A Buzzard ate my chicken!!!

[Evie91]

Had a call from my husband today whilst I was at work. Our dog walker had called him,as she arrived to collect the dog, she disturbed a buzzard who had killed and was eating one of my bantams!!!!
My collie dog shares a pen with the chucks,seems he was in his house at the time- poor dog is completely traumatised, he loves the chooks.
I'm very upset - chooks used to be free range until fox took one on Boxing Day and a second on New Years Day. They now stay in their run and I thought they were going to be safe!

GOing to to buy pea netting tomorrow so cover the top of the run - will be nightmare though as run is huge! Poor chickens are going to have to stay in a tiny pen (within the big pen) as this has a netted roof until I can get is sorted.
Has anyone else experienced this? Can't believe the buzzard was so bold!!!

 

[MotherOfChickens]

yeah, they'll take chickens-especially bantams. so will kites and I've had problems with a hen harrier. I only keep large fowl but am careful when I have growers. I've used bird netting for pens, its a pain to work with but effective. also making sure the chickens have cover-bushes or a built shelter they can run under. if they free range its a risk you take unfortunately.

 

[Evie91]

Thanks for the reply. I'm definately going to net the top, so hopefully that will stop it. Poor chooks - survived all the horrible rainy weather just to die as soon as the sun starts shining through!
The bantams (had three, now two), always went around together and snuggled up on the floor together in the coop. I have other bigger birds and a mean rooster, he tolerates me but attacks anyone else who goes in the run. I'm amazed that between him and the dog that the buzzard managed to kill and then sit eating the bantam in the run!!!

 

[MiJodsR2BlinkinTite]

So sorry to hear this OP. How awful.

I'm going to be controversial here and wish that the short-sighted, ill-informed townies, alias the RSPB, who oooohhh and aaaahhh and think its so flippin wonderful that these huge killer birds are proliferating in the countryside, could stop and think because unfortunately this is the sort of thing that's going to happen more and more.

Your poor little bantam; also lambs I guess, pet cats, small dogs, anything basically would be attractive enough to one of these killer birds. A local pigeon-racing chappie is tearing his hair out because he's got some very valuable racing birds and there have been a lot more of these birds of prey seen around here in the last few years Also they're a real headache to game breeders trying to rear their stock.

Plus the population of small-birds is decreasing............ these birds are horrible, they just decimate the small bird population. Yet the RSPB is buying up huge areas of the countryside and short-sightedly allowing these birds to proliferate. They're stuck away in their towns and simply don't care.

Sorry, didn't mean to interrupt, so sorry OP for what is a horrible thing to happen. Am unashamedly ranting.

 

[MotherOfChickens]

Your poor little bantam; also lambs I guess, pet cats, small dogs, anything basically would be attractive enough to one of these killer birds. A local pigeon-racing chappie is tearing his hair out because he's got some very valuable racing birds and there have been a lot more of these birds of prey seen around here in the last few years Also they're a real headache to game breeders trying to rear their stock.

unless you are talking sea eagles with lambs, then cats/dogs and most lf poultry are safe. Having free range poultry is a risk-I have feisty breeds and provide them with cover. My cocks saw off the hen harrier! I have never heard them make such a noise before. Watching the hen harrier cruise past is a privilege and I've not lost a chook to one yet. I like watching sparrow hawks too but keep my growers safe from them.
I personally like that buzzards have made a comeback and they are not the reason for the decimation of songbirds as that is not their prey-they hunt prey on the ground, not on the wing. Look to magpies, jays and domestic cats for the lack of songbirds (and for the songbirds lost down south, well they are up here in Scotland where we have shed loads of buzzards-and sparrow hawks).

 

[MotherOfChickens]

I'm amazed that between him and the dog that the buzzard managed to kill and then sit eating the bantam in the run!!!

you sure he killed it? it has been known by maybe the banty died of something else I am sorry, its a shame to lose any of them.

 

[Evie91]

Aaargh don't say that I have two cats!
The buzzard has been around for years - bit scary sometimes as when I've been walking in the woods I've glanced up and seen a dead rabbit with entrails trailing from a branch of a tree. It's not worried by people at all and has followed me around the garden before. It's swooped in front of my dad's car to take a wild rabbit off the lawn.
My dog is properly traumatised! He's a sensitive souls, loud noises scare him and I can't imagine the chick went quietly.
I'm so gutted I love the countryside and wildlife but just wish it would leave my pets alone!!!

 

[irishdraft]

Sorry for your bantam OP I get upset when the fox gets at my chickens but we have a lot of buzzards round here, saw 3 pairs above our place only the other day, my chickens are free range so out in the field, quite visible and i have never had a problem, yes they do take pigeons, we have a lot of those as well, but seriously dogs & cats I think not !

