Visit by bird of prey

[Atash Hagmahani]

Our backyard got an unwelcome visitor. My big son let the chickens out to search the yard for various things they like to eat (which includes vegetables). My kids like to let them run free from time to time.

Well, some sort of bird of prey swooped down and tried to grab one. My son does not know the differences between Falcons, Hawks, and Eagles, but it was some sort of big bird of prey.

Luckily the chickens saw it coming, scattered out of the way, and it didn't come back for a 2nd try, probably intimidated by my son.

There's a reason I build their coop to be totally enclosed, including their little yard run.

[Publius]

It probably isn't a falcon, if memory serves me, many times it doesn't, falcons are air to air interceptors. The go after other birds on the wing.

[Rusty Shackelford]

Were you're at, you should be seeing Redtail Hawks and Eagles - I've seen both hunting me yard when I lived about 15 miles north of you.

You'll know when you see an Eagle - Crows hate them and are usually mobbing them.   When you start hearing the crows screaming, run outside and look.  You'll see them circling and if you watch, the target is usually an Eagle.  I always thought that Eagles were majestic hunters, after watching them fish the Mississippi flyway as a kid.  I moved out here and found out that they pretty low on the pole.

[opsec]

Up in Alaska they have what they call "tourist season". That's where the locals all stake out at a local coffee shop and watch the tourists getting out of their motor homes. Invariably there is one of those rat sized little white dogs on a leash. They then watch and wait and guess how long it will be before a bald eagle comes swooping down to pick up lunch. Maybe Alaskan can elaborate on this for us. I was probably laughing too hard to catch all the gory details when I heard this.

[Dame]

Birds of prey:  I like my chickens to range outside their protected area in the spring and fall.  They do a fabulous job of ant hills, and all sorts of other pests (including baby mice) and weed seeds.  The eggs are also better.  I do not put a contained area over an ant hill, the ants occassionally fight back and can kill a chicken, particularly the smaller chickens.  Putting a picknik table, benches, garden wagons and other such low obstructions randomly around the garden provides immediate cover.  Also leave the chicken coup open so they can retreat if they choose.  It helps to start with 30% more chickens than you think you want by the time they can be butchered or will start laying eggs.  This doesn't result in added costs because the chickens do not need to be fed much while they are ranging and bugs are substantially reduced.

[Ryder]

I had 13 chickens about half and half ariconas and rhode island reds. One day a hawk landed in a close by tree. One chicken sqauked loudly and immediately all the cluckers dived under cars, lumber piles and various detris (it's not junk it's chicken protection devices). For supposedly dumb animals chickens impress me as great self replicating survival critters.

[Atash Hagmahani]

Your Araucanas are tenacious birds. A South American breed apparently brought over by Polynesians (Thor Heyerdahl was correct that there was contact--he just got the direction mixed up! He should have taken a good look at Polynesians vrs South American Amerinds).

We have one. She's an interesting bird. Doesn't lay big eggs but she's our most reliable layer. She's also the only bird that can fly--not very far but well for a chicken. She's also our tamest chicken--she'll let us hold her without a fuss.

I like the older breeds. They are so instinctual! They can find their own food, always head back to their roost without needing to be herded, react appropriately to dangers, tenderly brood their own chicks, and just generally are really easy to take care of. Not like helpless over-domesticated breeds.

They are really good at instinctual tasks. They can learn some surprisingly detailed tasks if they have a simple enough pattern. What they can't do is abstract thinking--"what if" scenarios. It's kinda funny to observe how chickens think--they are so clever some ways and so dumb in others, like figuring out how to get back into the coup if the door is wide open but on the other side. That part of the brain--the neocortex--they don't have.

[Ryder]

We had a aricona that was always getting out of the coop. Started calling her Houdini after a while then she disappeared for a a while and we thaought the cyotes had got her. Then one day she comes leading in 3 little chicks. She had hatched them in march in montana. This is when it still snows. Tough bird.

[Bidadisndat]

(Thor Heyerdahl was correct that there was contact--he just got the direction mixed up! He should have taken a good look at Polynesians vrs South American Amerinds).

Pretty incredible expedition though. Remember getting, along with a book, a balsa wood kit model of the Kon Tiki, when I was a kid..... (A looong time ago!)