Most dangerous time for chickens & ducks?

[DucksGeeseHeart]

Where I live it's mid-summer in a 4-season climate. The locale is mostly residential, with yards, ponds, bushes, woods. I've shepherded geese and duck flocks through the winter & spring, to have them run or fly toward me whenever they see me. Now the geese have left this home for better pastures, and the ducks have congregated in the smallest pond. Yesterday I fed them near some underbrush beside a busy road, where they were happily sitting on the grass. Today they would not some out of the water at all. When I went to their yesterday's resting place, it was littered with feathers. Many of them are in various stages of growing their flight feathers, but the amount I saw on the ground seemed to me too many to have been dropped in their molting stage.

I suspect one of their number was met by a predator - either in the night or early this morning.

I read the FB posts about foxes residing close to human residences in order to raise their young. Have not seen foxes here but they might be here?

A Facebook friend said she saw a chicken hawk land on her coop. Another said she lost two chickens recently to a night predator; the remaining flock were badly injured.

So I'm thinking this must be the time of year the predators (hawks? - foxes?) have begun finding the chickens and waterfowl. It's true the ducks will stay afraid through the fall and winter, judging from my experience with them last year. The ducks will be reluctant to come out of the water, etc. It's only this time that I've seen evidence of a possible demise - the litter of feathers. And wondering what sort of creature it may have been.

(There was never such evidence over the winter. I could never see, then, what it was they were so afraid of. Save for a single dive from an adolescent falcon who had no hope of scoring a duck dinner - they were much too quick. His fare since has been only the occasional pigeon).

Just some musings. Feel free to chime in if you've had experience with predators in the eastern states.

 

[JRies]

Im sorry if Im misunderstanding but I think your talking about wild birds not domestic. If so this has been a rought year for all migrating wild waterfowl. Even wild birds geese and ducks are family/flock oriented and may have lost family to Avian Influenza. The less interaction a wild bird has with a human is a good thing. It keeps them migrating. moving forward and teaching there flock and specious to survive. Please dont take me wrong but look up HPAI avian influenza. Thay have had alot to deal with this year

 

[DucksGeeseHeart]

Im sorry if Im misunderstanding but I think your talking about wild birds not domestic. If so this has been a rought year for all migrating wild waterfowl. Even wild birds geese and ducks are family/flock oriented and may have lost family to Avian Influenza. The less interaction a wild bird has with a human is a good thing. It keeps them migrating. moving forward and teaching there flock and specious to survive. Please dont take me wrong but look up HPAI avian influenza. Thay have had alot to deal with this year

Oh yes, thank you - yes, they are not domestic but these birds nest and raise their young here every year. The geese family have moved on, but there are ducks remaining to complete their molt. I was mainly wondering what type of predator is getting them spooked this time of year, and thought it was something the owners of domestic fowl in eastern/southeastern states might have some input to.

We have not seen deaths or diminishment of the flock such as would be seen with avian flu, nor signs of it in the rest of the bird population. We worried about it last year, and those with bird feeders took them down then; but we never saw any signs.

 

[JRies]

Oh yes, thank you - yes, they are not domestic but these birds nest and raise their young here every year. The geese family have moved on, but there are ducks remaining to complete their molt. I was mainly wondering what type of predator is getting them spooked this time of year, and thought it was something the owners of domestic fowl in eastern/southeastern states might have some input to.

We have not seen deaths or diminishment of the flock such as would be seen with avian flu, nor signs of it in the rest of the bird population. We worried about it last year, and those with bird feeders took them down then; but we never saw any signs.

Your in Florida so many predictors some indigenous some not. More than what I see in Colorado. So probably not the same issues here which are Owls Hawks eagles bears coyotes fox mountain lions racoons rattlers sure I missed a few.. I love that you watch the birds there amazing. So not sure what has been getting them. Wish I could be more help
But most migration patterns for birds are changing due to the difference in weather patterns. I live overlooking lowere lathem resivore and just min. from a place called pelican lake. We have been a huge place for migrating water birds. This year driving to work I saw crains, snow geese, geese, ducks but not one pelican.

 

[DucksGeeseHeart]

Your in Florida so many predictors some indigenous some not. More than what I see in Colorado. So probably not the same issues here which are Owls Hawks eagles bears coyotes fox mountain lions racoons rattlers sure I missed a few.. I love that you watch the birds there amazing. So not sure what has been getting them. Wish I could be more help
But most migration patterns for birds are changing due to the difference in weather patterns. I live overlooking lowere lathem resivore and just min. from a place called pelican lake. We have been a huge place for migrating water birds. This year driving to work I saw crains, snow geese, geese, ducks but not one pelican.

Wow thanks - that's really interesting about the migration patterns changing and you're not seeing pelicans. I read an article today about lobsters disappearing from Maine because of the waters getting too warm.

I did a google search to try to answer my question and it looks like the threat to mature birds at this time of year in my area (western Virginia) is raptors. In particular the red-tailed hawk, northern harrier, and great horned owl. There were a bunch of threads from this group that turned up in the search too - about hawks and duck-attacks.

