A Buzzard ate my chicken!!!

[Evie91]

Definately a buzzard - think we have a nesting pair, they've been about for years and the dog walker saw it fly off. I've not seen other birds of prey in the garden, only owls. Don't know if they don't mix.They def catch and eat rabbits, I've seen them.
Will try netting the roof and getting a pretend bird of prey - knowing my luck that will attract all of the single birds!!

 

[debsandpets]

Having kept and worked with BoP I find it unlikely that a buzzard killed your Banty. They are quite possibly one of the laziest BoP about and actually prefer to take road kill, worms, frogs etc as they obviously don't run or move fast !!!
On the other hand, was it actually a buzzard or possibly a misidentified (and IMO a more likely killer) an escaped BoP (Harris Hawk, Red-tail etc - both of which are very prolific in the wild now due to uneducated owner/handlers flying them at the wrong weights and consequent escape to freedom). Both these birds are very adept at hunting and killing, my Harris hawk used to take rabbit, pheasant, geese, ducks etc (for the table not for waste) with ease. They are slightly larger (and more aggressive in their kills) and to me would be a more likely suspect ........

Regardless, very sorry for the loss of your Banty hen and feel your pain. My HH actually caught one of my hens in the garden when she was younger - amazingly didn't do any damage to the hen (thankfully).

 

[hackneylass2]

Goldenstar,

I was quoting Mijodsrtooblinkintight's ill informed post.

It was just tooo ridiculous to think that a buzzard could kill or make off with a cat, lamb..or similar. Hence my rather sarcastic comment. and of course the 'country v townie thing' drives me nuts.

I'm on the side of our persecuted raptors!

 

[Alexart]

Made me laugh - 'killer birds eating cats, dogs and lambs' - what kind of buzzards are living in your area and where are they getting their steroids from!!! We have one at the mo who wanders about after our horses picking worms out of the hoof prints or even steals the chicken food and worms in the hen pen much to the chooks annoyance as they chase her away!! Having had several injured buzzards in the house over the years it's very obvious they just aren't armed for taking out live prey, except maybe the largest of females and even then it would be a rarity, their talons and feet are smaller than most birds of prey their size and are more adapted for walking as they feed mainly on bugs, carrion etc. I've seen them on lambs but it's usually a lamb that has been born dead or died soon after, or one that has been born to a first time mother who has buggered off and left it to die, a healthy lamb even just born with a feisty protective mother is just waaaay too heavy for one to kill, they can barely get off the ground with a bunny! I think the poor buzzards get a bad press! And as for songbirds, who buzzards don't eat nor do they eat pigeons, it's not just cats, who if my 16 ex-ferals are anything to go by very rarely hunt, it's pesticides, habitat loss, plant diversity loss, climate change and people who are mostly to blame for their demise, they've shown that domestic cats rarely stray very far from their home and most of their hunts are not successful - you will get the odd cat who is a brilliant hunter but the amount they kill is very small as why would they need to hunt when they have food on tap, I think cats get a bad press too!

 

[FionaM12]

And as for songbirds, who buzzards don't eat nor do they eat pigeons, it's not just cats, who if my 16 ex-ferals are anything to go by very rarely hunt, it's pesticides, habitat loss, plant diversity loss, climate change and people who are mostly to blame for their demise,

Absolutely. Modern farming methods and land management are big culprits in the loss of our smaller birds. Natural predators are rarely a problem, they co-exist quite nicely when the balance is right.

 

[Janah]

I've had two silkies (white) taken by buzzards. They don't bother with the Pekins as they, look so much bigger And seem more aware of big birds flying over. Unfortunately that is the way that nature works.

I love to see the buzzards flying overhead.

 

[Turtlebay69]

How awful!!!!!!!!!! :-0

 

[AmyMay]

Must admit I thought that Buzzards were scavengers.

 

[Evie91]

Examining the evidence (and using knowledge gleaned from csi ) I think the chicken was caught in the dustbin (have a bin on its side with straw in as a shelter), and had nowhere to go!
They are having to stay in a smaller run until I get a roof on (this weekend).
Will pea netting be ok? Run 10 metres by seven metres.
They are taking out their frustration by pecking the feathers off Clarrie's head

 

[frederick austerlitz]

I realise this thread is old,but thought folks might like to know that we have definite evidence that a buzzard killed our one year old cat.Plucked him to death- is that not the most awful thing....RSPB deny buzzards do this, but as habitat changes and all wildlife adapt to environmental changes then anything is prey. Heartbroken and miss my wee furry boy also lost my most adorable tabby girl the same year who knows what happened??

 

[frederick austerlitz]

Just watch the buzzards adapt I think you will see that they kill anything-I am not a "townie" have lived in the country all my life and have seen the change in predators as they adapt to the changes in practices.I know that our 1 year old cat was killed by plucking by a buzzard. My husband found his remains- he works in wildlife conservation so knows what he's looking at

 

[hackneylass2]

Condolences for the loss of your cat, it must have been an awful experience for you. Have you considered that your cat was already dead and was then found by the buzzard?
As a mad cat lady and raptor lover, I still do not think that a buzzard could take a live cat, all predators have to weigh up their prey, if the prey can harm them then it's usually left alone. Self preservation.

 

[Alec Swan]

……..

As a …….. raptor lover, I still do not think that a buzzard could take a live cat, all predators have to weigh up their prey, if the prey can harm them then it's usually left alone. Self preservation.

The idea that Buzzards are able to tackle a grown cat, or even a chicken, is ridiculous. As others have explained, despite their size, they simply aren't equipped to deal with relatively large prey.

Buzzards were never used in falconry, and there's a good reason for that, they're of dinosaur ability.

