No a buzzard wouldn’t/couldn’t take a full-grown live hen.
Neither would or could a crow … they don’t have the right sort of ‘locking talons’ to carry a meal like birds of prey do.
IME experience a fox will only kill several (so they can return if need be or opportunity arises) rather than take just the one …if
1. they’re pretty sure they’re not going to be disturbed, like at night.
2. they’re nowhere near their den. If their den is nearby so it’s important they don’t draw attention to themselves, then they’ll usually do a straightforward snatch raid.
You’ve probably got a vixen with young not that far away …
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Sorry @Allotment Boy ... I didn't mean to sound rude! 🤦🏼♀️ You're right ... we will never know without a camera. Food for thought. 🧐 If a fox ... it will be back.
I would think it was a fox. My ex neighbour used to keep chickens and she lost several lots of birds to a fox which used to come on his/her round at about 4.00pm. Despite being around most of the time I only ever heard a commotion once. They are feeding their young at this time of year as well as teaching them to hunt.
Mystery solved. It was a young fox. While having breakfast this morning we heard a commotion. My husband went up to see a young fox running across the paddock - it had clearly tried to get a chicken but was disturbed. On further inspection he found the place in the fencing where the fox had taken the black maran yesterday evening. We had left the far end of the paddock uncut ... thus providing cover for the fox. The chickens are more alert now, so clearly noticed the movement and created. We will be double checking all the fencing today ... and cutting the paddock, sadly. Thank you everyone for your replies. 🙂
When I've seen sparrowhawks take woodpigeons (they do it a lot around here) they don't carry them off, but pluckm tear the breast and eat near enough where they are or fill their beaks to take to nestlings.
We also have a fair few buzzards ... I know of three nests around here this year. If a buzzard got a chicken there'd be a heck of a lot of squawking while the buzzard plucked and ate the breast meat ... they don't do a 'clean kill' of larger prey, unlike a fox that'll take poultry by the head. What a buzzard may well do is clear up after a fox has killed and left several corpses behind ... buzzards are said to be 'lazy feeders' ... I prefer to think of them as being economical with their effort ... they'll happily feed on worms, slugs and carrion rather than kill something bigger.
Harriers now, that's a different matter ... where are you @ShepherdsBarn? Any harriers about?
My money's still on a fox tho'
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
When we had a lot of of chickens (60+ mainly Marans, Welsummers and Barnvelders and a few bantams) on the smallholding we also had a few guinea fowl who roosted in the bullace trees near the chickens ... the racket they made when a fox came near drew our attention (and the folk on the allotments two fields away) and the fox rarely troubled us.
We were lucky to obtain second hand from an auction a lot of very tall chainlink fencing that had previously surrounded several tennis courts ... with the use of some second had telegraph poles (similarly obtained) we used the fencing to make a very large secure area that the poultry could be contained in when we were not around. The bottom couple of feet were buried in a trench and backfilled securely, and surrounded by old sleepers and there was still over 8' of fencing height. Foxes would've needed oxyaceteline torches to get through that without disturbing us. That fencing was a brilliant find. There was a fox's earth in the old railway embankment bordering our bottom meadow ... she did get a couple of the ducks who refused to be locked up at night ... but we didn't lose any hens. She took some hens from the allotments tho' ... far enough from houses to risk making a commotion.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Mmm ... we are looking into electric fencing. Also noticed something online called 'scoot' which, when sprinkled around the perimeter is meant to keep the fox away due to the smell. I wonder if this is just a gimmicky thing that doesn't work. 🧐
Posts
1. they’re pretty sure they’re not going to be disturbed, like at night.
2. they’re nowhere near their den. If their den is nearby so it’s important they don’t draw attention to themselves, then they’ll usually do a straightforward snatch raid.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
You're right ... we will never know without a camera. Food for thought. 🧐 If a fox ... it will be back.
While having breakfast this morning we heard a commotion. My husband went up to see a young fox running across the paddock - it had clearly tried to get a chicken but was disturbed. On further inspection he found the place in the fencing where the fox had taken the black maran yesterday evening. We had left the far end of the paddock uncut ... thus providing cover for the fox. The chickens are more alert now, so clearly noticed the movement and created. We will be double checking all the fencing today ... and cutting the paddock, sadly.
Thank you everyone for your replies. 🙂
We also have a fair few buzzards ... I know of three nests around here this year. If a buzzard got a chicken there'd be a heck of a lot of squawking while the buzzard plucked and ate the breast meat ... they don't do a 'clean kill' of larger prey, unlike a fox that'll take poultry by the head. What a buzzard may well do is clear up after a fox has killed and left several corpses behind ... buzzards are said to be 'lazy feeders' ... I prefer to think of them as being economical with their effort ... they'll happily feed on worms, slugs and carrion rather than kill something bigger.
Harriers now, that's a different matter ... where are you @ShepherdsBarn? Any harriers about?
My money's still on a fox tho'
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
We were lucky to obtain second hand from an auction a lot of very tall chainlink fencing that had previously surrounded several tennis courts ... with the use of some second had telegraph poles (similarly obtained) we used the fencing to make a very large secure area that the poultry could be contained in when we were not around. The bottom couple of feet were buried in a trench and backfilled securely, and surrounded by old sleepers and there was still over 8' of fencing height. Foxes would've needed oxyaceteline torches to get through that without disturbing us.
There was a fox's earth in the old railway embankment bordering our bottom meadow ... she did get a couple of the ducks who refused to be locked up at night ... but we didn't lose any hens.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.