A Whole New Predator

[@Head-ck4hu]

Mike talking to the chicken. "You don't want to get eaten do you?" Chicken: You mean today?

[@ninaappelt9001]

It's a meat chicken. Not eaten just yet and not by an eagle.

[@SagebrushRambles]

@@ninaappelt9001 🙄

[@eagle2019]

Mike, I'm a Falconer. I fly birds of prey, Eagles, Hawks, Falcons, etc. I don't know about cows/calves but I can tell you I've seen a Red Tailed Hawk take out a small deer fawn! You should contact a local Falconer in your area and he/she can give you some guidance.

[@yopierre6407]

I’m a falconer too. Do you really fly eagles?

[@eagle2019]

@@yopierre6407 Yes Golden Eagles, not Bald Eagles.

[@yopierre6407]

@@eagle2019 awesome. What’s your main quarry?

[@cindyboard7816]

Mike realistically you are probably dealing with two eagles. Probably a mating pair raising young!!! Good luck to you!!!

[@laurashipp447]

Great point!!!

[@DaytonaRider1]

Yep!

[@cathyruiz73]

I thought the same thing.

[@Frisbeegrl11]

So sorry to hear about the birds on your ranch, but it is really cool to see the Bald Eagle making a comeback. All you can do is make sure you have secure runs/tractors for your birds. I live in North Carolina and Bald Eagles are also making a comeback here. I just saw one fishing the other day on a lake near me. Amazing to watch!

[@MrMantraMan]

Same in the Chicago land area, I think the Asian carp buffet in the rivers is helping spread eagle pairs

[@MrSteveKape]

Thanks for playing the footage of you and Jeff chasing the chickens on fast speed. It was almost vaudevillian! 😆

[@d.-_-.b]

This is the second farm youtube channel this month to have a bald eagle on their property. Arms Family Homestead has a nest with babies on their farm in Oklahoma!

[@lindseyperry3799]

Wow! It's exciting to see an eagle but they are impressive predators, which kinda kills the thrill! 😂 So happy the peacocks were being stealthy! 30 in 30 is my favorite time of year. Thanks for taking us along!

[@Cent4man]

You see a thief. But, they see themselves as parents who've discovered an all you can eat buffet. 🤣🤣

[@viviangrantz2572]

Your eagle will be taking off now that the Our Ranch buffet has closed. Got to tell this story, the lake where we fish has a pair of eagles. On one trip my husband was reeling in a fish and one of eagles swooped down and grabbed his fish. He was so mad, all I could was laugh but they had babies to feed.

[@wykeishacraft6820]

Good Evening to Our Wyoming Life and all others too.

[@roberto.peterson9917]

Guinea hens make good Eagle spotters and they make lots of noise good guard bird for flock

[@hiker4life4020]

And their eggs are fantastic!!

[@truneilson]

Or a guard goose.

[@ninaappelt9001]

Holy smokes, a bald eagle. Watch out for those barn cats too. Your hair looks nice Erin.

[@barbcoleus]

Someone said better wire on that chicken thing you built. I agree.

[@robertmoore1123]

And small dogs

[@kimberli2391]

We have the same problem here in northern California. We have had to stop letting our chickens free range. When we first locked up the chickens the eagle would sit in the tree tops very angry. We have an surprising helper with the problem though. The vultures that live and fly over head. They dive bomb the Bald eagle and hawks that come too close. Pretty amazing to watch. The eagle does not give quickly but eventually does fly away. Our other helpers are our German shepherd dogs. They are trained to know areas on our farm and to wait to run until I say free. So when I hear the eagle or Hawks scream in the sky, I say "Barn, Free!" The dogs take off, loving every moment. They do not know they are chasing anything, but them running is enough to scare away the predator birds. Good luck!

[@CKKnifeandTool]

Our Blue Heeler barks and chases anything that flies and is bigger than a sparrow. He’s come to learn hawks, eagles and crows/ravens are bad and he go nuts and would run through everyone’s pastures chasing a “big bird”.

