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[karin]

I am mourning the loss of my Mary and Bobby (pepperpots), who disappeared from our garden in the middle of our garden in broad daylight on Sunday afternoon. They, along with sister Annie (gingernut), have been free-ranging our rural 1 3/4 acre garden (and the neighbour's... since they first arrived and settled in aexactly a year ago. They have lived a perfect chicken life rootling around under trees, in long grass, gardening with me, sitting on the lawn. We have never had a fox problem although we're always careful to shut them in their Eglu in the evening and not let them out too early. We have two feral guinea fowl who spend most of the time in our garden and who kick up a tremendous racket if a dog or stranger so much as appears on the horizon.

On Sunday afternoon I heard Annie making a very distressed warning cry and, since I was about to go out, I asked my son to help Annie find Mary and Bobby. When I got home three hours later he said he couldn't find them, and Annie was quietly sitting under a table with the guineas. I searched everywhere for them - no luck. I started digging the garden, which normally brings them all running, but only had poor Annie for company. Then my husband came out and noticed a large round patch of (Mary coloured) feathers in the middle of the open lawn. All perfectly plucked. No bodies, no blood. Whatever it was must have had an accomplice or come back for more. It must have happened whilst we were all around - I had not long before been watering the garden. It had happened in the middle of our open lawn, not under the trees or in the long grass where the ladies had been earlier and where you would expect a fox to strike. There had been no noise, no commotion; whatever it was happened silently and didn't alarm the guinea fowl.

As I have recently seen three buzzards circling overhead, I did a bit of research on the internet and this has all the signs of a buzzard attack. Presumably at the moment - like foxes - they have growing young to feed. But I had never realised that grown hens were a target.

What on earth do I do now? I have already got one new little hen as Annie was so lonely, but for the moment I'm keeping them in their Eglu. I'm thinking of making an enclosure for them under the trees up near the house, and just letting them free-range whilst we're actually out in the garden with them and can keep an eye on the sky.

Where are we? Stockbridge, Hants. Be warned all fellow chicken owners! keep scanning the skies.

[Tiggy]

Im so sorry, this happened to me too, full grown buzzards will take chickens occassionaly, take heart your girls had a year doing exactly what chickens should do, mine do now live in a large covered run unless Im out with them in the garden, not fully free range but safe

[Tiggy]

Im sorry sorry this has happened, I lost one of my first birds to a buzzard the second to a fox, my girls now live in a large covered run & only free range when Im with them - not totally free but safe. take heart, your girls had a year of living free and doing chickeny things as they should. you could compromise & net off an area for them to protect from aerial attack

[Guest]

That is really bad im sorry for your lose.

 

That is a shock though that the guinea fowl didn't get alarmed they are usually the first to sound the alarm.

 

RIP littlens.

[Chucky Mama]

I am really sorry to hear about your girls. A fox would still be the top of my list of culprits though so be watchful.

[MadMitch]

So sorry to hear of your loss, I had a buzzard try to take my dorking last year and she is 10lb fortunately it didn't get a good grip of her and she managed to wriggle free. I now put fruit netting over the top of my electric fence. It doesn't look very nice but it seems to have worked so far (fingers crossed).

[Roobaloo]

So sorry for your loss. It does sound like a bird of prey.

 

Foxes, like cats, tend to kill then run off with their prey to a safe location to avoid losing it. Birds of prey tends to start work "at the scene" by plucking the feathers...with a small kill, they'd then eat on the wing if necessary, so they can make the most of their meal without risking it being stolen.

We have issues with sparrow hawks (eating garden birds not chickens!!!) and they leave a similar scene.

 

I would definiely make a WIR for them and only FR if you are staying in the garden...whoever it was is likely to come back again and again for a lucky meal.

[littlehenny]

I agree with Roobaloo. I once had the misfortune of watching a sparrowhawk pick off a thrush in my garden and like the previous reply it happened very quickly and silently with the sparrowhawk attacking on the lawn until the thrush was dead and then flying off with its body. All that was left was a mass of feathers. There's not a great deal you can do to predict such an event and though this happened in my garden before we had chickens, we've now had our hens freeranging in our garden for over 2 years with nothing untoward happening. Unfortunately these things happen occasionally - it's brutal but it is nature.

[hippy chick]

OMG I am so sorry

I didn't even know we had buzzards over here.