Vultures

[Margonme]

The Turkey Vulture does not prey on live calves.

The be nice they don't. Nowhere near as often as the Mexican variety, but I've seen the turkey vultures go after calves while being born or shortly thereafter.

What TC has there is a target rich environment.

Never heard of a case. I have seen the Mexican Vultures swarming a new born calf and not a single Turkey Vulture involved. I don't doubt that it occurs though.

 

[Bigfoot]

I know the day is coming, when I lose a calf to the black buzzards. They swarm my place everyday. I dozed down a couple of dead trees a couple of weeks ago. That seemed to help a little.

 

[creekdrive]

Great picture TC! I'm very glad we don't have the Mexican vultures I hear about on this board. There is turkey vultures up here, but even they are few and far between and I have never heard of them being a problem when it comes to calving.

 

[cfpinz]

Deer season ends around the first of the year here, so the buzzard buffet winds down during January. The buzzards really start getting aggressive in February here, one more reason I prefer fall calving.

I've found that leaving a dead buzzard laying in the middle of your pasture discourages the others from hanging out.

 

[TCRanch]

Pray you are never cursed with the Mexican buzzards. Lost 6 calves to them 3 years ago.

That's horrible! So sorry for such a loss.

 

[TCRanch]

Margonme got me curious so I googled them and discovered that they are protected by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918. So does that mean you can't legally shoot them unless you catch them killing one of your calves/cows, similar to a mountain lion, bobcat or other predators (except coyotes)? And yes, I have a .22, a .223 & a 380 in my Polaris at all times

 

[TennesseeTuxedo]

Margonme got me curious so I googled them and discovered that they are protected by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918. So does that mean you can't legally shoot them unless you catch them killing one of your calves/cows, similar to a mountain lion, bobcat or other predators (except coyotes)? And yes, I have a .22, a .223 & a 380 in my Polaris at all times

Best advice is to follow the rules of SSS.

 

[callmefence]

The ones with the black heads and white wing tips need to be shot.

Mexican eagle...absolutely the worst.
We have all three. The Mexican eagle is the one that causes most problems. I've never seen trouble from the Mexican buzzards. But I know some who have.

 

[TexasBred]

Pray you are never cursed with the Mexican buzzards. Lost 6 calves to them 3 years ago.

I've been lucky so far but have had to run them away from a fresh born calf a couple of times. The turkey vulture is a much larger than the mexican vulture. The mexican vulture is much more aggressive. I can't prove it but the mexican vulture seems to be attracted by blood whereas the turkey vulture seems to be more attracted to the small of rotting flesh.

 

[Margonme]

Pray you are never cursed with the Mexican buzzards. Lost 6 calves to them 3 years ago.

I've been lucky so far but have had to run them away from a fresh born calf a couple of times. The turkey vulture is a much larger than the mexican vulture. The mexican vulture is much more aggressive. I can't prove it but the mexican vulture seems to be attracted by blood whereas the turkey vulture seems to be more attracted to the small of rotting flesh.

Not according to Wikipedia at least by weight, Richard. Turkey Vulture has greater Wing span. They appear to me to be the same size. They congregate together. I often see them sharing a fawn cut up in the disc mower. They look the same size here.

From Wikipedia:
Black or Mexican Vultures.
The black vulture is a fairly large bird of prey, measuring 56–74 cm (22–29 in) in length, with a 1.33–1.67 m (52–66 in) wingspan. Weight for Black Vultures from North America and the Andes ranges from 1.6–2.75 kg (3.5–6.1 lb).

Turkey Vulture.
A large bird, it has a wingspan of 160–183 cm (63–72 in), a length of 62–81 cm (24–32 in), and weight of 0.8 to 2.3 kg (1.8 to 5.1 lb).

 

[TexasBred]

Turkey vulture certainly look larger. Don't know that I've ever seen them mingle...mexican vulture will be eating and turkey vulture will be off to the side watching. Almost like they are too timid...of course they're usually outnumbered about 6 to 1 as well.

 

[Muddy]

Turkey buzzards almost never attacks a live animal and they're super timid that even a Raven or a small red tailed hawk easily dominate these turkey buzzards at a carcass. Always have turkey buzzards here for years and they never caused any problems.