[@kelbyanschutz3941]

Mike im in Kansas and a small cow calf operation and help out a couple out large ranches which both have suffered calf losses due to bald eagles this year. So please keep a close eye on the baby calves

[@robertmoore1123]

I have seen them around gravett ark . We have them on beaver lake ark which is not to far away as the eagle flys .

[@bevwood8210]

Nova Scotia, in the Annapolis Valley area there's a chicken processing plant where every day at 4:30 they throw out unusable pieces of chicken. There are countless Bald Eagles as far as the eye can see! Maybe it's one of those migration eagles who has a taste for fowl.

[@PuffinPsychologist]

SC here and I’m happy to see our national bird making a comeback. However, they are causing issues for our rich agricultural region and the farmers that take care of this land. I’m a 22 year old female who does not own cattle or any agricultural materials myself. However, many of my family members and community members own vast farms and livestock of all kinds. It’s hard for them when bald eagles are ruining their domestic bird populations and other things. Even so, we have so much respect for bald eagles (as you should) that all we can really do is call DNR (our wildlife protection agency) and report the eagles. They always tell us that all we can do is (same as you) go on the defensive. It is bitter sweet because it causes major problems. Even so, we deal with them in stride because we are so happy to see a comeback of this majestic & endangered bird. In fact: Bald eagles are becoming so prominent out here that just recently my husband and I were on our way home and we saw 2 bald eagles (I assume a mated pair) literally hanging out on the side of the highway. They didn’t fly away or anything. They were just sitting there- pecking along the roadside. We were worried about their safety so we called DNR just to report that we sighted the 2 in our area beside the highway. This is very important. Whether you are a farmer, rancher, or even a regular person… If you see a Bald Eagle (or any endangered/Protected animal for that matter): You should always call and report the sighting to your Wildlife protection agency. Just so they are able to document that the animal is in or near the area and provide reasonable protection.

[@justingwin9758]

I feel your pain, we lost 12 chickens in one day to a bald eagle.

[@kenrosser8160]

You need to put another layer of wire on top of the chickens eagles have very strong claws

[@susans9617]

We have had bald and golden eagles - they eat your chickens, poultry, fish, cats, small dogs, lambs, smaller calves as well. Beautiful birds, but they will definitely have an eye on meals! Good luck as they are protected. Defensive moves ahead.

[@stevebennett9839]

21:04 red cow with her new calf would make a good screen saver, or did u ever think of making an O.W.L calender to sell?

[@stevehairston9940]

I like the calendar idea. I'd buy one of those in a heart beat. Whaddya say Mike?

[@reevinriggin3570]

Really diggin the doo, Erin. Looks good! I say that so Mike can have a better life. :)

[@terrimoore5181]

I haven’t been watching your channel till now. I have really enjoyed the shows you have been doing for the last 30 days.

[@hooks747]

I quote Mike talking to a chicken "nobody wants you to get eaten". Well I'm no eagle, but I am bald and I want to eat the chicken. Thank you for including a cow segment, i could smell the chicken poop on you tube. lol

[@ernestdougherty3162]

Amen to that brother

[@jangrahame4891]

A mated pair of eagles will take 3 to 6 birds a day depending on how many chicks they have, and how old the chicks are.

[@xtctrader1467]

"You don't want to get eaten" - Chicken - "Ask me that same question in a couple months".

[@patriciabeyer7824]

Hi. That's really unnerving when you have a number of calves in the field plus all the poultry mainly free ranging. Nice work guys. 🙌🙌🙌👍 Erin, pretty hair girl. God bless you all. 👍🙏☝️🥰

[@NadoriKaija]

If you lose too many, you could be compensated by the government with proof of eagle activity on the chickens. A guy in Georgia was losing 500 chickens a day to a huge flock of eagles, 20 of which stay there full-time, and no method he used helped. So he fought the government for compensation and eventually won. This was in 2017-2018.

