Will Buzzards/kites Kill Chickens?

[Lab 10,979]

 

Lets not kid each other on. Every bird of prey will catch and kill anything it thinks it can handle.

But who's trying to kid anyone? It's only on the THL I've seen all this 'nudge nudge wink wink' guess what? Birds of prey, prey on stuff......lol &?

Seems to be a few that will not accept that BOPs kill for food and for the fun of it. And if they've not seen it then it doesn't happen.

[Accip74 7,112]

 

 

Lets not kid each other on. Every bird of prey will catch and kill anything it thinks it can handle.

But who's trying to kid anyone? It's only on the THL I've seen all this 'nudge nudge wink wink' guess what? Birds of prey, prey on stuff......lol &?

I've seen it on birdwatching/Nature forums, where mentioning such things creates I big hulla- ballu!

I mean it is what it is!

Saying that, I'm not sure how many wild birds are taken, probably not a large number! Reared birds are easy pickings though!

I'd never question that they do cause damage, but maybe how much?

 

It's true that buzzard numbers a disproportionate now in many parts of the uk & probably should be addressed, not just because of games stocks, but the general balance of nature.

 

That said, my mates have been running a little shoot in England for some years now & in that time there has been an explosion in the local buzzard population, but their shoot is more successful than ever, without increasing the amount of reared birds......?

 

Same round here, lots of buzzards, lots of hares & all kinds of other bird life, very large fox population, only small population of rabbits mainly due to disease over the years & no commercially reared pheasants......but the buzzards are thriving!

[Lab 10,979]

 

 

 

Lets not kid each other on. Every bird of prey will catch and kill anything it thinks it can handle.

But who's trying to kid anyone? It's only on the THL I've seen all this 'nudge nudge wink wink' guess what? Birds of prey, prey on stuff......lol &?

I've seen it on birdwatching/Nature forums, where mentioning such things creates I big hulla- ballu!

I mean it is what it is!

Saying that, I'm not sure how many wild birds are taken, probably not a large number! Reared birds are easy pickings though!

I'd never question that they do cause damage, but maybe how much?

 

It's true that buzzard numbers a disproportionate now in many parts of the uk & probably should be addressed, not just because of games stocks, but the general balance of nature.

 

That said, my mates have been running a little shoot in England for some years now & in that time there has been an explosion in the local buzzard population, but their shoot is more successful than ever, without increasing the amount of reared birds......?

 

Same round here, lots of buzzards, lots of hares & all kinds of other bird life, very large fox population, only small population of rabbits mainly due to disease over the years & no commercially reared pheasants......but the buzzards are thriving!

It's a very good point about your mates shoot....buzzards are thriving. Easy food will do this. Now that is a very good argument for the control of BOP in these areas.

I don't think we can drum it into these antis anymore than we already are....no one wants total eradication, it's control we are after.

You can get some real problem BOP attacks on pens of birds, some just interested in killing rather than eating. Control is the key...??

[Accip74 7,112]

 

 

 

 

Lets not kid each other on. Every bird of prey will catch and kill anything it thinks it can handle.

But who's trying to kid anyone? It's only on the THL I've seen all this 'nudge nudge wink wink' guess what? Birds of prey, prey on stuff......lol &?

I've seen it on birdwatching/Nature forums, where mentioning such things creates I big hulla- ballu!

I mean it is what it is!

Saying that, I'm not sure how many wild birds are taken, probably not a large number! Reared birds are easy pickings though!

I'd never question that they do cause damage, but maybe how much?

It's true that buzzard numbers a disproportionate now in many parts of the uk & probably should be addressed, not just because of games stocks, but the general balance of nature.

That said, my mates have been running a little shoot in England for some years now & in that time there has been an explosion in the local buzzard population, but their shoot is more successful than ever, without increasing the amount of reared birds......?

Same round here, lots of buzzards, lots of hares & all kinds of other bird life, very large fox population, only small population of rabbits mainly due to disease over the years & no commercially reared pheasants......but the buzzards are thriving!

It's a very good point about your mates shoot....buzzards are thriving. Easy food will do this. Now that is a very good argument for the control of BOP in these areas.

I don't think we can drum it into these antis anymore than we already are....no one wants total eradication, it's control we are after.

You can get some real problem BOP attacks on pens of birds, some just interested in killing rather than eating. Control is the key...

There is an interesting point there.........you could argue there is a correlation between the rise in buzzard numbers & the rise in popularity of game shooting, with ever increasing amounts of game reared........there's a certain irony to that :-)

 

Always best to approach these things with a sense of balance & impartiality, something I know antis & some conservationists obviously lack, but it can be seen on both sides imo.......

[neil cooney 10,416]

Game is not reared here in Ireland on the scale it is in Britain, no where near even. Yet our Buzzards are thriving too. It's not unusual to see 3 or 4 on a mornings rough shooting. I've seen 12 together.

It's illegal now to leave carcasses in a field and no farmer would risk the prosecution so carrion is non existent in the countryside.

Rabbits are patchy and it's common to see buzzards where there are no rabbits.

Our ground nesting birds and hares are no way near as common as they used to be and in the last few years I've noticed that hares are much more inclined to lie in covert much more than they used too.