 

[dun]

Turkey vultures are very solid bodied. Hit one with a truck and it will tear up the grill, bumper and hood.

 

[TexasBred]

Pray you are never cursed with the Mexican buzzards. Lost 6 calves to them 3 years ago.

I've been lucky so far but have had to run them away from a fresh born calf a couple of times. The turkey vulture is a much larger than the mexican vulture. The mexican vulture is much more aggressive. I can't prove it but the mexican vulture seems to be attracted by blood whereas the turkey vulture seems to be more attracted to the small of rotting flesh.

Not according to Wikipedia at least by weight, Richard. Turkey Vulture has greater Wing span. They appear to me to be the same size. They congregate together. I often see them sharing a fawn cut up in the disc mower. They look the same size here.

From Wikipedia:
Black or Mexican Vultures.
The black vulture is a fairly large bird of prey, measuring 56–74 cm (22–29 in) in length, with a 1.33–1.67 m (52–66 in) wingspan. Weight for Black Vultures from North America and the Andes ranges from 1.6–2.75 kg (3.5–6.1 lb).

Turkey Vulture.
A large bird, it has a wingspan of 160–183 cm (63–72 in), a length of 62–81 cm (24–32 in), and weight of 0.8 to 2.3 kg (1.8 to 5.1 lb).

I've never had the opportunity to weigh one of each to confirm this. :lol: :hide:

 

[Williamsv]

Mexican vultures go after blood. We have lost one calf to them and came close to losing some more. These vultures were roosting on a cell phone tower in town. Our farm is about three miles away. We really had some hard times trying to watch cows calving January through May.
Thankfully the city got them off the tower and they left. Hope they never come back. We see them in the road often eating roadkill. The turkey vultures are right with them. I am afraid that they will eventually learn the Mexican vultures' mean ways. One day last winter I saw a Bald Eagle right with them. We don't see many of them here in Middle GA.

 

[Waterway65]

We are calving right now and there are four turkey vultures cleaning up After births. After reading these posts I have been keeping a close eye on them.

 

[Margonme]

We are calving right now and there are four turkey vultures cleaning up After births. After reading these posts I have been keeping a close eye on them.

I bury every after birth I can recover. It definitely attacks Vultures. Here, if the turkey Vultures find it, the black Vultures will soon join them.

 

[A.J.]

I've noticed you can tell the Turkeys are usually more timid just by driving by some road kill. They will usually fly off or get away before you get close to them. The black ones will usually just step back far enough away at the last minute so you don't hit them, then go right back.

 

[Margonme]

I've been lucky so far but have had to run them away from a fresh born calf a couple of times. The turkey vulture is a much larger than the mexican vulture. The mexican vulture is much more aggressive. I can't prove it but the mexican vulture seems to be attracted by blood whereas the turkey vulture seems to be more attracted to the small of rotting flesh.

Not according to Wikipedia at least by weight, Richard. Turkey Vulture has greater Wing span. They appear to me to be the same size. They congregate together. I often see them sharing a fawn cut up in the disc mower. They look the same size here.

From Wikipedia:
Black or Mexican Vultures.
The black vulture is a fairly large bird of prey, measuring 56–74 cm (22–29 in) in length, with a 1.33–1.67 m (52–66 in) wingspan. Weight for Black Vultures from North America and the Andes ranges from 1.6–2.75 kg (3.5–6.1 lb).

Turkey Vulture.
A large bird, it has a wingspan of 160–183 cm (63–72 in), a length of 62–81 cm (24–32 in), and weight of 0.8 to 2.3 kg (1.8 to 5.1 lb).

I've never had the opportunity to weigh one of each to confirm this. :lol: :hide:

Me either and I don't plan to create an opportunity.

When they are flying, the turkey vulture has an impressive wingspan. Generally, the turkey vulture "looks" bigger. The weight range is basically the same. They probably vary in size over their distribution range. In Kentucky, I don't see a dramatic difference in size. In Texas, the turkey vulture could be bigger. That is not unusual.

 

[TennesseeTuxedo]

I've noticed you can tell the Turkeys are usually more timid just by driving by some road kill. They will usually fly off or get away before you get close to them. The black ones will usually just step back far enough away at the last minute so you don't hit them, then go right back.

Swerve