[@KellysAdventures305]

The Eagle probably has a nest near by. Since the bird carried away the prey and only left feathers, its likely a part of a pair feeding chicks. Gosh, I'm so sorry about your birds. I really loved the peacocks. Farmers have had issues like this for centuries, as you know.

[@jwenting]

yeah, my thought too. It's a pair of them out there, with a nest. Were there no chicks they'd not be killing that much that quickly, but with a number of hungry growing mouths to feed they would. Eagles aren't like feral cats that kill for fun, they kill for food only.

[@KellysAdventures305]

@@jwenting you're right about that. I like to think cats kill for practice. I wish they would just eat their cat food a live lives of leisure and just catch mice. But they kill birds and and lizards too. I love cats but they can decimate native birds.

[@theFunzyBear]

I am so glad all the birds will be safe now and especially that the peacocks were found! - Kim

[@davemadeja8466]

You look mahvelous, Erin! Good luck with the Eagle(s)

[@loganabrahamson2317]

My grandfather told the game warden that he had his checkbook, he just wished he had his gun, you know, to handle a predator problem.

[@3611136111]

you can ask a falconer but it's my understanding that an eagle cannot fly up and release something. It has to land to unlock it's claws. As soon as they make a kill they pluck it.

[@gerryglaser1521]

Cute haircut Erin. This is not the first time we have noticed your pretty hair and commented on the obvious care and attention always given to your nice ranch mom appearance

[@tanyajenkins919]

Wow Mike that is sure nice of Jeff to come help out from his vacation

[@oxfletch]

You might want 1/2" hardware cloth over the chicken wire - its a lot stronger. Also ... could hang the food & water from ceiling corner braces - makes it a lot easier to move!

[@jwenting]

he knows, he says in the video he wanted that but couldn't get any so makes do with doubled up chicken wire for now.

[@vivianwinford3681]

Mike you have a problem. There are A LOT of BALD EAGLES in your area. When I was living there years ago we were on a trip to Devil's Tower and went past a field of quite a few dead sheep ( same time horses were being shot in pasture). There were more than 50 Bald Eagles eating on the carcasses or flying around. My husband, Bill, and I were amazed as were the folks in several other cars that had pulled over. You should be able to get netting to cover the chicken yard. Good Luck. Keyhole Lake has fish and Devil's Tower isn't too far for an Eagle looking for a meal. Haircut looks good Erin.

[@vickyburton2434]

Movable chicken pen is a perfect answer!😇

[@moneyandtimefreedom3352]

Mike👁👁 Mark these dates on your calendar, as the eagles migrate through or are nesting and they discovered the ranch as a food source they will return each year to this food source. They are quite predictable

[@sandracorless6186]

That's very interesting🤔🦅

[@sukochilee4770]

This is just.maddening.

[@mariaragnarsson8459]

You can try to fasten blue strings criss-cross over the birds yard. Birds can see blue good and the eagle will not try to land were it can not fly away from. This technique works with sea eagle i Norway.

[@ionecuff6323]

I hope the eagle/s will move on to Alaska since the weather has been warming up there. I know they have to feed their young and they have to survive also, but sad that they have taken goose and chickens. Hopefully locking up the buffet will discourage him and he will move on. Erin always looks so very nice. I have a question, will you ever make zippered up hoodies for those of us that can't raise our arms over our heads?

[@barbaramalloy6565]

That is one impressive bird! There is nothing you can do, they are a protected animal. When we had missing chickens, geese or ducks dad had a pen built and that’s where they stayed. You are doing a good job making sure the eagle can’t get any more of your animals.

[@mikelepere312]

Contact a falconer - they might have a “not scared” falcon to persuade/bother the eagle while in flight. Falcons are a much faster flyer. Just it’s presence might be enough to get the eagle to leave on its own.

