The Old Folks Home

[hennible]

Good stuff

 

[perchie.girl]

Well, we had our first loss to a predator, or possibly two. Then neighbor just rang the door, asking if it's a dead chicken in the front yard. Looks like Viiru has been mauled, and something ate all of her innards. Luckily it looks like she went quickly. Veera is still missing, I took the dog with me looking for her around the house, but couldn't find her, and it's getting too dark to see anything. Either she's hiding somewhere, or then she's been taken too. It's a shame. I think it was a hawk, that's the only thing I've seen around here, and to my untrained eye it looks like that's what dined on the carcass.

More likely a weasel type critter..... Mink or Ermine...? Do you have them? I know you have Fox. But the smaller predators go for the guts first.

A hawk would have to be a big one to get far with it.... Here a Red tailed Hawk could carry one to a place where it could dine without interruption...

deb

 

[perchie.girl]

Here's a picture, I'll post it with the spoiler tag since not everyone wants to see this. Any thoughts on what it was? My guess is, as stated earlier, a hawk.

If thats all that was left.... it was a hawk.... they pluck their prey as they go....

deb

 

[perchie.girl]

Oh and for what its worth a dog would have chased and killed and chased and killed.... I lost four hens to an adopted dog in the city and thats what he did.... once the birds were dead it was no more fun...

deb

 

[vehve]

Well poop then. Hopefully the hawk was just passing through then. We'll have to keep a close eye on the chickens for a while. We did have the hawk visit us a couple months back, but he was left without a dinner that time. That was what we refer to as a chicken hawk, pretty similar to a Coopers hawk.

 

[perchie.girl]

OK I did some reserch on predators in Finland....

http://www.outdoors.fi/hikinginfinland/whattosee/wildlife/predators/Pages/Default.aspx

You have Lynxes.... They are wide spread throughout the country. Larger than a bob cat And completely capable of carrying off a chicken. and you would never have seen one.

here bobcats are harder to see than Mountain lions... You could stare either one in the face and not know it was there.


Lynx compared to bobcat


I lost thirty chickens to bobcat here.

deb

 

[Alaskan]

I vote for dog over raptor..... But maybe different raptors have different dining styles, and that is why we all have different opinions on the matter?

I have only had large raptors kill my chickens and they like to eat the guts, and though there are usually a big splat of feathers from the initial take down, I think that THAT many feathers, and delicious guts still inside equals dog. Also, the main wound seams to be from the side, my raptors usually open them up from the belly.

Anyway, enough gruesome-ness. for @vehve because that is a horrid loss, especially since you have so few chickens.

And super for the TRULY gorgeous coop from @Peep_Show!!

..... I liked the gueses as to what a Christmas card from my family would look like anyone else wanna guess? @drumstick diva it was a hoot reading that you thought I am a cross between Martha and Norman Rockwall.

So, a halloween picture...not family, but one kid.

 

[hennible]

Awe Alaskan he has your smile

 

[vehve]

Deb, lynxes aren't that common this close to Helsinki. A fox, or "raccoon dog" (Nyctereutes procyonoides) would be more easily found here.

Alaskan, our chicken hawks have a wingspan of about 36-40 inches, think that's enough? I think it had started from the abdomen, but I didn't study it that closely. It was a bit dark. No need to be sensitive about it on my behalf, I'm pretty clinical about these kind of things.

 

[vehve]

Alaskan, I think you should limit your kid's use of self tanner, he looks a bit orange.