The Poultry Keeper

Henwife · Joined: 31 Jan 2006 Posts: 3022 Location: Monmouthshire

Monday morning's bad enough without finding that one of only 2 Welbar x Barnebar pullets is being eaten alive by a buzzard. I hate having to wring necks in sight of the other birds too, but she was beyond saving.

CP · Posted: Tue Sep 11, 2007 10:58 am Post subject:

So sorry Henwife. Crying or Very sad

sasha.p · Joined: 04 Sep 2005 Posts: 472 Location: gwent

oh how awful sorry to hear what happened we get a lot of birds of prey by us not sure what they are as have never really looked too hard but they are pretty big probabley buzzards too i have always wondered if they would take any birds i know they would definatley take the chicks if they had half a chance as are always flying over our run or watching us i seen one the other day with a fully grown rat as i just pulled up outside the run to let my chooks out in the morning not sure where it took off from but as i stopped i saw it going up with somthing dangling then realized it had a tail guess its not so bad if they get the vermin but not our birds Sad

mojo · Posted: Tue Sep 11, 2007 9:17 pm Post subject:

i use kids plastic windmills on tall poles to put off buzzards and it seems to work.............move them about now and again

milkmaid · Joined: 19 Apr 2005 Posts: 6973 Location: isle of lewis

a freind who has hens and ducks is down to 7 birds
frist it was sea eagles they'll even take geese ,and she has also trapped 27 mink Shocked

Spana · Joined: 30 Apr 2005 Posts: 2074 Location: North Cornwall

In a way these things from the sky are the worse of the lot Sad

Had my fair share this year so know just how you are feeling Henwife. Not a lot we can do if you have a lot of open space. Ive never had to put a bird down tho, mine have been well and truely dead when found, all ducks. All the little white calls first, then went on to the apricots, but all with just the breast and neck picked really clean with no bone damage at all. Just about cleared out the whole lot Crying or Very sad

Welsh Duck · Posted: Wed Sep 12, 2007 9:12 pm Post subject:

I had something eat one of my Calls a couple of years ago-that was picked clean from the bones as well. I was so upset that I bought a net to cover the one pen. The other pens have too many trees.

mojo · Posted: Fri Sep 14, 2007 10:42 am Post subject:

those tapes that hum are used by local commercial duck breeders in a large open cris cross pattern to guard their ducklings over fields just a bamboo cane as supports in the field.....seems raptors dont like the noise

Henwife · Joined: 31 Jan 2006 Posts: 3022 Location: Monmouthshire

This particular buzzard has a brain. It sits up in an overhanging beech until the chicken have forgotten about it, then pounces. Until I can get the Forestry Commission to deal with the trees, I'm going to have to resort to hanging old CDs again. Humming tapes would drive me mad I fear, and netting I took down after I trapped a ratting owl.

tuzo2k · Joined: 09 Jun 2007 Posts: 179 Location: charente sw france

Had the same problem when in the UK. Buzzard took out Buff Orpington fully grown cock bird amongst others. It did have trouble with an Ixworth hen as the hen was too strong for the buzzard to hold down and the screaming of the Ixworth alerted me. Got there is time. I think we only had the one rogue buzzard but the Falconry Centre in Newent would not believe me when I said it was a buzzard and some people on TF also doubt that it was a buzzard, but I actually saw it. I had to hide in a chicken house (!!) to see it and work out its approach. It also killed several newly born lambs from a neighbouring farmer's field. It mysteriously disappeared after that. Had one suspect attack here in France - perhaps a buzzard not sure.

mojo · Posted: Tue Sep 18, 2007 6:36 am Post subject:

over here there are so very many guns and no concern about killing raptors...........so putting up cds/windmills and humming tapes is a good idea also anything that sparkles and flashes like those plastic cat bird scarers may help even tinsel strips on a tall bamboo pole...doesnt matter what it looks like if it works

Henwife · Joined: 31 Jan 2006 Posts: 3022 Location: Monmouthshire

It looks as though any thought of call ducks should be forgotton then. Bigger ducks seem to tempt the fox, tho' to be fair, I haven't kept them since I invested in electric netting, so not a complete no.

Henwife · Joined: 31 Jan 2006 Posts: 3022 Location: Monmouthshire

And again..... Obviously sat up there at dusk and got a 19 week Welbar pullet. I had wondered why the group that usually sleep in the big Forsham had all gone into the older house, but failed to notice the piles of feathers (and corpse) at the top of the run.
And OH suspects we may have had wild boar crunching the windfall aples last night from the grunting that went on too - I rather hope it was only deer as the other alternative is badgers.