[@normansandersiii5294]

Bald eagles naturally eat Caribou calf, so yes I would think that they would attack a newborn calf. 👍🏻

[@sunray8136]

We have eagles around here in rural Minnesota. See them most weeks. When my daughter was about 8 years old old she came running up to me and said mommy 3 eagles swooped down at me. She said the mom and dad eagles were yelling at the kid eagle telling him not to eat human kids 😄. I thought it was adorable her interpretation then I thought she probably was right. 😮

[@jeffwerter365]

Just wait until he attacks the drone. Someone will be really pissed.

[@mikestone9129]

And the eagle will attack it, I've had crows attack mine.

[@coreyshelman]

Ya Erin will be pissed

[@hoagland1943]

A question for you Mike. Living in Ohio, we have all the trees and birds that can possibly grow and live in the mid west. Why aren't there trees growing in Wyoming? I don't see and bushes around the house or barns either. Thanks, Chris

[@janvafa9959]

Not enough water. Wyoming is high mountain desert... the only places you see trees are around rivers or where settlers planted them for wind breaks and then they have to be drought tolerant varieties!

[@tankscrittersandurbanhomes5579]

One thing I've heard, never tried and not sure the efficacy, is stringing those strips of colored triangle flags around your tractor about 5-6 ft taller that it helps put a flight obstacle in the eagles way from a flight attack.

[@charleslynch7274]

Bald eagles are very beautiful birds but dam that sucks ur dealing with that problem I wish u nothing but the best and Erin's hair cut looks great

[@cathymacdonald1469]

I know how you feel Mike, on our farm we kept 100 meat chickens, but between the Chicken Hawk ( Red Tailed Hawk)and the Mink which we were unable to keep out of the pen ( it didn’t matter what we tried ) by fall we only had 50 left. It was a very bad summer for the chickens. The decision was made not to have them again. We never had them again.

[@jorgeesser8532]

Hey Mike and Aaron bald eagles are extraordinarily strong and very very smart good luck to you both and best wishes to your animals

[@christydonham6922]

Erins hair looks great! Love that color - so jealous that she can get her hair to look so shiny and straight

[@Marshall_Weber]

Awesome Video and Much Love as Always Mike!!!

[@DJ-bh1ju]

You may well have a problem with critters digging under the sides of the chicken tractor. Up here in NY we'd have a dozen different kinds of critters looking for a way in... Love Erin's hair too, BTW......

[@kellycarter4944]

We had 2 bald eagles hanging out in the area Feb/Mar when the big calf ranch nearby was at their peak calving.

[@CindyKinney]

Oh, boy, anything but a bald eagle, right? I feel for the goose. Erin, your hair looks lovely, my dear.

[@rnull2237]

Hopefully the eagle gives up, awesome video and Erin's hair do looks amazing. Great video Mike and Erin.

[@kathyhoward3961]

We have trouble with the Black Vulture they will kill a new born calf if we do not find it in time in the spring and summer , I lost 5 calves one year to them , so now I have to bring them to the night lot when they are getting close to calving and I can see them better , It does upset me

[@micahhammac1242]

The government is supposed to pay farmers for animals decimated by protected species but it takes like 6 months for each claim and if you wait for it to pile up as far as $$$ then it takes longer to pay.

[@martyweirick9846]

Mike, You need to use some livestock guardian dogs to protect your birds. Good breeds include Great Pyrenees, Anatolian Shepherd and Maremmano-Abruzzese Sheepdog. Most common in the US are Great Pyrenees. The dogs must be raised with livestock from birth with a mother that is trained as a guardian dog.

[@georgedavidson7986]

Yes. GoldShaw farm has one. Toby

[@ernestdougherty3162]

Erin your hair looks great and great job on the video thanks for sharing and God bless you all

[@BethGrantDeRoos]

A friends chicken tractor has the feeders on the low corner cross braces and the watering set up are nipples connected to a big 30 gallon Rubbermaid garbage can that is on the outside of the tractor.

