fhtfire
351 posts
Mar 01, 2006
9:50 PM
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Well,
I got the double whammy today! I flew the B-team..No Problem...the Young bird team...no Problem...then the A team...PROBLEM!!
They came out and looked damn good...then a hawk came in and split the kit in two...the hawk went after one of my cocks...while he was chasing the cock...two crows were chasing the hawk...well...all the birds got away...then they did what they usually do...the team went up and up and up and up to get away from the hawk...I could still count 16 and they were hitting some good breaks...but they were so far up that I needed my Binoc'S...well, after about 2 hours..3 birds came back...then 2 birds....They would come in 2 or three at a time..until about 4 pm today..I let them out at 11am...Everything came back but 3 birds...A knock out Ruby Roller hen, Roe Check Hen and a Campbell Dark Check hen...Man...I am pissed...but it could have been worse...like last year (losing the whole team)...I think I would have been fine if the hawk did not push them up. It was a beautiful blue sky day...light wind and I Flew two kits first with no problems. The shitty part...is that two of the hens that were lost were on my list for the stock loft if they held it together! I hope they will come back tomorrow. I have 12 birds in the B-team that are just itching to take up some spots...I hope they get a little better so that they can be moved over. Now my A team is down to 13...If they do not come back...I will for sure have to go to the bull pen....
Anyway..I wish that I had a camera....because it was a pretty wierd site...pigeon being chased by a hawk and the hawk being chased by the crows...It looked like a mig...being chased bay an F-16 with the F-16 being chased by two "Blue Angels" those crows fit the name...They were my angels...because if they weren't on the hawks ass...the hawk would be eating squab right now..LOL!!
SOOOOOO...I hate hawk and Overflys..
You know what is funny...when you are short on birds..they do not breed fast enough..and when you are full of birds..you think they breed to fast!
rock and ROLL
Paul
Last Edited by fhtfire on Mar 01, 2006 10:04 PM
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Tony Chavarria
Site Publisher
509 posts
Mar 01, 2006
9:52 PM
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Hey Paul, so do blank posts! LOL
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FLY ON! Tony Chavarria
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wizard
13 posts
Mar 01, 2006
9:53 PM
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man....thats pretty funny................wizard
i was squintin my eyes could'nt see nothin...lol
Last Edited by wizard on Mar 01, 2006 9:54 PM
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wizard
14 posts
Mar 01, 2006
10:21 PM
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sorry about your dive bombers.......
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Bluesman
Pigeon Fancier
682 posts
Mar 02, 2006
2:47 AM
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Paul.Sorry to hear about losing some birds.It always hurts.I hate them too.Seems like it is getting worse.A fellow can only mix things up so much to keep them guessing and not establish a pattern.The hawks here have been letting my old birds alone and waiting untill I put up my young kits.Then they are all over them like stink on a skunk.
I flew my A team yesterday afternoon because if things work according to plan I will be flying mid afternoon for the WC Fly.I always fly everything in the mornings and work my squeaker kits in the afternoons.I only seen one hawk all morning and it decided to let my rollers alone.
When I put up my A Team there was 5 hawks all around them.Weather was like your day and my team took off for space.Mine went out of eyesight but the hawks were still circling so I kicked out a young kit and sacrificed 2 of them to get the sky cleared of Hawks so my A Team would come back down.It worked this time and I didn't lose any from my A Team.
Hopefully when the Doves and Robins come back in a couple of weeks they will get their bellies full and I can get some good flying time.
Hope your birds come back today.Even one would ease the pain.David
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maxspin
17 posts
Mar 02, 2006
6:58 AM
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Paul,
I lost 15 birds in two similar incidents this winter. I had some late hatches that I was trying to get some airtime to. There just isn't enough light after work to get them back down after a hawk attack. I lost half the kit both times. I had switched up my breeders mid-season trying to get a better handle on what I have. I lost almost all of the birds from the second matings. What a waste of time and effort. This year I am going to fill the kit boxes early and make sure I can lock them down.
Keith
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Sourland
42 posts
Mar 02, 2006
7:19 AM
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Paul,
Good luck on birds returning. Had the same deal last November. Three hawks working a kit of 23. Birds disappeared out of sight. Over the course of three days, all but 3 returned. The three that did not return were the best hens that I had raised out of some birds I obtained from Dave Szabaturra. Stuff happens! I understand your frustration and wish you luck.
Geo.
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Mount Airy Lofts
123 posts
Mar 02, 2006
12:16 PM
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Paul F.,
That is a bummer!