I didn't think we had those type hawks here, but my research confirms we do. I've seen other types but not this one. Possibly it becomes more active at this time of year? Same with the GH Owl - I've heard hooting at night when I lived in a slightly different part of the area, but if it is a GHO, it had not been a threat at other times of year. These ones hunt only at night. So if there's been a night-time attack, this is the likely suspect.

 

[DucksGeeseHeart]

What I found with a bit of research (google search):

It looks like the threat to mature mallards at this time of year in my area (western Virginia) is raptors. In particular the red-tailed hawk, northern harrier, and great horned owl. There were a bunch of threads from this group that turned up in the search too - about hawks and duck-attacks.

I didn't think we had those type hawks here, but my research confirms we do. I've seen other types but not this one. Possibly it becomes more active at this time of year? Same with the GH Owl - I've heard hooting at night when I lived in a slightly different part of the area, but if it is a GHO, it had not been a threat at other times of year. These ones hunt only at night. So if there's been a night-time attack, this is the likely suspect.

These are some of the threads from this group that my search turned up. May be of interest to duck and chicken owners:

Can a red shouldered hawk kill a mallard duck?​

https://www.backyardchickens.com › threads › can-a-re...

Apr 4, 2020 — Redtail Hawks will decimate a chicken, duck, etc. They're avid and accomplished hunters. Raccoons will only get your chickens if you don;t ...
Can a hawk pick up a full grown duck? | BackYard Chickens
Mar 10, 2011
URGENT: DUCK ATTACKED BY HAWK | BackYard Chickens
Nov 28, 2012
Ducks and Hawks? - Learn How to Raise Chickens
Mar 3, 2015
do birds of prey kill full grown ducks? | BackYard Chickens
May 14, 2011
More results from www.backyardchickens.com

 

[JRies]

What I found with a bit of research (google search):

It looks like the threat to mature mallards at this time of year in my area (western Virginia) is raptors. In particular the red-tailed hawk, northern harrier, and great horned owl. There were a bunch of threads from this group that turned up in the search too - about hawks and duck-attacks.

I didn't think we had those type hawks here, but my research confirms we do. I've seen other types but not this one. Possibly it becomes more active at this time of year? Same with the GH Owl - I've heard hooting at night when I lived in a slightly different part of the area, but if it is a GHO, it had not been a threat at other times of year. These ones hunt only at night. So if there's been a night-time attack, this is the likely suspect.

These are some of the threads from this group that my search turned up. May be of interest to duck and chicken owners:

Can a red shouldered hawk kill a mallard duck?​

https://www.backyardchickens.com › threads › can-a-re...

Apr 4, 2020 — Redtail Hawks will decimate a chicken, duck, etc. They're avid and accomplished hunters. Raccoons will only get your chickens if you don;t ...
Can a hawk pick up a full grown duck? | BackYard Chickens
Mar 10, 2011
URGENT: DUCK ATTACKED BY HAWK | BackYard Chickens
Nov 28, 2012
Ducks and Hawks? - Learn How to Raise Chickens
Mar 3, 2015
do birds of prey kill full grown ducks? | BackYard Chickens
May 14, 2011
More results from www.backyardchickens.com

Your on a roll western Virginia makes allot of sense for prey birds. I have at lest 10 or more red tail hawks circle the house every day. My geese are huge my ducks have cover. I know when one is circling the boys all call there girls. And all the heads watch. But my geese have a 4 foot+ wing spread and the hawks are looking for something a little smaller. Great Horn owls only come out after my birds are put away for the night but I do here them. in WV you have another goodie the opossum, weasel ect. who love to pray on ground nests. Just keep in mind the birds will adapt but that usually means they will move there nesting area.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Here Hawks are a big threat and also Eagles. Night time all manner of predators are around.

 

[Goosebaby]

Your in Florida so many predictors some indigenous some not. More than what I see in Colorado. So probably not the same issues here which are Owls Hawks eagles bears coyotes fox mountain lions racoons rattlers sure I missed a few.. I love that you watch the birds there amazing. So not sure what has been getting them. Wish I could be more help
But most migration patterns for birds are changing due to the difference in weather patterns. I live overlooking lowere lathem resivore and just min. from a place called pelican lake. We have been a huge place for migrating water birds. This year driving to work I saw crains, snow geese, geese, ducks but not one pelican.

I’m in California/ Northern Sierras, and every year in May the American white pelicans fly over the house heading east away from their winter habitat in the valley. I’m lucky that I’m right on the migration path that I can spot them every year.

This year they set out earlier than usual, around mid April. Typically I’ll see 3 to 5 larger flocks “10 - 20 birds” every other year, this year I saw only three smaller flocks numbering 10 and under, and towards the middle of May I saw two small groups actually flying west back towards the valley, most likely deciding to head for the coast.

We didn’t have bird flu reported over the winter so the only cause I can think of is the drought the state has been expieriencing. We also have had more land disappearing due to becoming housing developments in the valley. If other animals like predators were displaced into the remaining wildlife areas that could be another issue.

 

[Goosebaby]

Also I know the rice farmers, and farmers in general have been struggling because of the drought, they’ve been planting less crops because of water restrictions, and there’s less waste grain and rice paddies for the wildlife.