[@dorisfleming705]

I have problem with Hanks, owls,and raven's,plus squirrels,I get heads from our beauty school after the students are done with cut all the hair off,I get them and make people out of them either standing next to the chicken pen or setting down close,I take old hats and old clothes they can have holes or torn,and put a motion light in their hand or on the chair,it keeps coyote and owl's, Hanks away,

[@lynnhalfsteadingwmastx5696]

In our mounted patrol we always try to wear dark blk or gray during cold weather here in South Texas it is 1 Oct- 31 March. Then straw for warmer weather.

[@hades-fs5ze]

Our Wyoming life is relaxing channel

[@xlxyetixlx]

I have seen a bald eagle kill a deer before.... Couldn't believe my eyes

[@jamesnunn9648]

Mike, James from NC we seen him about 10 miles down the road when we was leaving your farm last week. He was on one of the fence post

[@Cent4man]

You need to invest in a couple of good Italian Maremma Sheepdog. These dogs are bred specifically to protect sheep and chickens from aerial predators such as bald eagles. They will also protect your newborn calves. Yes, while not normally on the menu, eagles can and will take the occasional calf. Given that they're feeding on the afterbirth and placenta, they are going to develope a taste for calves.

[@joselynensign9014]

Mike lol you telling the chicken it doesn't want to get eaten when that is exactly what you will do in a little while.😆

[@jogillett8518]

Hahaha yes that poor little guy. Hes someones dinner either way 🍗🍗

[@janetyoung6097]

you also might have to build chicken tractor for the ducks and geese too.

[@maryschultze624]

Love your hair Erin! Good luck with the eagles. Love 💕 & hugs 🤗 God bless

[@mikestone9129]

Look at Erin's hair do, she looks like a movie star:-)

[@yolandafrasier8200]

How will you know when the bald eagle(s) are gone?

[@donnaritch4934]

I used to raise chickens, ducks, geese, pigeons, etc. years ago. Not sure if you know this or not, but geese mate for life. Once they mate, they do not mate with another from then on. We had a pair of white mated geese yrs ago and the male goose inexplicably died one day. The female goose ended up grieving herself to death over the loss of her mate. So, your goose isn't going to get over the loss of that goose if they were a mated pair any time soon.

[@tomrobertson3236]

Birds can see fish line and avoid it You can stretch It over areas you want to protect . Or to keep them out

[@jayjdietrich]

Nobody wants to get eaten, says Mike to the meat chicken. lol

[@michellehanson6614]

Eagles along with Vultures will kill new born calves . They attack them by plucking their eyes out . Have had a few calves killed by both birds. Makes calving very challenging sometimes.

[@deanknowles1631]

Eagles can dig. One dug under my parents screen enclosure protecting the pool area from bugs and mosquitoes and got there small wiener dog in Florida. They are smart.

[@rodneywroten2994]

I love the way you tell a meat chicken. ( you dont want to get eatin do ya) lol Not yet anyway lololo

[@kennethroth6757]

You can't use the extra high tunnel for the chickens?

[@nikkolettguyer4913]

The high tunnel is Erin’s garden

[@garyag45]

Will the feds replace any of your animals like when the wolves take calves up north?

[@Traks_threw_life86]

We've got a spot on the smoky hill river in Kansas a quarter mile from my backdoor that's referred to as "eagle's nest". They're amazing birds!

[@beverlycurtis6707]

Put a small hinged door on the top so you can get inside and feed and water the chickens

[@kathrynhelm4176]

Well Darn.....just when you thought you were only dealing with the “known” problems up jumps a new one! Erin, your hair looks great...laughed over your comment of “smells like cow”! 😂🤣😝. ❤️

[@lancebryce5038]

Mike glad you found the predator!!! I was wondering if you could set up your chicken tractor feeders and water on a pulley system like you did in the chick raising section of your chicken house so you don’t have to crawl around in the chicken droppings?

