Red Kites, Buzzards and Poultry

[William_Montgomery]

Has anybody had issues with red kites/buzzards taking poultry?

There are a lot of kites and buzzards around here, and they often keep an eye on the girls from above.
Our hens currently have a good sized area with a mesh top, though I'm considering moving them to a much larger, 'free-range' open-top area. There will, of course, be plenty of sheltered areas for them to take cover, but it will be less secure than their current set up.

 

[Toddy]

I thought all poultry was to be confined these days in England ?

I know that it was a kestrel that took out a couple of a neighbours hens though, not the buzzards.

 

[Woody girl]

I'd be more concerned with protecting from bird flu. A large run with netting to stop any birds getting in is needed nowadays, some areas it's mandatory now. Better to be safe than sorry. They can still free range inside the caged area.
Protecting your birds also helps protect you. Bird flu is beginning to be found in humans. I think there was a human case in the Midlands a week or so ago. Many more cases worldwide.

 

[slowworm]

Has anybody had issues with red kites/buzzards taking poultry?

Yes. I've lost a hen to a buzzard. The hen was in the garden about 5m from the house and I was a few meters away. I've also had them swoop right in front of me.

I've also watched one stalk a neighbours ducks, it edged closer to the open pen using the trees and posts and kept swooping at the ducks. It tried several times without luck but it showed me it's not a one off.

 

[William_Montgomery]

Yes. I've lost a hen to a buzzard. The hen was in the garden about 5m from the house and I was a few meters away.

Wow. That's bold. Did it carry it off?

 

[Broch]

For both species a large portion of their food is from carrion. Red kites will hunt birds, usually up to crow sized so a chicken would be big but probably doable. Buzzards normally take small mammals and a great deal of their diet consists of earth worms! They will take birds but, because they are not particularly agile, it's rare they succeed. Of course, flightless chickens are sitting .. err .. chickens.

Now a Goshawk would not think twice about a chicken; they will take prey to the size of a barnacle goose or even the occasional heron.

 

[slowworm]

Wow. That's bold. Did it carry it off?

Yes, carried her off about 20m and left her with several puncture marks at the base of her neck and virtually dead. I had to put her down.

I've always found buzzards around here fairly tame and used to people. Very common too, we had 14 circling the house last year and more in the neighbouring fields.

What I have noticed is they can seem desperate for food at times. For example, if we have a long dry spell and the grass isn't cut for silage and slurry spread then there's not many worms or shredded animals for them to scavenge.

 

[Broch]

I thought all poultry was to be confined these days in England ?

I know that it was a kestrel that took out a couple of a neighbours hens though, not the buzzards.

Sorry to question you Toddy, but are you sure? A Hen would be a very, very large bird for a kestrel. Their prey are usually vole sized not rabbit sized.

 

[Toddy]

It surprised us. It was a young hen, but it was a hen.
Usually the kestrels take out the pigeons....they even have a go at the lumbering wood pigeons.
Pretty sure there's a thread in Fair Game of my photos of the kestrel bold as brass not three feet from me sitting on the top of the white pigeon it had just taken down.

 

[Broch]

I'd appreciate it if you can find that photo for me (I've searched and can't find the post, sorry) - My BTO tutor (I'm doing a raptor refresher course at the moment) is interested as this would be very rare behaviour apparently (a hen, he thinks, unheard of). However, I am of the opinion that nature likes to prove our definition of 'rules of behaviour' wrong whenever it can

 

[William_Montgomery]

I thought all poultry was to be confined these days in England ?

I believe it's just certain parts of the country that have a housing order, at the moment.

It surprised us. It was a young hen, but it was a hen.
Usually the kestrels take out the pigeons....they even have a go at the lumbering wood pigeons.

You must have some very fierce (or hungry) kestrels up there.
I'd never have considered them to be a threat to poultry before. Nature really is full of surprises.

 

[Toddy]

I'd appreciate it if you can find that photo for me (I've searched and can't find the post, sorry) - My BTO tutor (I'm doing a raptor refresher course at the moment) is interested as this would be very rare behaviour apparently (a hen, he thinks, unheard of). However, I am of the opinion that nature likes to prove our definition of 'rules of behaviour' wrong whenever it can

Apologies. It was a sparrowhawk that I photographed taking out the pigeon.....that said, I know there were other threads where I posted the hawk and prey photos.

Usually it's kestrels round here. I know my neighbour took photos at the time of the hen and the kestrel, but it was a while ago, and I have literally thousands of emails.
I'll ask her if she kept the photos, but pretty sure she was kind of sickened and is unlikely to still have them. C. gave up on the chickens; just a bad idea in suburbia for attracting rats, foxes, etc.,

Anyway, sparrowhawk and pigeon just over the fence from me.

https://bushcraftuk.com/community/threads/hawk-1-pigeon-0.127249/

Thread 127249

 

[MrEd]

Apologies. It was a sparrowhawk that I photographed taking out the pigeon.....that said, I know there were other threads where I posted the hawk and prey photos.

