Will a Hawk Attack a Goose?

[Enchanted Sunrise Farms]

Just had our first hawk scare at this house. Not sure what kind, but it was big, and sitting in a tree in our backyard. Our bantam chicken pens are completely covered and tarped from having a nasty storm the other day. But somehow they knew there was danger and they all were hiding in their coops. Our ducks wander the area around our back porch and have a lot of cover from the patio and overhanging trees. i did scoot them into a covered pen right away, though, until the hawk disappeared. Then our Sebastopol geese are in the back part of our property. i'm actually thinking the hawk was attracted by a small D'Anver hen that was in a pen towards the back. She was safe with hardware cloth all around, but very visible. Brought her back inside right away.

i guess my question would be if a hawk would try to attack a large goose. i have 7 outside now, all full grown, and they are usually all together in a pack. We also have 3 Nigerian Dwarf goats, but i'm sure a hawk wouldn't go near them.

 

[stevetone]

I have no experience with this, but I recently got a tour of a breeder's farm that had a lot of geese.

The pens were all open top, so I ask if there were any problems with overhead predators. They said that there are no overhead predators that would take on a mature goose. They are too big and too powerful.

Also, they raise such a ruckus at the least little thing that they make most alarm systems seem quiet..

 

[Buxton Ducks]

There are videos on youtube of raptors taking wild geese. However domestic geese are quite big and would most likely be too much effort for a wild bird to waste energy on. My sebastopols are great at warding off aerial predators and since I got them, I have had hawks watch the flock but not try anything "funny."

 

[Oregon Blues]

There is no 100% guarantee, but a goose is way beyond the size of hawk prey. Even chickens are beyond the range of all but a couple of the very largest hawks and those hawks aren't looking for anything goose size.

Eagles and Great Horned owls might possibly attempt a domestic goose, although they don't seem to be interested in trying. They might if they were hungry enough.

Geese are very vulnerable to predation, though. Don't think they are safe just because they are geese. Stray dogs kill geese and foxes love goose meat. Even small land predators like weasels can kill geese.

 

[AZCowboy]

Yes, A hawk will take down a goose anytime! Trust me.

 

[cgmccary]

Yes and no, I think it would depend upon the kind of hawk and kind of geese. A goose will attack a hawk too. I witnessed the other day my Toulouse geese almost got a Sharp-Shinned which had caught a small bird on the bird feeder. The geese were close and the Sharp-shinned was holdng onto a screaming bird which caused it to dip in flight as it struggled to keep its grip. The geese were right there close and came within a few inches of getting the small hawk.

 

[Haunted55]

I've had Redtails go after the geese. They never grabbed any but I was with them and was ready. They dived right at them though and I have read that hawks will try for larger prey by diving in and taking something down unawares by the force of their drop. Don't know if it's true and hope to never find out.

 

[Miss Lydia]

I came across this video of someones ducks on BYC it's very frightening to think a hawk or in this case a falcon could kill a goose but they can.

I couldn't watch it till the end.

Edited at poster's request.

 

[Enchanted Sunrise Farms]

Ack! Now i'm really worried. That video was so sad, Miss Lydia. The poor goose!

The hawk was back again this afternoon. i was outside and heard a crow going crazy. It chased it away from our yard. Thank you, Mr. Crow. i am guessing it was originally here for the D'Anver, who is now going to stay in the house a while. But we also have one standard hen and some ducks that wander during the day, around our patio. They do have cover, but less now that the trees are losing their leaves. Then the geese are in a very open area. i can keep the ducks and that one chicken penned during the day. But that won't work with the geese. They have a safe pen at night, but like to run around the yard during the day.

Not sure what to do. It's a very big hawk, not sure what kind.

 

[Enchanted Sunrise Farms]

It might be a Red Tail Hawk. It looked similar to this.