I was out collecting breakfast dishes this afternoon when an almighty uproar broke out in Cruellas flock. It was so crazy, the roosters were screeching as were the hens. I dropped the dishes and ran over, thinking the worst (fox) but the dogs were not reacting and that confused me. I saw the mum that is rearing the two guinea fowl and she was puffed up and really agitated. She had chased her babies through the poultry netting into the long grass. All the girls and the 3 boys were really on edge. As I walked along the side of their area I saw a sparrow hawk in the grass and it had prey! I ran toward it and it flew off. There in the grass, flapping, was a young wood pigeon. I picked it up as it was still alive. It had lost a lot of feathers, but apart from a cut inside its beak and on the underside of its wing, there were no other obvious injuries. As I lifted it I heard a commotion in the tree above me. The sparrow hawk was back and chasing the young wood pigeons parents. It flew off and I took the youngster to A&E as it has lost a lot of wing feathers, flight feathers included. I have made up a crate for it and have given it some egg food and water and covered it up for the night. Tomorrow, if it survives the shock, I will assess the damage. Half an hour after the first uproar there was another yelling session by Cruellas flock. The sparrow hawk had returned and was in the grass looking for its earlier catch. This time it flew off down the field. Needless to say tomorrow I will be keeping the banties and the babies in their runs. I would hate to lose them to the hawk. I hope the youngster makes it.
Posted on: Fri, 26 Sep 2014 21:38:32 +0000
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