 

[Evie91]

I only saw them a few hours previously and all healthy and happy. I've seen the buzzard circling our house before, so whether it was eyeing them up, I'll never know.
Nothing could get into the coop other than by the open roof - it has ten foot walls on three sides and same height wire at the front. Dog house in one end and coop at the other - shared run in the middle.
The dog loves the chickens - he will herd them when the used to be out in the garden but in the pen watches them until he gets fed up and goes for a snooze in his house!

Husband says the chest of the bird was plucked and it looked like it was being eaten from its neck down

 

[MotherOfChickens]

sorry, fact of life that the domestic cat decimates indigenous wildlife-I like cats but if they are outside they are probably hunting to some extent-even if you never see it. Buzzards hunt prey on the ground and unfortunately bantams are small enough.


you could try: the roof netting-be careful if you have snow though as it collects quickly on it and gets very heavy: plastic birds of prey-owls etc that you can put on posts: the arial 'kite' type of fake bird of prey: hang old CDs up at regular intervals as a deterrent.

 

[Evie91]

I can't win - when the where free range (in the day, always bought themselves home of an evening) the fox ate two.
Now in a run - with less opportunities to hide (they used to spend a lot of time in the bushes) the buzzard gets them.
Love having chooks - but not sure hen keeping is my forte! It's very depressing - I pride myself on providing a good standard of care for all my animals - but some of my chooks have not even reached a year old

 

[Evie91]

The cats definately hunt - baby rabbits mostly They stay out of the coop though as don't like the rooster and the bantams are a bit big for them.
I like the sound of a fake bird as a deterrent. We do have owls too though so would like to choose something that wouldn't put them off. Any suggestions?
Will def get the net tomorrow, they will stay in until I have it - better one day in than dead!

 

[MotherOfChickens]

it is perfectly possible to keep chickens (especially bantams) in a run-with a top on, very well. I used to keep 8 lf in a large pen, made of panels with bird netting for a roof and electric tape around the run. I had foxes, stoats, buzzards and sparrow hawks-it to mention the damn crows and I never even lost an egg

the pen was moved weekly in the winter onto fresh grass, twice/three times weekly in the summer. They were allowed to free range when I was about. The pen had perches and shelters and were tall enough for them to fly a bit (I keep breeds that can fly a bit!). In the winter they get veg and hay to peck around in and sprouted grains. They lay and bred very well there. I have moved, they are currently free range and I expect its a matter of time before I lose one/some to predation.

I keep another breed penned and am getting bantams soon-they will also be penned. As long as your stocking density is realistic and they have perches/dust baths etc and enough space, they will be happy.

 

[Evie91]

Pen as total is about twelve metres by seven metres. I have one dog who goes in during the day, one rooster, three medium sized chickens and three (2 now) bantams. Their coop is a converted wooden Wendy house. They have straw to scratch in, a wood chip pit, did have a dust bath - but with all the rain it's all gone, various logs in assorted arrangements as perches, and old rabbit hutch and dustbin on its side as a shelter and another box with roof but no sides - bantams would often snuggle up in the dustbin - put straw in the bottom. The run did used to be grass but chucks have put paid to that, it's now bare mud but I throw straw on top.

 

[{97702}]

Errrm.....for those that don't know, buzzards are one of the laziest birds of prey around and mainly feed on carrion. It is a very rare buzzard that will make the effort to kill something, and I personally have never heard of one attacking a lamb, cat or dog - and there is no way a buzzard could catch a racing pigeon unless it was by complete accident!

They have been accused of killing lambs in the past, generally when something else has already killed the lamb and the buzzard is taking advantage by feeding on the remains.

I am hugely impressed that someone has had problems with a hen harrier as they are incredibly rare - the birds of prey most people will see are buzzards, kestrels or red kites nowadays, none of which would be interested in killing dogs, lambs, cats or even babies from prams

 

[Evie91]

Phew at least when my Shetland pony comes home it should be safe then!!

 

[Goldenstar]

I love buzzards and a pair nest in our woods .
The weather is better and they stopped by on Tuesday .
Our wood is in an old quarry it's deep and the tress tall .
It has rides through it between the piles of spoil .
The buzzards catch live rabbits by sitting on the branches of the trees and catching them as they cross the rides .
I know it's unusual for them to do this a lot and think it's a trick this pair have learnt .
They also take a lot of pigeons .

OP I am sorry about your chicken .

 

[hackneylass2]

'Your poor little bantam; also lambs I guess, pet cats, small dogs, anything basically would be attractive enough to one of these killer birds.'


Wow, talk about ill informed townies!

 

[Goldenstar]

'Your poor little bantam; also lambs I guess, pet cats, small dogs, anything basically would be attractive enough to one of these killer birds.'


Wow, talk about ill informed townies!

Buzzards are lazy and prefer carrion .
They will take dead ( or nearly dead lambs )
These no way they would be able to take a dog or cat unless it was badly hurt and unable to defend its self .
I don't think the local domestic pigeons are keen on them at all , and these no doubt they take a lot of pigeons in our wood .
They are exploiting the narrow rides and high quarry face its interesting to watch .
They use certain branches to wait obviously where the conditions to catch something are best.
If not thinking it's my right to persecute every wild bird whose behaviour does not quite fit in with what humans what to do makes me a townie ( odd as I have never lived in a town in the UK ) so be it.

