Buzzards stealing my Bantums ?

[Farm Girl]

Hi there,

I live in Surrey and have recently lost two 5 month old bantums an older Bantum and a duck! Im no sherlock holmes but they did not fly out and there were no feathers (Fox) so what could have taken them? It must be another bird....I have started to net the pens off now tho difficult as there is an oak tree in the middle of one! any ideas ? Buzzards ?x

[wanabewild]

Hi, to be honest there would be signs if it were a buzzard, feathers etc, also the buzzard would probably struggle to fly away with a whole duck, i have kept buzzards for years and would doubt they were to blame for the duck, however possible for the bantums??
Alan

[Gill Catton]

perhaps a Fox was able to make a clean kill and carried them away to pluck elsewhere?
Or even a cat maybe?

[RobinP]

Did it happen during the day or at night?

P.S. It's bantam not bantum.

[wanabewild]

Originally Posted by RobinP

Did it happen during the day or at night?

P.S. It's bantam not bantum.

my bad "bantam" thanks for the heads up,
i have known Fox to take birds without a trace...

[RobinP]

...also humans!

[Dae]

Buzzards I believe simply aren't strong enough to take a bantam, their claws are very small in relation to their large size. And as there aren't any feathers in evidence, I'd look to more ground-related theivery, ie: foxes, humans, dogs, etc.

[lovfinion]

Maybe an Eagle Owl did it

[Gill Catton]

Originally Posted by Dae

Buzzards I believe simply aren't strong enough to take a bantam, their claws are very small in relation to their large size. And as there aren't any feathers in evidence, I'd look to more ground-related theivery, ie: foxes, humans, dogs, etc.

Surely if a buzzard can take an adult Rabbit, it can take a bantum? Similar is size and possibly lighter than a Rabbit! I agree though that a land based predator is more likely

[nightshade]

How big is the Bantam run, a Buzzard needs a big space for a big wingspan to be able to take off!
I have seen rats take battery hens, another possibility?

[Nightranger]

Originally Posted by Gill Catton

Surely if a buzzard can take an adult Rabbit, it can take a bantum? Similar is size and possibly lighter than a Rabbit! I agree though that a land based predator is more likely

I suspect a buzzard could carry off a bantam but I agree that a Fox is a more likely candidate. Foxes often realise that it is unsafe to pluck a domestic bird at the site of the kill if there is the chance of being discovered. Interestingly, a recent observation suggests surplus kills will be cached if the Fox is left undisturbed.

[Louise from Skye]

We have a lot of buzzards about but had had no problems until last week when one of my Indian Runner ducklings was eaten within the run area. I blamed the cat, but when another one was eaten on Saturday, and a half-grown bantam chick disappeared completely I suspected a Stoat or Weasel. I now know that a buzzard has spent the past couple of weeks on the fence of the run, and yesterday saw it take off from the run. So there seems no doubt about the culprit now.

[Morph]

My sister keeps Bantams in the Bed/Cambs area and she had a lot of trouble with Weasel/Stoats taking her birds, so your suspicions could be spot on.

[Digit]

I was going to make the same comment as Gill. I have seen our local Buzzards take off with a full grown Rabbit without any apparent difficulty.
Also I suspect that raptors soon learn to gauge what they can lift and what they can't.

Roy.

[Jim Ford]

Fox - we've had several bantams and guinea pigs taken by foxes. I caught one in the act and chased it so it dropped the bantam. The bantam was dead, but not a mark on it or a feather missing.

Jim

[Badgerman]

Surely there must be some sign as to whats taken them?. I would certainly suggest its a Fox thats done the dead, but the Chooks aint just gonna sit there at let it happen

I would suggest doing a local search, because im sure that you will find signs somewhere in the vicinity.

[Jim Ford]

Originally Posted by Badgerman

Surely there must be some sign as to whats taken them?. I would certainly suggest its a Fox thats done the dead, but the Chooks aint just gonna sit there at let it happen

I think foxes are so quick and efficient that the birds don't have time to struggle before they're killed.

I even think it may be more humane to let a Fox take a small ailing pet while it's pottering around on the lawn, rather than submit it to the trauma of taking it to a vet to be put down.

Jim

[nightshade]

I was reminded that, while staying on a farm, the farm dog was taking Bantams clearing an eight foot fence!! and locally a huge Tom Cat was taking Bantams and their chicks from a city farm

[Badgerman]

Originally Posted by Jim Ford

I think foxes are so quick and efficient that the birds don't have time to struggle before they're killed.

I even think it may be more humane to let a Fox take a small ailing pet while it's pottering around on the lawn, rather than submit it to the trauma of taking it to a vet to be put down.

Jim

Thats an interesting point Jim.

Yes, they are swift...but they will leave signs, somewhere in the vicinity. If not from the Kill, then by where they may be accessing the area.

[Louise from Skye]

I know there are lots of theories and have been through all the possibilities myself. However the buzzard has been on fence posts and hovering around the place for a couple of weeks now and I have seen it taking off from the ground inside the run. We don't see foxes around and I think Stoat/Weasel is unlikely as I found 30+ eggs at the top of the run at the weekend which would have been taken if they were around. Lost another full grown bantam yesterday so they are all safely behind bars today.

[Digit]

It's a rotten position to be in Louise, you either have to tackle the Buzzard in some manner or keep the Bantams confined.
One trick that might work. A neighbour was loosing chickens and Ducks to a Fox, his wife flatly forbade him from shooting the Fox so he took the advise of a local fowl breeder. Got himself a rooster?
The Fox eventually killed the rooster, but it put up such a fight that the Fox left it behind and never returned.

Roy.

[Badgerman]

Originally Posted by Digit

It's a rotten position to be in Louise, you either have to tackle the Buzzard in some manner or keep the Bantams confined.
One trick that might work. A neighbour was loosing chickens and Ducks to a Fox, his wife flatly forbade him from shooting the Fox so he took the advise of a local fowl breeder. Got himself a rooster?
The Fox eventually killed the rooster, but it put up such a fight that the Fox left it behind and never returned.

Roy.

I have another idea

Pop down to sainsburys and buy up their stock of dead chickens, then leave them outside for the Buzzard(s)

The live chooks are happy, cos they are remaining to be...... alive, and the Buzzards are happy, cos they have a ready made snack

One slight prob with my dastardly plan, is that the foxes that are attracted to the free feast, may stay around for the live ones

[Dogghound]

Why dont you cover the pen? I know theres a tree in it but it must be possible.

[Phoebe]

Just a thought but I lost 8 bantams to roaming ferrets once. I only found out because the birds were inside a large enclosed wired pen, they could not get out even the top was wire. I found all my birds dead one day and the heads had been pulled through the wire which was 2inch square. I left one of the carcasses in place and watched over a number of days. When I saw movement I got the binoculars and looked only to see a large Hob Ferret. I laid a Mink trap with food and caught a Jill Ferret. If it had not been for the wire enclosure the ferret would have taken the birds away and certainly with no trace. They go straight for the neck.

Ferrets are a possibility.

[Garden Carpet]

A friend of mine was losing chickens to a Fox so she took the advice offered on a chicken rescue site and put a radio out there on Radio 4... apparantly br'er Fox doesnt like the sound of human voices.

jaki