Duck killed by Red Tail Hawk

GrannyCarol · #1 01/12/14, 02:09 PM

We had a shocking thing happen today. My husband went out to do something in the yard and found that one of our ducks had been killed by a Red Tail Hawk, who was eating it when he went out. The duck is very close to our buildings so I assume the hawk was very hungry. I'm sure this hawk has been in our town for years. One of our other ducks was under cover in the pen, laying dead (untouched). As agitated and frightened as our other ducks were, I'm assuming he died from a heart attack - he was our huge Silver Appleyard drake. I'm glad to know what happened, what predator attacked, but very sad to lose our two boys.

My question is - what should we do now to protect our ducks? I can keep them locked up under cover for a while, but not long term, it wouldn't be fair to them. Does anyone have any experience? I won't be doing anything to the hawk, it lives here too and hasn't bothered my ducks for years. Also we live right in town. I'd welcome some suggestions.

parrotman · #2 01/12/14, 03:14 PM

Sorry to hear of the loss of your two boys. I really don't have any suggestions as to how to protect the remaining flock as any Red Tailed hawks in my area are driven away by the crows.

GrannyCarol · #3 01/12/14, 03:40 PM

The Red Tail seems to co-exist with the ravens in town here. We already covered our night time pens to keep the raven from stealing up to 12 eggs a day in the spring!

Ziptie · #4 01/12/14, 04:55 PM

No advice, but know how you feel. We just lost a duck 1/2 hr ago to a coon. Caught it just trying to sneak back into the coop for another snack. It is 4:00 in the afternoon!! Sigh, well one less coon in the world. I think it is becoming hungry time for the wild critters and they are going to become increasingly bolder.

Megaputz · #5 01/12/14, 05:06 PM

Netting or wire over run. If they're free range there is not much you can do.

Lost a barred rock hen last summer to a hawk. Poor Lisa. Not long after a hawk attacked one of my indian runner ducks. It was plucking her on the duck pool ramp when I walked out of the house. The little runner duck survived and a month later couldn't even tell she had been attacked.

Threw up wire to cover the run. Less trees and cover there. When they're around the yard the birds have to fend for themselves. Have limited free ranging to when I'm home. After that have not had any attacks.

Tango · #6 01/13/14, 08:07 AM

So sorry for your loss

Hawks have to see the prey the entire time they are diving. Fowl instinctively go under cover and I have watched them teach their young to go under cover. If you provdie cover of some sort that is easy to get too (not so easy for the slower ducks to run) it should give some protection. That said, it is part of the circle of life, which is not just for Disney movies.... adding cover won't allow the hawks to take more than their share off of your land.

GrannyCarol · #7 01/13/14, 09:15 AM

This time of year the bush is pretty bare - we had to fix the fence behind it last fall and pruned it back (the bush the hawk and duck were under). I suspect we'll be fine once things leaf out in the spring. My poor ducks are pretty spoiled, this is the first time in 10 years I've had a predator do anything to any of them, as we live right in town. I may be planting more bushes this spring, the ducks love the shade here too.

I am aware that my ducks will all die, as will we all. I'm pretty attached to them though, it upsets me and makes me sad when it happens.

Now I need ideas how to protect them better, since that hawk knows they are there and can be killed. I doubt we'll have much trouble once the weather turns, the quail are out and there is cover for the ducks. I'm hoping for more solutions.

The duck he took was older, but healthy and pretty quick on his feet.

Oh, btw, the night time pens are covered, so I do have a secure place for them until I can figure out how to protect them better.

aart · #8 01/14/14, 06:59 AM

I'd be tempted to keep them locked in a mesh or solid covered pen for now if possible.

A lot of folks put out plywood and/or pallets up on blocks for cover.

Maybe put evergreen bushes on your planting list?

GeorgiaGirl · #9 01/14/14, 07:50 AM

Sorry about your ducks GrannyCarol. I ended up loosing two ducks total a few days ago. Never did figure out what happened. Both were girls. Sure hated to lose them. Our birds have free ranged for years and never had problems. Our mother duck even sat on two clutches of eggs last year out in the open. 28 days each time. When the ducklings were born, I would move mother and babies to duck house for a few weeks. I don't see any of that happening any more.

GrannyCarol · #10 01/14/14, 08:23 AM

Thanks Aart. They are currently in a pen with a storage shed as a house and completely covered in wire for the pen. The hawk was there at lunch yesterday checking things out. They are staying in for now, until the hawk seems to give up.