 

[MotherOfChickens]

I am hugely impressed that someone has had problems with a hen harrier as they are incredibly rare - the birds of prey most people will see are buzzards, kestrels or red kites nowadays, none of which would be interested in killing dogs, lambs, cats or even babies from prams

one of the many advantages of living in rural Scotland-the birdlife is amazing. All of those birds I used to see as a child in East Anglia in the 70s, that disappeared in the 80s-well, they are all up here I was amazed to see the hen harrier-very cool.

I have heard of buzzards taking chickens-I don't think its outwith the realms of possibility but they've never bothered mine.

 

[YasandCrystal]

You could buy a bird of prey kite to fly off a pole - many farmers use them on newly sown fields. I have one I bought to use when we sow grass seed to keep pigeons away. They come in a variety of sizes and breeds of birds - like an owl or sparrowhawk.
I would imagine that would keep another prey bird away.

 

[FionaM12]

I'm going to be controversial here and wish that the short-sighted, ill-informed townies, alias the RSPB, who oooohhh and aaaahhh and think its so flippin wonderful that these huge killer birds are proliferating in the countryside, could stop and think because unfortunately this is the sort of thing that's going to happen more and more.

Your poor little bantam; also lambs I guess, pet cats, small dogs, anything basically would be attractive enough to one of these killer birds. A local pigeon-racing chappie is tearing his hair out because he's got some very valuable racing birds and there have been a lot more of these birds of prey seen around here in the last few years Also they're a real headache to game breeders trying to rear their stock.

Plus the population of small-birds is decreasing............ these birds are horrible, they just decimate the small bird population. Yet the RSPB is buying up huge areas of the countryside and short-sightedly allowing these birds to proliferate. They're stuck away in their towns and simply don't care.

This gets the prize as the most ignorant and stupid post I've seen for a while here.

Wow, talk about ill informed townies!

Quite.

 

[TrasaM]

MiJods.. 'Twas attitudes such as your's which led to the near extinction of so many of our wonderful birds of prey and scavengers/ carrion such as kites and buzzards and ravens. There is no excuse for this lack of enlightenment ..I'm being polite in this day and age.

 

[MotherOfChickens]

Also they're a real headache to game breeders trying to rear their stock.

Plus the population of small-birds is decreasing............ these birds are horrible, they just decimate the small bird population. Yet the RSPB is buying up huge areas of the countryside and short-sightedly allowing these birds to proliferate. They're stuck away in their towns and simply don't care.

.

now I'm going to be contentious. if game breeders gave a XXXX, they wouldnt intensively rear non-indigenous birds to then turn them out on masse-for many of them to perish simply because they can't cope with the elements. don't get me started on the game bird industry.

 

[Archangel]

I love buzzards (we have a lot round us) but I would be upset for the chicken too. Nature is all tooth and claw.

I found this sparrowhawk hanging from the netting inside my chicken run one morning. The young chickens were terrified and hiding in their house but the rough tough chickens, known as the Big Four were waiting underneath to take it apart.
I managed to persuade it to get on my hand (with riding glove on) and got it out of the run and it just sat there for ages before flying up on a telegraph pole.

 

[MotherOfChickens]

sparrowhawks are beautiful but I keep a roof over my young chickens because of them! I saw one take a wood pigeon right in front of me once, a grower would be no problem. They used to buzz by youngsters pens as well.

 

[jrp204]

We have loads of buzzards and up to a year ago had 3000 free range hens, we also have sheep and have never had a problem. We do have an issue with ravens and crows if a ewe gets on her back though.
Personally I think the decrease in small birds is more down to Magpies and Jays and around towns domestic cats.

 

[YasandCrystal]

Fab photo RR - we have sparrowhawks and buzzards nesting locally. I love watching the buzzards riding the thermals.

 

[jodie3]

We have lots of buzzards here and I love seeing and hearing them.

I lost my small call ducks to a sparrow hawk, I wouldn't have believed it except I saw the hawk trying to take on one of my big cockerels. I think he bit off more than he could chew with that one though!

It is sad but sadly the chooks are part of the food chain for the hawks and other animals so if we have them loose it is a price we have to pay.

I thought buzzards mainly ate carrion?

 

[JillA]

I was told buzzards are carrion feeders (by someone from a raptor sanctuary) so maybe the victim was already dead or dying? Nature has a way of clearing up waste.
Or are you 100% certain it was a buzzard and not another type of raptor? We have a family of buzzards nesting locally, they are regularly seen circling my house and the neighbourhood, and I have never ever heard of them killing, just eating carcases. In hard times I have seen them walking my fields looking for slugs and worms etc, and there are hens and rabbits aplenty so live prey if that was what they needed.