Eggasperated Posted November 11, 2014 Share Posted November 11, 2014 Went to check on the girls before my dog walk this afternoon and found a pile of what appear to be gull or pigeon feathers inside the electric fence area Really puzzled by this, they definitely do not belong to the girls, they were not there this morning, it looks like when the cat catches something but she would never dare to go over the electric fence, the electric fence is working . OH has searched the rest of the run and can't find anymore of the bird so we have no idea what has happened. Would the girls have eaten something if it landed injured in the run? what other explanation could there be? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bramble Posted November 11, 2014 Share Posted November 11, 2014 Oooh intriguing! Wonder if a sparrow hawk has caught something? They tend to land to pluck prey then fly off leaving a circle of feathers, as you describe? You'll have to interview your chucks in turn to assist with you enquiries!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cat tails Posted November 11, 2014 Share Posted November 11, 2014 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eggasperated Posted November 11, 2014 Author Share Posted November 11, 2014 Oooh intriguing! Wonder if a sparrow hawk has caught something? They tend to land to pluck prey then fly off leaving a circle of feathers, as you describe? You'll have to interview your chucks in turn to assist with you enquiries!!!! OH agrees it could be a sparrow hawk, he says he has seen one around recently. I can't see either of my girls 'helping with enquiries' they're both too stroppy to help with anything . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olly Posted November 11, 2014 Share Posted November 11, 2014 Were the feathers more or less in a ring, and were they unbroken? In that case it's a sparrow hawk, or similar - as said above, they pluck their prey before eating. If the quills are broken and the feathers are in an untidy pile, then it's usually a cat or fox. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mullethunter Posted November 11, 2014 Share Posted November 11, 2014 Blimey. If it was a Sparrowhawk what must the chooks have thought?! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eggasperated Posted November 11, 2014 Author Share Posted November 11, 2014 Were the feathers more or less in a ring, and were they unbroken? In that case it's a sparrow hawk, or similar - as said above, they pluck their prey before eating. If the quills are broken and the feathers are in an untidy pile, then it's usually a cat or fox. The feathers were in a circle and I think were unbroken as I commented on the pink flesh looking bits at the end, OH cleared up and can't remember anything (par for the course ). Come to think of it I've found quite a few of these feather circles in our field over the past month and been blaming the cat, possible she could be innocent after all. Must have been quite a coincidence that a sparrow hawk landed in the run, wonder what the girls thought? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beantree Posted November 12, 2014 Share Posted November 12, 2014 We find feathers inside the enclosure but in our case it's either a sparrow that got caught and eaten by the hens or the feathers from a collared dove attacked by the cockerel. They get a bit cheeky sometimes and he puts them in their place. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dancing cloud Posted November 12, 2014 Share Posted November 12, 2014 Blimey. If it was a Sparrowhawk what must the chooks have thought?! Daisy, my first ex-batt top-chook saw one off . It landed in the garden with its kill and she charged at it, head down, tail up, feathers fluffed out. It flew away and she finished off whatever it had been eating Never underestimate a stroppy chicken Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eggasperated Posted November 12, 2014 Author Share Posted November 12, 2014 Daisy, my first ex-batt top-chook saw one off . It landed in the garden with its kill and she charged at it, head down, tail up, feathers fluffed out. It flew away and she finished off whatever it had been eating Never underestimate a stroppy chicken Oh my goodness dancing cloud your Daisy certainly wasn't scared of the sparrow hawk was she? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dancing cloud Posted November 12, 2014 Share Posted November 12, 2014 Not scared of Loki-cat either - she used to take his mice off him and eat them . Daisy spent her first two days of freedom huddled in a corner and then, just when I was starting to get worried about her, came out, pecked hard at each of the others and took over the flock. Daisy didn't do scared! I still miss her. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