I lost acouple of birds this past Jan-Feb. My first birds to go were two full brothers I had made up my mind to stock if they turned out half decent. The father croak this past Winter, so I opted to stock the best type youngster out of the 6 I had left. Out of 6, there were only two that caught my eye as young birds. Well, the hawks chased them away the second time out since a long lock down. (due to Fall Hunting)
The next bird to go was my of my 2003 bred Cock bird. I had all my old birds tucked away until I got my young birds up and going from the lock down. Well, long story short, it killed itself the second time I let them out. Darnnest thing too, as the bird didn't fly much but 10 feet before ripping one. I think the gay sex caused it to take flight after being mounted by a full brother. He was with out a doubt my fastest, cleanest, roller. A bird one of my good buddy swears he saw blurr out once.
Then we had a cold spell come thru acouple of weeks ago. Top that with a fresh coat of snow. It caused many if not all my young birds to crash coming out or coming in. Of course, the two fastest birds killed themselves right after hitting. I have a outstanding young bird on the injury list because it hit super hard - made the loudest sound I have ever heard. The best young bird blow out a eye while performing - still don't know how that occurred. And to top that off, I lost a promising young Cock bird that was starting to turn it on after it bumped and became confused. I should of picked it up right away it hit but figured it would fly back on the roof and trap in. Wrong, when I finally decided to check it out, it flew up and never to be seen again. Talk about having a bad month. Now, I am down to just a small core of birds to up grade. What sucks is that these birds as still just tumbling and who knows when they will come around if any. I am hoping to add 6 more to my old bird team so I'll have 15 to fly in this year's competitons.
Thor
P.S. The cold spell lasted for one week. My young birds that never bumped before killed themselves or injuried themselves. What was wierd was birds that only could tumble, crashed coming out as well with the ones that were as stable as a rock. Talking about kissing good birds away. The temps that I flew under were -20 F plus Wind Chills.
P.S.S. I am now a believer of not to fly in extreme cold temps. Then again, we hardly do what we preach.. so I'm pretty sure these won't be the last birds I kissed off due to poor judgement. On a plus note, my breeders have just laid their first clutch of eggs and I am on my way to the 2006 breeding season. Looks good if I get the same velocity I got from last year's crop.
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Shaun
298 posts
Mar 02, 2006
12:56 PM
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Well, Paul, as a fellow musician, I played a bit of blues guitar for you tonight and wished you were there with your horn! Ok, with that out of the way, what's this about crows? I've got plenty of those around, but they're just big, black, slow, flappy things. Why should hawks find them a problem?
Shaun
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MCCORMICKLOFTS
413 posts
Mar 02, 2006
1:17 PM
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Shaun, ever walk into a room filled with little snot nosed ankle biters (children) and your arms filled with candy while some idiot told the kids it's all for them....lol. The next few minutes of exscrutiating pain and mental anguish the little vermin invoke upon you as they claw away at you is about the same thing when it comes to crows and hawks.
You see, crows are of the mockingbird/jay family and they are very intelligent. Their mortal enemy are predators who will take their babies from their nests. Consequently, the crows will do the same thing too. But the crows are crafty and smart, and they like to run in packs. The more the merrier. A band of hellions on the look out for cats and predators. When they find one sitting in a tree they will dive bomb it endlessly until the predator moves on. If the predator is posted and trying to hunt, the onslaught of continual nagging by the crows will force the pred to go elsewhere. I always listen to my crows. If they are silent in the morning, I know there are no coopers around. If they are yapping and making a fuss, I better be on the look out.
If you want to keep crows around, just toss some hot dogs in your yard when they are around. They like hot dogs and will hang out every day to get a meal. Then your place becomes their place. I give mine the extra eggs from the hen loft and the babies that froze or died. Keep them watch dogs on my side.
Brian.
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FULLTURN
4 posts
Mar 02, 2006
2:04 PM
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Better yet. cross your rollers with crows or blue jays if you are a color breeder and you'll never have problems with pred. again. The only problem I have had, is that my crowlers will only eat hot dogs. LOL
Ron
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J_Star
283 posts
Mar 03, 2006
7:23 AM
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In my neighborhood, it's the Blue jays who keep vigilant watch for the other birds. They scream like hell when a coop or a cat around in a hunting mood. I am like Scott, watched the crows sit on the tree making some noise while the hawk do his thing. Remember, when the hawk is hungry, nothing will stop him from snatching that bird - nothing.
Jay
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motherlodelofts
623 posts
Mar 04, 2006
4:01 PM
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Paul my guess is that weather and up draft type conditions played in far more than the hawks did.
Scott
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