[ali2]

We had a buzzard circling over our garden the other day and my hubby said he could be eyeing up the chickens.  Is he just winding me up or can buzzards swoop down onto a chicken ?

[richyrich7]

Yes it has been known, how common I don't know. But it's a hazard that has to be accepted.

[Beano]

I would have thought that a medium sized chicken is to much for a buzzard. They tend to go for mice, carrion, and quite often you can see them pulling worms out of the ground.
We have had a buzzard and kites around and they really spook the chickens.
I would not be surprised if your buzzard was sizing up your chickens and decided that they were too big to handle. Do the have bushes to hide under?
I would be more worried if I had goshawks hanging around. They would kill your chickens and rip them apart on the ground.

[tosca100]

I agree, buzzards are unlikely to come near your garden. For such big birds they are quite prissy eaters and would rather go for carrion.

A sparrowhawk, on the other hand, will keep an eye on gardens and might take a small chicken. One tried to get an adult guinea pig from our's!

[viettaclark]

We have a family of buzzards that patrol over the city. When the girls hear their mews they stop absolutely dead in their tracks and don't move a muscle until they've gone....sometimes more than 5 mins!
Quite eerie to watch....

[D]

Generally chickens are quite observant and normally get out the way. The other day a paraglider flew over our coop, one of them saw it, made a noise to warn the others and with that they ran under cover - either under the coop or inside it. I also watched a chicken program the other month now and they tested how the birds reacted when a predator was about. At one point they let a bird of prey fly around the run and all the chickens darted to cover and didn't come out until it had gone.

[hillfooter]

A frequent question and I've never heard of anyone who has seen this happen.  We have them and kites too and the chickens tend to hide while they are about. 

You can protect your chickens from Sparrowhawks by having tall trees or other vertical obstructions which deter them from swooping which is how they usually attack.

HF

[evie2]

Toward the end of last summer, a mature Sablepoot was taken from our friends farm by a Raptor, he witnessed it, but poots are smaller than general bantams.

We also often have a Sparrow Hawk visit our front garden, it just sits there, very strange  

[8doubles]

A frequent question and I've never heard of anyone who has seen this happen.  We have them and kites too and the chickens tend to hide while they are about. 

You can protect your chickens from Sparrowhawks by having tall trees or other vertical obstructions which deter them from swooping which is how they usually attack.

HF

I think the trees would have to be close together to deter a sparrowhawk which are woodland birds and normally hunt from trees.I have read about spars flying at speed between the horizontal bars of a wooden five bar gate just for the fun of it.
Sparrowhawks will find a discreet perch (a shady tree) and wait for a target to set itself up in a takeable position so do not waste a lot of energy hunting on the wing.
Buzzards and Sparrowhawks are not generally  a threat to large hens.

[elibump]

Although I dont know the answer personally,the local farmer here, who has a field of chickens, has put up a wooden 'cross' wearing an old cagool (sp?) with the hood up so it looks like there is a person in the field.  He says its to stop the buzzards but we also have hen harriers here so although I'm not sure of the answer, Néné has apparently never lost a chicken to buzzards since adding this sculpture to his field.

Eli xx

[shetan]

i'm not sure of buzzards but next door had an adult 5kg rabbit taken from their garden by a sparrowhawk last year- she saw it happening from the kitchen but by the time she got to the door it had carried it off.

i have also had the pair in my garden after bringing down wood pigeons mid flight.

best to be cautious me thinks.

[8doubles]

i'm not sure of buzzards but next door had an adult 5kg rabbit taken from their garden by a sparrowhawk last year- she saw it happening from the kitchen but by the time she got to the door it had carried it off.

i have also had the pair in my garden after bringing down wood pigeons mid flight.

best to be cautious me thinks.

I think a sparrowhawk would not get a wild 1.5kg rabbit off the ground. A 5kg bunny is a golden eagle sized meal.
A woodpigeon at .5kg is about as big a prey item a sparrowhawk will take and it will eat most of that where it kills it.

[richyrich7]

Interesting little article http://www.smallholdingtimes.co.uk/smallholding-articles/protect-chickens-buzzards/ on here about the subject.


Near to us we have a loose female harris hawk, there's been quite a few attempts at catching her but so far she's evaded re-capture She seems to be in real good condition so feeding herself well. Lost her traces etc.  I've been told by a falconer they could easily take a hen or rabbit.

[8doubles]

A couple of locals had Harris hawks which they flew at rabbits with some success , an escapee harris hawk would be a far bigger threat than any wild buzzard as they would be used to humans and urban environments.
If a buzzard is released from an animal rescue centre after treatment the same may apply but they are far less bold than a harris hawk.

[joyfull]

interesting article - thanks RR