[@Benglator1]

Birds of prey once they grab their target will begin to de-feather their food so they can eat some of it on the spot. If they carry away what is left you end up with your circle of feathers. Since they are picking up the bodies then most likely a breeding pair nearby as they are taking the food to the nest. If no nest you would find the carcass on the ground. I have watched Bald Eagles, owls and Ospreys do this here where I live in Florida. Good luck as you already know there is not much you can do but make it harder for them to feed off your birds.

[@stephano1213]

Just a heads up. Eagles have been known to go after calves eyes.

[@ThompsonJosh98]

We've had them take out quite a few calves here in northern Alberta. They land on the calves back so aggressively they break it's back. Be cautious

[@greathodgy22]

Do what Ralph Klein said to do: S, S and S U.

[@laurashipp447]

Whatever Jeff's do in the wild!! 😂

[@truneilson]

I used to be a river guide and the eagles come back every year to have their young... if they have food they will be back. And they usually stay as a pair until the young is raised.

[@rickyalva8776]

It baby season and here in Florida April and March all predators are highly aggressive due to the need to feed there babies i have several bald eagles take my chickens along with huge owls and theirs nothing you can do other than look at the feathers to figure out who didn't make it . Mike a big fake owl sometimes helps along with red light bulb at night near the coops . Good luck

[@mikew7727]

There is a major eagle mating area up here in north Idaho. Sometimes there are more eagles than ravens on road kill deer and elk.

[@caryntemplar6801]

We use aluminum pie pans, Dalen rotating head owl. Eagles don’t like shiny items and owls. When Eagles can not find their first choice of food (fish), their second choice is small land animals.

[@JohnThomas-lq5qp]

Such a beautiful bird. life long big city boy who was almost 65 years old before seeing my first eagle. Amazing how high they can fly and size of their nest. They have the local eagles nest roped off and think you can not get to within 500' of best. Try to visit the area in early spring before leaves block the view. With my binoculars looks like a golf cart would fit inside big well constructed nest.

[@barbcoleus]

We have a breeding paid of eagles in our area. They are a tourist attraction here. There are video cameras set up so that people can watch the birth of the baby eagles. So its different than your area for sure

[@prplhz2]

That eagle can take cats too. Hope the eagle moves on!

[@vivianwinford3681]

Yes, a lot of people don't realize this. Small dogs too.

[@ninaappelt9001]

I used to watch an eagle nest out of Iowa. One day one of the eagles brought a full grown black cat to the babies.

[@marthacalkins8054]

Max they can lift and fly with is about 2.5 pounds.

[@careyfamily9822]

I too took a picture of a pair of bald eagles out my back window today as I was checking on our chickens. I'm on the western side of the state and we are filthy with them. South of us around Kemmerer, the Golden eagles are bad and they will take fawns and small calves.

[@BabyfaceATL]

Probably about a 1000 you tube videos of them flying off with 5 pound plus fish

[@RuthJones-iz1ve]

Sorry to here about the predator problem. Chicken tractor is awesome. Erin’s hair is beautiful along with being a beautiful lady. Have a wonderful evening.

[@ianthechef8818]

Weve got an issues with White Tailed Eagles here in Scotland, same issue but also taking a lot of lambs , the white tails are a bit bigger than the bald eagles.. we cant do much about them also..

[@geofftaylor934]

Nice job on the Chicken Tractor!! NICE HAIR, ERIN!!!!!! :)

[@joanneganon7157]

Oh man Dang Bird, you worked so hard keeping the Peacocks in so they would stick around😝. We had one diving for Kittens😨. Thank goodness you found them😘 Go away Bald Eagle 😠 Your hair looks nice Erin. JO JO IN VT 💕😄

[@orajohnson2612]

I hate to be the bad news bear. But we have eagles here and they will take a new calf being born. It has happened here many times.