From Drovers-Predation

[dun]

This is kind of a drawn out process but the end results are data on predation form various causes and my state.

http://usda.mannlib.cornell.edu

click on Livestock, Dairy, and Poultry

then click on Non-Ambulatory Cattle and Calves

Then select the way you want it displayed

dun

 

[3MR]

It said 8000+ animals were killed by vultures. Thats rather interesting. I've never heard of a vulture actually killing an animal that wasnt on deaths door already.

 

[dj]

It said 8000+ animals were killed by vultures. Thats rather interesting. I've never heard of a vulture actually killing an animal that wasnt on deaths door already.

3MR
this thread will was pretty informative
http://cattletoday.com/forum/viewtopic. ... t=vultures

 

[3MR]

Thanks, it did help. I also found an article on it by the Va Dept of Wildlife.

 

[BC]

It said 8000+ animals were killed by vultures. Thats rather interesting. I've never heard of a vulture actually killing an animal that wasnt on deaths door already.

I invite you to come to East texas and visit with any number of producers that have lost stock to "black vultures" or as most call them "damn Mexican buzzards". They are smaller than the old reh headed turkey vulture and mean as hell. I lost two calves a couple of years ago as they attack the cow while she is down having the calf.

The worst thing about them is that they are a protected species under the Migratory Bird Act of 1919.

 

[denoginnizer]

This is kind of a drawn out process but the end results are data on predation form various causes and my state.

http://usda.mannlib.cornell.edu

click on Livestock, Dairy, and Poultry

then click on Non-Ambulatory Cattle and Calves

Then select the way you want it displayed

dun

I wonder who determined cause of death farmers or scientific types. Around me coyotes get blaimed for almost any calf that is found dead. I am sure they will kill a calf but my experience has been that neighborhood dogs are much worse than coyotes.
Folks move out in the country and just turn there dogs out to "run free".
Had a neighbor ,with a blue healer ,stop and ask if I had seen his blue healer went on to say that he thought the dog might be around cause it "loved to chase cows".

 

[3MR]

It said 8000+ animals were killed by vultures. Thats rather interesting. I've never heard of a vulture actually killing an animal that wasnt on deaths door already.

I invite you to come to East texas and visit with any number of producers that have lost stock to "black vultures" or as most call them "be nice Mexican buzzards". They are smaller than the old reh headed turkey vulture and mean as be nice. I lost two calves a couple of years ago as they attack the cow while she is down having the calf.

The worst thing about them is that they are a protected species under the Migratory Bird Act of 1919.

While looking them up I found out you can get a permit to kill them if you already tried non-lethal means.

 

[dun]

This is kind of a drawn out process but the end results are data on predation form various causes and my state.

http://usda.mannlib.cornell.edu

click on Livestock, Dairy, and Poultry

then click on Non-Ambulatory Cattle and Calves

Then select the way you want it displayed

dun

I wonder who determined cause of death farmers or scientific types. Around me coyotes get blaimed for almost any calf that is found dead. I am sure they will kill a calf but my experience has been that neighborhood dogs are much worse than coyotes.
Folks move out in the country and just turn there dogs out to "run free".
Had a neighbor ,with a blue healer ,stop and ask if I had seen his blue healer went on to say that he thought the dog might be around cause it "loved to chase cows".

I wonder about the same thing. But usually a coyote will eat some of what it kills, a dog will just go find somethingelse toe run down and kill. That;s the only way I coan see that they would know. If someone was there to actually see the kill and tell what did it there wouldn;t be a kill. Well, not by the observed killer anyway.

dun

 

[SPRINGER FARMS MURRAY GRE]

It said 8000+ animals were killed by vultures. Thats rather interesting. I've never heard of a vulture actually killing an animal that wasnt on deaths door already.

I invite you to come to East texas and visit with any number of producers that have lost stock to "black vultures" or as most call them "be nice Mexican buzzards". They are smaller than the old reh headed turkey vulture and mean as be nice. I lost two calves a couple of years ago as they attack the cow while she is down having the calf.