You can only say what you've seen with your own two eyes but when there's a thriving population of any carnivore then something further down the food chain has to suffer.

I've even heard of buzzards taking kittens.

[Accip74 7,112]

Game is not reared here in Ireland on the scale it is in Britain, no where near even. Yet our Buzzards are thriving too. It's not unusual to see 3 or 4 on a mornings rough shooting. I've seen 12 together.

It's illegal now to leave carcasses in a field and no farmer would risk the prosecution so carrion is non existent in the countryside.

Rabbits are patchy and it's common to see buzzards where there are no rabbits.

Our ground nesting birds and hares are no way near as common as they used to be and in the last few years I've noticed that hares are much more inclined to lie in covert much more than they used too.

You can only say what you've seen with your own two eyes but when there's a thriving population of any carnivore then something further down the food chain has to suffer.

I've even heard of buzzards taking kittens.

No doubt there is a link, opportunist like buzzards will adapt to a given food source. Maybe if you had more rabbits & pheasants locally there'd be less decline in hare numbers?

I too have noticed in my local area here, that hares will commonly lay up in woodland & cover, perhaps a link to buzzard numbers? although hares seem to be thriving locally...............my local knowledge is still very sketchy though

Edited June 21, 2015 by Accip74

[PeakOil 352]

Game is not reared here in Ireland on the scale it is in Britain, no where near even. Yet our Buzzards are thriving too. It's not unusual to see 3 or 4 on a mornings rough shooting. I've seen 12 together.

It's illegal now to leave carcasses in a field and no farmer would risk the prosecution so carrion is non existent in the countryside.

Rabbits are patchy and it's common to see buzzards where there are no rabbits.

Our ground nesting birds and hares are no way near as common as they used to be and in the last few years I've noticed that hares are much more inclined to lie in covert much more than they used too.

You can only say what you've seen with your own two eyes but when there's a thriving population of any carnivore then something further down the food chain has to suffer.

I've even heard of buzzards taking kittens.

 

We had buzzards taking kittens at work. The kitten huggers wouldn't believe it 'til they saw it with their own eyes.

[peterhunter86 8,627]

Where I live there's plenty of buzzards but there's no shortage of rabbits im always finding them picked to the bone. Twice this week I've seen one flying over the housing estates I've seen them doing that before

[neil cooney 10,416]

I've seen a pair over a housing estate recently Peter and I'd say they were less than 100 foot and didn't look to be riding the thermals.

[David Aiken 253]

Anyone up for a spot of red kite shooting?

 

 

 

"And the second is other, larger, birds of prey – such as the once rare but now absurdly overabundant red kite":

James Delingploe; The Telegraph

http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/jamesdelingpole/100049918/anyone-up-for-a-spot-of-red-kite-shooting/

Edited June 21, 2015 by David Aiken

[Rowan 308]

So the answer to your question is , yes they will . Buzzards are lazy oppourtunists , so will try for an easy meal whenever possible , much the same as any other creature.

Make life as hard as you can for them , a net over the chicken run is perhaps your only sure fire way of stopping them .

 

Good luck with whatever you try..

[Squirrel_Basher 17,100]

Birds of prey regardless how hungry they are ,are all restricted to what they can take by the size of their feet . Our buzzard in comparison to a Harris or redtail have small feet which when coupled to the lazy factor is why they are not widely used in falconry if at all .The red kite we now have has feet akin to a kestrel for its size therefore cannot take prey of any size and is resigned to carrion .I would be suspicious of reports of kites tackling anything tbh especially considering the amount of roadkill available .Drive between Swindon and Oxford first light and youll see what their fortae is .

Many young buzzards will tackle large prey but soon learn their limitations .

[Hydropotesinermis 724]

Foxdropper is exactly right.

 

Buzzards can and will take live prey, no argument there.

 

Kites. Much less likely. Also Red kites feed on the wing sp much harder to subdue and eat anything live that they catch.

 

I don't doubt that in parts of the country Buzzards are in proportions where there is a valid argument for their control.

 

The UK buzzard population is higher in number that the WORLD red kite population.

 

All that said Kites will have a negative effect over any game shoot, especially a partridge shoot, their presence in the air causes displacement and can send whole covey's of partridges disappearing over to the next estate. Coupled with any loss of condition from stress.

 

This effect can be minimised by leaving stubbles long, undersowing Mustard into standing wheat, proper hedge management and feeding shelters.

[Tiercel 6,986]

Birds of prey regardless how hungry they are ,are all restricted to what they can take by the size of their feet . Our buzzard in comparison to a Harris or redtail have small feet which when coupled to the lazy factor is why they are not widely used in falconry if at all .The red kite we now have has feet akin to a kestrel for its size therefore cannot take prey of any size and is resigned to carrion .I would be suspicious of reports of kites tackling anything tbh especially considering the amount of roadkill available .Drive between Swindon and Oxford first light and youll see what their fortae is .

Many young buzzards will tackle large prey but soon learn their limitations .

At last some one who has a bit of sense.

 

TC

[shropshire mole 190]

There are lots of Buzzards and Kites around these parts, but have never seen/heard of them taking live prey, just saying