The Buzzard is the buffoon of the raptor world, and there is no reliable evidence to prove otherwise.

Alec.

 

[{97702}]

Just watch the buzzards adapt I think you will see that they kill anything-I am not a "townie" have lived in the country all my life and have seen the change in predators as they adapt to the changes in practices.I know that our 1 year old cat was killed by plucking by a buzzard. My husband found his remains- he works in wildlife conservation so knows what he's looking at

So your fully grown cat was held down by a buzzard, which has incredibly weak and ineffective feet (hence being mainly a carrion feeder), whilst the buzzard plucked it to death??!! I find that a tad unlikely to put it mildly, I rather suspect the plucking was done post mortem....

 

[Exploding Chestnuts]

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.

Is this for real.................. is the RSPB really harming these poor chickens kept in OP s yard?
Best thing OP, is to build a nice shed with cages and keep your birds inside.
Maybe we should poison these raptors, I know a few dogs and foxes might get the bait, but what the heck, they won't be your dogs, no worry, and foxes, well they are the Devils' pet dog anyway.

 

[Exploding Chestnuts]

Just watch the buzzards adapt I think you will see that they kill anything-I am not a "townie" have lived in the country all my life and have seen the change in predators as they adapt to the changes in practices.I know that our 1 year old cat was killed by plucking by a buzzard. My husband found his remains- he works in wildlife conservation so knows what he's looking at

I worked with RSPB on a farm, we had a golden eagle and lots of geese, a few otters and chough, not many cats or dogs, but then we were farmers, not pet owners.
My cat [or another just killed a pigeon [wood not racing], what am I supposed to do, shoot all the cats?

 

[Bestdogdash]

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.

Is this a serious comment ? Rarely read such *******s.

Sorry Op has lost a chicken., Badger has just taken one of mine. Grrrr

 

[Exploding Chestnuts]

No mention of Sparrowhawks at all.

 

[Evie91]

Ahem I am the OP and have a confession to make. I now believe the buzzard did not kill the chicken but ate it once it was dead. I apologise for blackening the name of buzzards everywhere! We still enjoy the buzzards in the garden - we did not shoot,poison or otherwise harm them

 

[{97702}]

Ahem I am the OP and have a confession to make. I now believe the buzzard did not kill the chicken but ate it once it was dead. I apologise for blackening the name of buzzards everywhere! We still enjoy the buzzards in the garden - we did not shoot,poison or otherwise harm them

**like**

 

[Alec Swan]

That was very brave of you Evie91.

Respect!

Alec.

 

[Goldenstar]

Ahem I am the OP and have a confession to make. I now believe the buzzard did not kill the chicken but ate it once it was dead. I apologise for blackening the name of buzzards everywhere! We still enjoy the buzzards in the garden - we did not shoot,poison or otherwise harm them

Whoops , you have made me laugh it's like one of those retractions the newspapers print .

 

[hackneylass2]

Alec - I did say that I suspected that the unfortunate cat was dead before the buzzard found it. That a buzzard or sparrowhawk would tackle a cat is ridiculous IMO.

Also, it seems that the most histyrical post has come from a non-townie, which made me chuckle as I am an ex-townie who is peeved by the 'us and them' attitude some folks seem to have.

 

[Alec Swan]

Alec - I did say that I suspected that the unfortunate cat was dead before the buzzard found it. That a buzzard or sparrowhawk would tackle a cat is ridiculous IMO.

…….. .

I was agreeing with you, and supporting your point, or at least that's what I'd intended! I do think though that when presented with a situation where what's happened isn't perhaps immediately obvious, the temptation is to clutch at straws, and then as the OP has accepted, the likelihood of our initial diagnosis being correct, is altered by what's realistic, as you clearly agree!

Alec.

 

[Clodagh]

We watch buzzards stoop on hares, mainly unsuccessfully although they take the odd one, mainly leverets.

 

[Molasses]

Bravo OP
It's so sad to see the loss of our native songbirds through humanities stupid practices of intensifying our landscapes and I'm sorry to hear about the loss of your chook but glad to hear the innocent Buzzard is not going to be tarnished further, birds of prey get enough bad press without more.

 

[millikins]

Buzzards may not kill much but they sure as heck seem to deter the bunnies in my paddock when in residence. Buzzard/s currently awol and bunnies by the dozen I too am no cat lover but think it is habitat loss and modern farming responsible for crash in bird numbers, cats are mainly suburban, it is farmland birds that have plummeted. Birds in gardens are doing ok in spite of the cats because people feed them.

 

[Clodagh]

As a fairly responsible farmer ('s wife) I think we do loads for the songbird population. Magpie and crow numbers have increased hugely over the last few year. Last year alone we killed 32 magpies, 18 crows and lost count of how many grey squirrels. I think we do our bit, as well as having far more environmentally enriched areas than we need. My garden is one!

 

[JumpingJacks]

i have serveral Hawks and we haven't had a problem with any of our birds going for chicken . They from chicks have to be given different animals to feed on . For example our new hawk has never tasted a rabbit so at the moment won't chase them . I know mine are a little different to wild birds but do believe that if they have never eaten or killed a chicken before they will leave it alone. We had a problem with one of our old birds who would set off across fields to try and get to a local mans chickens. We would have to avoid going any where near him but this is as he learnt that they are an easy meal.

 

[hackneylass2]

I was agreeing with you, and supporting your point, or at least that's what I'd intended!

image: http://www.horseandhound.co.uk/forums/images/smilies/smile-new.png
I do think though that when presented with a situation where what's happened isn't perhaps immediately obvious, the temptation is to clutch at straws, and then as the OP has accepted, the likelihood of our initial diagnosis being correct, is altered by what's realistic, as you clearly agree!

Alec.


Cheers Alec