I hadn't thought of pallets. I had considered evergreen bushes, but they will take a while to grow. At this point, I was going to downsize the ducks this spring anyway, as we are looking to move in a couple of years when my husband retires. I'm thinking it would be easier to use a tractor or something if I had a few less, we have more ducks than we need.

We covered two of our night time pens with bird netting, it was strong enough to keep an angry raven out of our eggs, I think it would keep the hawk out too. I don't so much want to try to cover the yard though, it would be pretty awkward.

Thanks for everyone's ideas and sympathy. I'm still hoping for more ideas!

Megaputz · #11 01/14/14, 08:28 AM

A hawk will go into the coop. Poor thing. Hard to listen to...

GrannyCarol · #12 01/14/14, 09:16 AM

Yeah, poor chickens. Fortunately the pen they are in now is entirely enclosed. It has a wire top. I use it for baby ducks and was thinking of owls. It's just a bit small for them to live in 24/7 for any length of time.

Fat Man · #13 01/14/14, 10:54 AM

Mega, was that a Goshawk? If I lose a bird to a hawk it will probably be a Goshawk. They do prey on Spotted Owls though.

Megaputz · #14 01/14/14, 03:39 PM

I have no idea what kind of hawk it was. The people in the comments section say it's a "coopers hawk"

solsikkefarms · #15 01/14/14, 04:54 PM

Best thing to do is give them cover to hide. Ducks are real good at watching for birds of prey. Sorry for your loss but sometimes it just happens.

Fat Man · #16 01/14/14, 06:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Megaputz

I have no idea what kind of hawk it was. The people in the comments section say it's a "coopers hawk"

I can't tell the colors well on the video. If the barring was more reddish a Cooper's if more grey greenish a Goshawk. They are kind of built on the same lines, goshawks are bigger though.

Awnry Abe · #17 01/14/14, 06:59 PM

They are our most costly predator this year. We barely had an issue before, so the wishful thinking side of me hopes they just move on. I've noticed that voles & coyotes/fox numbers, which are normally outrageous here, are AWOL. I wonder if the missing vole is putting pressure on the poultry? I think the '12 drought effects linger in strange ways.

I can tell you something that didn't work for us. We put deer netting over our very spacious run. We couldn't cover one little spot because of a tree. The hawks (plural) had no issues dropping through the hole and dining. I hoped that the netting would spook or confuse them, but it didn't.

Sorry to hear about the ducks. We have a 5 and I am quite amazed that they haven't been pillaged. (Knocking on wood...)

GrannyCarol · #18 01/16/14, 01:44 AM

Abe - what sort of hawks do you have? Maybe that makes some difference in how they hunt?

Fat Man · #19 01/16/14, 09:49 AM

Goshawks, Coopers and Sharp Shinned are Accipters and hunt in the woods. I think they'd be the most likely to squeeze through a hole. Red Tailed are soaring birds and I think cover would work well with them.

Awnry Abe · #20 01/16/14, 01:13 PM

We have Red Tailed, and they have become brazen. I am currently losing a hen about every three days, as far as I can tell. They will land on a fence post or tree limb among the flock and just sit there, with the chickens completely oblivious to their presence. Our coop is not in what I would consider woods, but the area gets nearly 100% shade midday in the summer. The hawks just know where the meals are. This flock is our egg layers and the coop is out in the back yard. Up until this fall, I had a second flock of roosters I was raising for the freezer. That group was about 1/2 mile away at another barnyard coop & run. It had the run that I tried to cover with deer netting. I had one little hole that I couldn't cover and the dang things just plopped right down through it. I started with 170 cockerels, and ended up putting 90 in the freezer. There were at least 3 hawks working the site--I think from the same nest. One was large, the others slightly smaller. The most horrific event was when I went up for chores one evening and chased one of them away. He was inside the coop eating. There were several sets of drumsticks on the floor, and a mound of 30 dead chickens in the corner of the coop that suffocated in a massive chick-ball of fear.

The crazy thing is, I still like hawks. I had never had any loss in such serious numbers until this year. Either their numbers are way up, or their native food is way down. Something is out of whack. However, if the federal protection--which is actually in the form of a sovereignty-sucking treaty--could be tweaked to allow for elimination of predatation of livestock, I'd be blasting away today. As it is now, it requires a permit. I presume it is per-incidence, and I also presume it involves a visit from authority. I need that like I need another hole in the head. But I've reached the point of inquiry.