What ever. I grew up farm with the realities of farm/poultry/livestock.
From: jajeanpierre <jajeanpierre@yahoo.com>
To: CHICKENS-101@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Sunday, July 28, 2013 10:13 AM
Subject: [CHICKENS-101] Re: The Most Unusual Livestock Guardian
Cathryn rainbowsilkiesTM in Michigan
From: jajeanpierre <jajeanpierre@yahoo.com>
To: CHICKENS-101@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Sunday, July 28, 2013 10:13 AM
Subject: [CHICKENS-101] Re: The Most Unusual Livestock Guardian
Why would you say that, Cathryn? A raptor would have to catch a macaw to eat it.
Many hawks that are a real threat to chickens pose almost no threat to a macaw. For example, a Red Tailed hawk is no threat to my parrots, even my small ones because they are so slow and not very agile in the air. They won't even try to catch a bird in the air. Their primary food source will be ground animals, not birds.
I've flown parrots outside for over a decade--hawks are not the risk to parrots that they are to defenseless chickens.
I've had many chases by various birds of prey and even vultures. Most chases are territorial in nature or just plain curiosity.
Not all hawks can take a bird in flight. The Accipiters are the biggest threat, but it has to be one that is big enough to tackle a bird the size of a macaw. That means only a very big female Coopers or a Northern Goshawk (which is very rare). A big falcon (again a rare bird) might tackle a macaw but unlikely. They certainly will chase. The other hawks that are so dangerous to chickens, such as the Buteo family (Red Tailed Hawk, etc.), are not fast enough or agile enough to take down a bird in the air.
I once watched a Peregrine falcon try to catch a small bird. The little bird had no cover at all, out in the open about 50 feet up. The Peregrine swooped in, the bird dodged and the Peregrine overshot, turned and swooped in again. This went on for a long, long time before the Peregrine finally gave up and flew over the hill.
I've had many a conversation about attacks on my parrots with a dear friend who is not only an avian vet, but a falcon expert. He runs a conservation center in Abu Dhabi. He regularly goes on hunting trips around the world with falcons. If anyone is an expert on birds becoming prey, it is Jaime.
When evaluating risk to a flying parrot, you have to look at just what could get actually take it down, or what would want to tackle a parrot on the ground. My friend Jaime believes that a macaw's massive beak will be a deterrent and any chases I've experienced have been just instinctual chases and curiosity chases or territorial in nature. He sees this instinctual/curiosity chase regularly when on hunting expeditions. A large falcon will be chasing their prey, but another hawk will be following along.
There are not very many birds that are large enough to take down a big macaw even if they could catch it. A large Coopers female is the bird I fear the most in my area since a really big one would be similar in size to the macaw and is an ambush predator with a short burst of speed plus superb maneuverability amongst the trees, so they could out fly my macaw for short bursts through the trees. Also, starving juveniles are always a threat because they are so desperate. Owls are another threat, but not leaving birds loose near dusk will largely avoid that risk.
And, yes, a pet macaw could stay outside all day sounding the alarm. I know people who leave their parrots out. I can't risk it because they might land on another flight and end up biting the toes and feet of the other birds in the other aviary. Or they might decide to tear my house apart.
Between the peacocks next door and my own caged macaws, they do alert quite often. I just hope the chickens understand the alarm calls of the peacocks and the macaws. It didn't take my macaws long to understand the alarm calls of the peacock, so I can only hope the chickens will pick it up as well.
JanetRecent Activity:
Many hawks that are a real threat to chickens pose almost no threat to a macaw. For example, a Red Tailed hawk is no threat to my parrots, even my small ones because they are so slow and not very agile in the air. They won't even try to catch a bird in the air. Their primary food source will be ground animals, not birds.
I've flown parrots outside for over a decade--hawks are not the risk to parrots that they are to defenseless chickens.
I've had many chases by various birds of prey and even vultures. Most chases are territorial in nature or just plain curiosity.
Not all hawks can take a bird in flight. The Accipiters are the biggest threat, but it has to be one that is big enough to tackle a bird the size of a macaw. That means only a very big female Coopers or a Northern Goshawk (which is very rare). A big falcon (again a rare bird) might tackle a macaw but unlikely. They certainly will chase. The other hawks that are so dangerous to chickens, such as the Buteo family (Red Tailed Hawk, etc.), are not fast enough or agile enough to take down a bird in the air.
I once watched a Peregrine falcon try to catch a small bird. The little bird had no cover at all, out in the open about 50 feet up. The Peregrine swooped in, the bird dodged and the Peregrine overshot, turned and swooped in again. This went on for a long, long time before the Peregrine finally gave up and flew over the hill.
I've had many a conversation about attacks on my parrots with a dear friend who is not only an avian vet, but a falcon expert. He runs a conservation center in Abu Dhabi. He regularly goes on hunting trips around the world with falcons. If anyone is an expert on birds becoming prey, it is Jaime.
When evaluating risk to a flying parrot, you have to look at just what could get actually take it down, or what would want to tackle a parrot on the ground. My friend Jaime believes that a macaw's massive beak will be a deterrent and any chases I've experienced have been just instinctual chases and curiosity chases or territorial in nature. He sees this instinctual/curiosity chase regularly when on hunting expeditions. A large falcon will be chasing their prey, but another hawk will be following along.
There are not very many birds that are large enough to take down a big macaw even if they could catch it. A large Coopers female is the bird I fear the most in my area since a really big one would be similar in size to the macaw and is an ambush predator with a short burst of speed plus superb maneuverability amongst the trees, so they could out fly my macaw for short bursts through the trees. Also, starving juveniles are always a threat because they are so desperate. Owls are another threat, but not leaving birds loose near dusk will largely avoid that risk.
And, yes, a pet macaw could stay outside all day sounding the alarm. I know people who leave their parrots out. I can't risk it because they might land on another flight and end up biting the toes and feet of the other birds in the other aviary. Or they might decide to tear my house apart.
Between the peacocks next door and my own caged macaws, they do alert quite often. I just hope the chickens understand the alarm calls of the peacocks and the macaws. It didn't take my macaws long to understand the alarm calls of the peacock, so I can only hope the chickens will pick it up as well.
JanetRecent Activity:
To post a message to the list go to
CHICKENS-101@yahoogroups.com
CHICKENS-101@yahoogroups.com
.
__._,_.___
| Reply via web post | Reply to sender | Reply to group | Start a New Topic | Messages in this topic (5) |
To post a message to the list go to
CHICKENS-101@yahoogroups.com
CHICKENS-101@yahoogroups.com
.
__,_._,___
No comments:
Post a Comment