking after the ladies. I miss him crowing. So sad. My understanding is that hawk attacks are the worst in the Spring. Roscoe was killed on March 21, 2018 - the first day of Spring.

 

[biophiliac]

Just lost my beautiful one year old Wyandotte rooster to a hawk. He was so good at looking after the ladies. I miss him crowing. So sad. My understanding is that hawk attacks are the worst in the Spring. Roscoe was killed on March 21, 2018 - the first day of Spring.

Sorry for your loss.
RIP Roscoe.

 

[wcbpolish]

One time when I was out trapping ferals,

I don't do pigeons... just happened upon this thread... but why would one trap ferals? To remove them and prevent them breeding with your stock? To prevent disease transmission?
Also, how easy is it to trap feral pigeons? We have some around the barn that I don't really want around. I understand that the traps are like a funnel in a cage?

 

[Hopperkiller]

Redtails set up year round territories for hunting and nesting. They will attack chickens and other birds but definitely a rodent specialist. The pigeon racers in this area do fly their birds but unsure of their system. Three species of dove abound in this area as do owls, sharp shinned, and swainsons hawks, but a large population of redtails. Dont know much that can be done to protect pigeons flying free. You may lose a small perentage .Good luck.

 

[LamarshFish]

Just lost my beautiful one year old Wyandotte rooster to a hawk. He was so good at looking after the ladies. I miss him crowing. So sad. My understanding is that hawk attacks are the worst in the Spring. Roscoe was killed on March 21, 2018 - the first day of Spring.

RIP Rosco. Must have been one ballsy hawk to go after a rooster. Did he have his spurs in tact?

 

[LamarshFish]

I don't do pigeons... just happened upon this thread... but why would one trap ferals? To remove them and prevent them breeding with your stock? To prevent disease transmission?
Also, how easy is it to trap feral pigeons? We have some around the barn that I don't really want around. I understand that the traps are like a funnel in a cage?

I trap them to use for dog training. No harm is done to them, they are used in remote traps that simply release the pigeon when I press a button, then they fly home. I do the training within a mile or so of where I trap them.

You can buy pigeon traps online for around $40-60. They have one way doors, and you simply bait them. Another way to remove them if you can reach them is to simply go in at night to their roost. If you're not up to humanely killing them or eating them, you'd have to drive them 50+ miles away to reduce the likelihood they return to your barn.