I saw this guy eyeing my ducks yesterday. I have been told he is a Peregrine falcon also known as 'the duck hawk'. What can I do to discourage him from trying to get to my ducks? Would my presence deter him from trying to get them? I want to let them out of their pen at some point. They have a kiddie pool they like to splash in. What can I do about this guy?
got a strong waer pistol..you could keep spraying him till he gets the hint..otherwise youll have to keep chasing him..my chickens are in a run and when they see danger they run into the coop..
It sounds like Peregrine Falcons are migratory in Texas, traveling through in April-May and again in the fall. They are threatened and protected--but hopefully this one will soon move on and leave your poor ducks in peace.
http://www.nature.org/wherewework/northamerica/states/texas/news/news3191.html
Wow.. that's a hard one for me.. We don't have predators like that.. I wish you luck!
A paint ball gun to decorate the farm while MABY giving him the hint?
LOL
We have lot's of them in the Seattle area, they build nests in the high rise and generally come back year after year to raise their young, but I think Catscan is right, generally they don't hang around to aful long. We have Eagles in abundance here during the haying season, and the swoop over my chicken run all day long, that goes on for about ten days and then they are gone. I spend a lot of time in the run with the girls and it seems to help, and I have not lost any yet, fingers crossed. Good luck. Haystack.
I won't let my chickens out of their run unless I'm there watching them. We have all kinds of predators here. Maybe a dog would help protect your flock ?? I'm not sure. I just know I wouldn't let my chickens out while this guy is around.
my cousin is in SCA (the renaissance re-enactors) and she knows some Falconers that might be able to come catch him if I see him again. I think he's been hanging around and I just hadn't noticed him before because last week the ducks refused to come out for a swim. They never do that. Should have known something was up.
Two things I do that has eliminated losses to the hawk and or resident bald eagle. First I put a patio umbrella out in the chicken/ duck area so they would have quick cover. I pounded a piece of PVC into the ground and then took the top half of my old patio umbrella and dropped the pole in. It is about three feet off the ground and the birds run under it at the first sign of danger. The other thing I use are kites and Mylar tape. The Mylar tape came on a spool (hundreds of yards) for tying up balloons and packages. It's blue on one side and silver on the other. I strung it over my chicken pasture in a zig-zag pattern from pole to pole. It flashes and vibrates in the wind and all flying birds hate it. I've also used the cellophane and Mylar type kites with long tails. I got a whole bunch of them on sale for a couple bucks. Again I pound the PVC into the ground, tie the kite to a tall bamboo pole (PVC would probably work) and drop it in the pipe. It makes lots of noise and motion above the chickens.
Anything that flashes or makes noise and breaks up their landing field will work on flying predators.
Your pasture must look very festive!
Planes and hellocopters buzz the house all the time trying to figure it out. They also sent up the cost guard one night to check out a UFO in my yard. It was my blow up swimming pool with rope lights wrapped around it and a light up disco ball floating in the center. Boy were we surprized when they hit us with the spot light. I wear a swimsuit now, no matter how dark it is!
Maybe that helps with the raptors, too?:0)
The swimsuit?
Or lack there of.....
Maybe that's why I don't have raptors. All this time I thought it was the shiny noisy stuff.....
When I lived in Fort Worth I raised all kinds of birds, peafowl, swans, ducks, pheasants, chickens and pidgins, just to name a few. I started putting nest boxes in the trees and let some of my pidgins loose. With in no time they were growing in number and I would sometimes trap them and sell at the local market. One day a man came over to get some Red Golden pheasants and as we were walking to the back yard a Marsh Hawk swooped in and took a pidgin out of the air. The man said " man I would take care of that Hawk". I told him that wild pidgins sold for $2. Then I took $2 out of my pocket and stuck it in his shirt pocket and told him I would pay that much to see it again. I am a bird lover and there is no birds on earth as lovely as a bird of prey. For every domestic bird we loose to birds of prey they take 10,000 rats out of the gene pool. I now live in East Texas and build boat docks. In the last two years I have seen two Bald Eagles take a fish out of the water. Not to many people will ever see such a thing. So take care of your birds but if you loose one once in a while, just remember birds of prey have to eat too.
Where did you get your mylar tape? That sounds like a good idea for the run we're going to put up for our chicks!
I got it at a party supply store.