The worst thing about them is that they are a protected species under the Migratory Bird Act of 1919.

Screw that...my philosophy is "Don't ask....don't tell". ;-) :cboy:

 

[samm]

when it comes to protecting my animals from predators, its shoot---shovel---shut up,
naw i aint seen your dog for awhile now, sure hate to hear that he's missin, aw he'll drag in perty soon, i wouldnt worry too much...then ya smile and go back to work,
and for the buzzards they either leave my animals alone, or they'll be the next to be recycled..
but the 3 -s's no explaning needed

samm

 

[BC]

The worst thing about them is that they are a protected species under the Migratory Bird Act of 1919.[/quote]

While looking them up I found out you can get a permit to kill them if you already tried non-lethal means.[/quote]

A lot of red tape and the permit is over $100 for the right to protect what is yours. The law needs to be changed.

 

[Alice]

The worst thing about them is that they are a protected species under the Migratory Bird Act of 1919.

While looking them up I found out you can get a permit to kill them if you already tried non-lethal means.[/quote]

A lot of red tape and the permit is over $100 for the right to protect what is yours. The law needs to be changed.[/quote]

I hate those da*n buzzards. I'll fess up and admit I've never shot anything in my life...but those buzzards...there's a first time for everything.

Alice

 

[Anonymous]

The worst thing about them is that they are a protected species under the Migratory Bird Act of 1919.

well how about we get the guns loaded and take them off of the protected species list and put them onto the extinct species list...

 

[D.R. Cattle]

It said 8000+ animals were killed by vultures. Thats rather interesting. I've never heard of a vulture actually killing an animal that wasnt on deaths door already.

Buzzards are a real problem down here. We estimated 1-2% loss to the dang things. The 1-2% is based on a large ranch when cattle cannot all be monitored during calving season. The buzzards wait for the cow to go down in labor, and then peck out the eyes of the calf. When the cow delivers she'll protect the calf for so long and then give up, allowing the birds to eat tasty veal.

 

[mdmdogs3]

lost a healthy 2 month old calf to buzzards -

for once I'm the one saying couldn't we just buy a silencer and pick them off one by one as they circle their kill

 

[Beefy]

how did you lose a healthy 2 month old calf to buzzards?

 

[mdmdogs3]

our best guess was that they caught him sleeping and plucked out his eyes -
he seemed fine in the morning and at 4pm he was dead with eyes plucked out and about 30 buzzards roosted or on ground around him
ran another calf sleeping a little bit further away back to the herd and got the dead one away ASAP

yes, calf could have died from something else but the buzzards seemed to have moved in very quickly - he had just started to stiffen up

 

[TheBullLady]

I can't imagine a buzzard doing that to a 2 month old calf.. and the calf not getting up and running off before the buzzard could peck him. I would suspect the calf died of something else. Buzzards are very quick to find something dead.. or with the possibility of dying soon. They'll circle a cow before she's even started calving.

I've been very very lucky apparently.. I've never lost a calf to a buzzard, and I'm sure there have been some births that weren't fast. I wonder what predator eats the buzzards?

 

[dun]

I wonder what predator eats the buzzards?

12 Gauge or .22-250. May not eat them but makes them available to the ants.

dun

 

[Hippie Rancher]

I have never heard of vultures killing anything - they are actually pretty weak - wow, that was new.

They can find 'em real fast that is for sure - had a calf killed on the railroad yesterday early morning, vultures were there - it wasn't even stiff yet - still very fresh, I would say no more than an hour or so.


My biggest problem predator is ... Trains. yep. Have more than ten miles of track through this place and some of the fence is probably close to 100 years old (yes it is considered and archeological site - don't ask how I know this) They are finally replacing some of it but still have around 5 miles on one side to do.

Other than that its dogs. The four and two legged varieties.