Turkey vultures acting strange!

[OccamsTazer]

Has anyone heard of Turkey vultures taking chickens?
I have lost a few birds over the past several months. They always dissapear mysteriously, no blood, no nothin'
I heard Godzilla shouting his "Halt! Who goes there!" a minute ago, and I ran outside to find two enormous Turkey vultures IN MY YARD. They were just sitting on a couple dead trees, watching the chooks. They were about 20 feet up in the tree, close enough to clearly see that they were Turkey and not Black vultures. They didn't fly away when I went out there, which was odd to me. Everything about their behavior was "off".
I grabbed the shotgun and took a stab at killing one, but our shotgun kicks like a mule and I'm both flabby and out of practice. (shame, shame on me!)
Think these guys have been my mysterious bird thieves? I would have to be pushed pretty stinkin' far to kill a hawk or eagle, but vultures are dime a dozen around here. For the record, I'm a hardcore environmentalist and conservation is my passion. So if you're interested in yelling at me for trying to kill The Thief, please spare me.
Anyone had similar experiences?

 

[theFox]

In the United States of America, the vulture receives legal protection under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918

 

[redhen]

yup..happend here.

 

[Andi]

I'm a tree hugger myself, mostly anyway. If the turkey vulture population is out of control, something needs to get it back in check. I wonder if your DNR has plans for thinning.

My first reaction is that I don't see them taking any chickens out. They are scavengers, which you know. I'm wondering if the carcasses of the missing birds are somewhere near by and that's why they are hanging out. They aren't dumb birds. They know you can't reach them in the trees. That's probably why they stayed put. Besides, if they had a good vantage point of a meal they probably weren't too interested in getting out of the soup line. Especially if vulture numbers are up. I'm guessing a young owl or hawk has been taking the chickens and not getting very far and loosing a grip on them.

Best of luck in getting things figured out.

 

[redhen]

One tried to take out my silkie... Thankfully she got away... hubby saw it fly off from the yard..where the attack happend. There were feathers scatterd everywhere..we thought she was dead for sure... we searched all the surrounding woods...thinking when it took off, it had carried her away..... but she was just hiding..she came back by nightfall...She did have missing feathers and a puncture wound on her chest though....

 

[Andi]

Wow. Good to know. I didn't know they were protected or that they would actively take out a chicken. I suppose if they are hungry enough they sometimes need to do a bit of hunting. I can see chickens being easy pickins.

 

[OccamsTazer]

Thanks for the reply, Andi, more info is always good

However, I'm doubtful about the owl. Chooks here are cooped at night, small pen in the daytime and they only free-range in the midafternoon for a couple hours while someone is home. But I suppose if there are insomniac humans, there could be diurnal owls

They *could* be after a carcass, but we haven't lost a bird in quite awhile, and we never find the carcass when we do lose one. I use my little Beaglie mix to help us when we have to dead-hen hunt, and she's never found anything but a stray couple feathers.

Also, these birds were in "eat mode". I don't know how else to describe it, but they definitely weren't shoe-shopping, know what I mean?

 

[SilverPhoenix]

I think it would be fairly unusual for a turkey vulture to go after a live chicken, but it is possible. Their beaks could do some damage because they're designed to tear flesh, but their legs are nothing like a hawk's, and are therefore fairly useless for making a kill. Overall, they aren't very well-equipped to kill anything, and would likely have a hard time doing so. (This comes from a wildlife rehabber, by the way--I've actually handled and released a turkey vulture before and seen them VERY up-close.) I highly, highly doubt they could even carry a bird off, unless it was very small and they could carry it with their beak--their feet just aren't designed for picking anything up, and they're really more like a turkey's legs than anything else.

I think Andi's theory that they're waiting for another bird of prey to make a kill is probable. They probably know something is picking off the chickens, and they're waiting for the leftovers. I wouldn't be too worried about them making a kill themselves, unless you actually see them attacking a chicken.

 

[redhen]

Quote:
It didnt carry off my silkie... she was just hiding after the attack...
just wanted to clear that up...

good thing that they arent good at killing...maybe thats how she survived... but it was working on her..( i know this because of the missing breast feathers and wound to her chest..) thankfully it took off when my hubby went running out there...

 

[SilverPhoenix]

Quote:
It didnt carry off my silkie... she was just hiding after the attack...
just wanted to clear that up...

good thing that they arent good at killing...maybe thats how she survived... but it was working on her..( i know this because of the missing breast feathers and wound to her chest..) thankfully it took off when my hubby went running out there...

Oh, no, I figured that!

I just wanted to say overall that turkey vultures can't carry anything with their feet, because it's just not made for that!

That turkey vulture that tried to kill your silkie must have been desperate for food or something. I'm so glad she made it, though.