Usually it's kestrels round here. I know my neighbour took photos at the time of the hen and the kestrel, but it was a while ago, and I have literally thousands of emails.
I'll ask her if she kept the photos, but pretty sure she was kind of sickened and is unlikely to still have them. C. gave up on the chickens; just a bad idea in suburbia for attracting rats, foxes, etc.,

Anyway, sparrowhawk and pigeon just over the fence from me.

https://bushcraftuk.com/community/threads/hawk-1-pigeon-0.127249/

I had a sparrow hawk visit my garden several times last year and take a wood pigeon. Felt bad for the wood pigeon but quite amazing to see. I kind of hope it comes back this year so I can photograph it, beautiful bird.

Got buzzards nesting in the trees at the end of my Lane, probably 2 nesting pairs. I didn’t know they ate worms, but I have seen them on the ground in the fields frequently so that explains it!

 

[Toddy]

I believe it's just certain parts of the country that have a housing order, at the moment.


You must have some very fierce (or hungry) kestrels up there.
I'd never have considered them to be a threat to poultry before. Nature really is full of surprises.

Bird flu (avian influenza): latest situation in England

Find out about the latest bird flu situation in England and guidance for bird keepers and the public.

www.gov.uk

Looks like Suffolk's listed now.....this must be really hard on folks who keep small flocks that normally free range gardens and the like.

 

[Broch]

Apologies. It was a sparrowhawk that I photographed taking out the pigeon.....that said, I know there were other threads where I posted the hawk and prey photos.

Usually it's kestrels round here. I know my neighbour took photos at the time of the hen and the kestrel, but it was a while ago, and I have literally thousands of emails.
I'll ask her if she kept the photos, but pretty sure she was kind of sickened and is unlikely to still have them. C. gave up on the chickens; just a bad idea in suburbia for attracting rats, foxes, etc.,

Anyway, sparrowhawk and pigeon just over the fence from me.

https://bushcraftuk.com/community/threads/hawk-1-pigeon-0.127249/

Ah, that makes sense now - fantastic photos.
We have Goshawks in the wood the other side of the valley. We hear them frequently but rarely see them - absolutely beautiful birds.
Raptors can be incredibly difficult to identify - especially in flight. Which is why, despite me admiring and drawing them pretty much the whole of my life, I am doing a refresher course before taking part in the Wales raptor survey in a couple of months time.

 

[William_Montgomery]

Apologies. It was a sparrowhawk that I photographed taking out the pigeon.....that said, I know there were other threads where I posted the hawk and prey photos.

Usually it's kestrels round here. I know my neighbour took photos at the time of the hen and the kestrel, but it was a while ago, and I have literally thousands of emails.
I'll ask her if she kept the photos, but pretty sure she was kind of sickened and is unlikely to still have them. C. gave up on the chickens; just a bad idea in suburbia for attracting rats, foxes, etc.,

Anyway, sparrowhawk and pigeon just over the fence from me.

https://bushcraftuk.com/community/threads/hawk-1-pigeon-0.127249/

Thread 127249

Brilliant pictures.

 

[Kadushu]

I had a buzzard come down for one of my bantams a few years ago but it was in an ark with fairly fine aviary mesh. The sparrowhawk has bothered my aviary birds on occasion too and has to pull up sharp when it sees the mesh. It caught a jay on my lawn a couple of months ago and I was impressed that it managed to carry it away.

 

[British Red]

We have buzzards, sparrowhawks, kestrels, marsh harriers & 3 types of owl. None have attacked a chicken (yet). I'm more concerned by the larger corvids when we have 50 or 60 chicks in the enclosure. I suspect 5kg cockerels act as a deterrent.

The current Avian Influenza housing orders apply only to certain counties / areas (including us) but the entire country is on heightened biosecurity regulation.

 

[Pattree]

Shropshire
We’ve just come under the housing order.

Prevention of predation is a quarantine measure in itself in both directions - for predator and prey.

 

[William_Montgomery]

Looks like Suffolk's listed now.....this must be really hard on folks who keep small flocks that normally free range gardens and the like.

Yeah, I think it can be. We are lucky, inasmuch as it's very simple for us to mesh off our flock with our current set-up. But for some, the practicalities (and expense) can be quite difficult. In some cases I think the welfare standards drop quite dramatically.
No idea how long this housing order will last. Once it's passed I'm planning on moving them and reorganising their whole set-up to include a large free range area along with a covered area for them to ride out any future housing orders in comfort.