Official BYC Poll: The Worst Predator

[Farming Feathers]

Dogs and hawks are my problem. shot at the dogs and they do not come back for awhile, but the hawks are a big problem in the winter. No leaves on the trees, so i leave them up in the run.

The words are correct to conditions here and at the time my girl vanished...that hawk has been hunting this property since.

This hawk that now hunts my property line on a daily bases hunts with skill, by flying about 20 feet off the ground making sharp hard tuns and landing in the trees across the road to watch the lot.

Now I fear for the resident cat who won't accept our offer to come in and join the household and avoid the cold temperatures...she too weights about 6 lbs.

 

[RainForestBird]

All of our casualties have been to an opossum.

You can order coyote pelts on Ebay. I got mine from a trapper and it was unprocessed, meaning it was uncleaned and the fur was not conditioned. I since had it conditioned and processed (for a tribal event) and it came out looking pretty, but I wish I had left it unprocessed because if you hang it up near your coop it is supposed to deter coyotes, I saw this in a documentary about sheepherding in Mongolia. My dogs were even freaked out by it. If you leave it unprocessed you should not store it in your house because it may be infested with parasites which won't hurt your chickens because they eat them. I moved from Washington to a totally different climate and now, instead of raccoons, I'm dealing with coyotes and great horned owls. There is an owl that comes to roost on the telephone wire that hangs over my chicken/ duck area. I have thrown cans of cat food at him and bottles but he keeps coming back. I need something that owls hate. Any suggestions? So far, no casualties, but I've been careful to gather every last bird and I check the coop latches nightly. I have Night Guard lights pointed at all 4 directions and still have my electrical fence, but I don't think it would help me in this regard because he is coming from above. I thought about avian netting but I'd have to get a lot of it. Any suggested brands? My yard is well lit at night with flood lights and a coop light for all 7 of my coops/duck houses.

 

[Farming Feathers]

RainForestBird, Your farm animals are not night forging and concerns would occur at dusk or dawn...The Great Horned Owl is fearsome and would attack some of your animals mentioned (Ducks and Chickens) if the animal is small enough

but like all birds including hawks and eagles they must have an angle of attack and exit with enough clearance to spread wings to break speed and lift not hitting obstacles trees or branches.

These birds will not under normal circumstances risk their lives or ability to hunt with damaged feathers to risk a cluttered angle of attack or exit...if you can sting light weight cord even kite string in a web pattern much like the black widow spider (not spiral) not leaving any more than two foot gap anywhere in that maze over your chicken run or open coop...

If your birds are free range and don't stay in a run area the owl a night hunter by habit does take prey if hungry during day hours, but not by normal traits.

Stay calm and try not to loose your rest it seems you have take all possible means to prevent any attacks and sometimes look into the habits of the animal to see can your turn what he must do to hunt and live into a risk... as they usually won't take that risk if it is high...unless they are starving. Then you must decide how to deal with the animal...Laws protect some like the Great Horned Owl.

From a tribe communicate with the elders some may offer suggestions of wisdom.

 

[ARpullet]

I had two African geese and one did not come home Saturday. Not sure but think the neighbors Lab got him. Not sure what to do with the hen as she needs to graze and I hate to turn her out. Any suggestions?

 

[RainForestBird]

Ha ha I am an elder but hasn't helped me much! I've been raising chickens for 30 years (before it was hip), but when you move to a different climate, there's a breaking in period especially for the poor animals. Its a nice looking owl and he interacts with me, crouching down and moving from side to side. i think it must be a young inexperienced one because he sits there staring at my call ducks like a kid at a bakery window.

RainForestBird, Your farm animals are not night forging and concerns would occur at dusk or dawn...The Great Horned Owl is fearsome and would attack some of your animals mentioned (Ducks and Chickens) if the animal is small enough

but like all birds including hawks and eagles they must have an angle of attack and exit with enough clearance to spread wings to break speed and lift not hitting obstacles trees or branches.

These birds will not under normal circumstances risk their lives or ability to hunt with damaged feathers to risk a cluttered angle of attack or exit...if you can sting light weight cord even kite string in a web pattern much like the black widow spider (not spiral) not leaving any more than two foot gap anywhere in that maze over your chicken run or open coop...

If your birds are free range and don't stay in a run area the owl a night hunter by habit does take prey if hungry during day hours, but not by normal traits.

Stay calm and try not to loose your rest it seems you have take all possible means to prevent any attacks and sometimes look into the habits of the animal to see can your turn what he must do to hunt and live into a risk... as they usually won't take that risk if it is high...unless they are starving. Then you must decide how to deal with the animal...Laws protect some like the Great Horned Owl.

From a tribe communicate with the elders some may offer suggestions of wisdom.

 

[Farming Feathers]

RainForest,hope the web of stings can be of help as I have nothing else to suggest.

ArPullet I don't have any suggestions to offer beyond my sympathy for your loss and hope you find the comfort from it was not both of your birds.

 

[Blooms&Brood]

So far (knock on wood) I haven't lost any of my chickens but the predators are plenty since our small property butts up to +400 acres of CRP. We use a closed coop and "free range" in a large fenced backyard. We keep a live trap within 50ft of the coop. Have caught feral cats,opossum, and groundhog. We have a pair of Great Horned Owls that roost in our neighbor's dead tree. I've seen various hawks and falcons, and one in particular nearly clipped my right shoulder in an attempt to grab a pullet. Weather changes bring on this type of behavior. I'm learning to leave the girls locked up on "weird weather days."

I'm raising a rescue pup along side my chicks. Having one dog out of two that doesn't lick its lips at chicken helps keep the other dog in line.

 

[Boonie Stomper]

Humans have to be the worst IMO due to the factory farming. The sheer volume of birds raised and culled without ever having any semblance to what could be considered better than poor quality of life for them.
Onthe other hand hawks can predate as a team effort and kill birds twice their size...

 

[Boonie Stomper]

Cat was not on the list. I lost a ton of birds, chickens and ducks (full grown) to feral cats.

Have you caught cat in the act? Cat has been prime suspect here as well but never any proof whodunnit as there nothing but feathers left and no tracks or more than one kind of prints nearby (collusion maybe?)

 

[Sietse]

Foxes are a big problem where I hope that if I keep them at night in they won’t get killed but who knows what can happen in the day