Vultures stalking my chickens and ducks

[1digchicks]

Ive had those black headed buzzards nearly wipe out my chickens. If they are just vultures, your fine. Buzzards, lock them up.

I agree better safe than sorry we forget that they are wild animals.

 

[llombardo]

I think they wait on something to come up dead but if that isn't happening and they are hungry, then I think they may kill a bird, it's survival.

 

[Hytekrednek]

I just lost my 2 ducks from my yard. One vanished all together, the other was all torn up and half gone. My chickens are fine. I was not sure what did it, but now I think it was a buzzard. I keep seeing one flying over my yard and looking for 30 mins or so. My chickens run and hide. They have not been acting right for 3 days now, I guess because they are being stalked?
If the chance is presented, I will protect my birds. Any tips?
By the way, new member here. I have 2 grown, and 9 young/growing chickens in our yard. Had 2 ducks but...

 

[Rammy]

I just lost my 2 ducks from my yard. One vanished all together, the other was all torn up and half gone. My chickens are fine. I was not sure what did it, but now I think it was a buzzard. I keep seeing one flying over my yard and looking for 30 mins or so. My chickens run and hide. They have not been acting right for 3 days now, I guess because they are being stalked?
If the chance is presented, I will protect my birds. Any tips?
By the way, new member here. I have 2 grown, and 9 young/growing chickens in our yard. Had 2 ducks but...

If you have a covered run, keep them locked up. I lost 14 hens to those little bleepers.

 

[cmom]

They are scavengers. Vultures are only interested in food items that do not move, run away or fight back. So if you have a dead or near dead chicken in the yard or a dead or dying critter in your area, this will attract the vulture. But turkey vultures do not take healthy running chickens the way a hawk or other birds of prey will. They’ll spend hours soaring, relying on their acute sense of smell and eyesight to detect the decomposing carcasses of possums, coons and other roadkill primarily.

 

[cmom]

I suggest put a game camera up and see what other predators may be roaming. You may be surprised. If there have been recent kills, the predator will be back.

 

[Irving the tortoise]

Thanks, I am sure they are vultures. They are about 3 feet tall and have the characteristic flat head, black coloring, hooked beak.

They have spotted something dead, you may not be able to smell it but they can and they are waiting till it is safe to go in for dinner.

They are not after your birds of course someone is going to come on here and tell you different but i have delt with these birds all my life and not one time have they gone after my live birds but they do alert me when flying over constantly that i have a dead critter or bird somewhere so i can find it before it gets to smelly and my dogs find it.

Turkey volture dove right next to me and carried off a duckling. Got to the one story roof top and proceeded to tear the live bird apart. That is only one episode. They scope the skies from sun up to sun down waiting for any LIVE small creature. They are turkey voltures

 

[Salt springs chick]

Turkey volture dove right next to me and carried off a duckling. Got to the one story roof top and proceeded to tear the live bird apart. That is only one episode. They scope the skies from sun up to sun down waiting for any LIVE small creature. They are turkey voltures

I agree that turkey vultures are killing live chickens and I caught one in my chicken pen yesterday