Predator attacks after 2 years of peaceful chicken raising(warning GRAPHIC Photos)

[falconertomt]

Careful with fake owls and hawks. I have seen an RC "falcon" pull a bird in from a couple of miles away, it rolled in and attacked the RC plane. I threw this post up a little while ago:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...-to-prevent-the-hawk-owl-attack#post_12927786

Hawks and Falcons are covered by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, and it is illegal to kill them. You can apply for a depredation permit, but you need to prove that the raptors are causing significant financial loss to you. Your best bet is to enclose them in a pen. If that is not possible, there are several suggestions in the post above.

 

[poodlechicks]

A few years back ( I didn't have any chickens then ), there was a flock of wild turkeys that used to roam my property. I enjoyed watching them from a distance at dawn and dusk foraging for food. One day at dusk, I saw a great horned owl catch a tom and rip him apart. Even though I was far away, I started running toward them to try to save the tom. I know it was nature taking its course, but I had grown attached to those birds and couldn't bear seeing that tom being ripped apart like that. Well, the owl was pretty fast in killing and eating up that bird. There was nothing I could do and the owl didn't even flinch when it saw me getting closer. What was left looked pretty much like the picture you posted at the beginning of this thread. I think that tom was just too big for the owl to carry it away. Or perhaps it was a lazy one...
As for scaring predators away using fake owls, I have a funny story for you guys. I had my crocus flowers ripped apart by squirrels every season, so I decided to fight back and bought a fake owl with a rotating head and placed it closed to my plants. Well, the next day, I found one squirrel RIDING on the owls head! Then, he proceeded to eat up my crocus flowers!

I think that if you keep your chickens locked up in a very secure run, the hawk may leave them alone after a while to try to find an easier meal. But it is no guarantee it won't be coming back just to check and see if they are free ranging again. I would get a flock guardian to keep predators away. Great Pyrenees and Anatolian dogs make great ones, provided dog and owner are well trained.

Best of luck with your flock

 

[falconertomt]

@poodlechicks Im sorry about the flowers but that is funny. On a similar note, I have seen countless pigeons sitting on the head of fake owls.

During the fall and winter months raptors migrate, most of the attacks are perpetrated by these migrating birds. They will hang out in an area for a week maybe two and then move on, and another will likely take its place. In the Spring and Summer months, they will be mating and nesting, and will be permanent residents in the area.