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Can Sparrowhawks Take A Piggy?

Janice C

Janice C

Adult Guinea Pig
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Location
Scottish Borders
IMG_0263.webp Although I have lovely runs attached to my Pihhy Palace they do get garden time while I'm at home. The other day I spotted a Sparrowhawk sitting on the back fence? Could it pick up a full grown pig?
 
I would imagine so. Birds of Prey are very fast. You have tops on the runs?
 
yes they can prey on guinea pigs :( . all runs need strong galvanised metal to ensure predator proof.ive seen a magpie take a friends guinea pig,very unpleasant.Hope your piggies are ok.x
 
.. Oh, that must have been dreadful to witness Eileen :yikes:
 
I can only say, I agree with the above 2 posters. I've seen Sparrowhawks go after pigeons in my garden. I'm not saying a Sparrowhawk would be able to pick up and fly off with a guinea pig - but the shock would be bad enough.

I always cover my runs to protect from air predators.
 
sport_billy said:
I would imagine so. Birds of Prey are very fast. You have tops on the runs?
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Yes. The runs are fully enclosed so no worries there.
Didn't think Sparrowhawks would be strong enough! Seen them tackle Collar Doves but fortunately I managed to rescue before too much damage happened.
 
eileen said:
yes they can prey on guinea pigs :( . all runs need strong galvanised metal to ensure predator proof.ive seen a magpie take a friends guinea pig,very unpleasant.Hope your piggies are ok.x
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That must have been awful. Poor wee piggy.x
 
Janice C said:
Yes. The runs are fully enclosed so no worries there.
Didn't think Sparrowhawks would be strong enough! Seen them tackle Collar Doves but fortunately I managed to rescue before too much damage happened.
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I think they'd have a crack possibly, they claws may do some damage. Will ask a friend tomorrow @MerryPip works at a falconry centre on a weekend
 
eileen said:
yes they can prey on guinea pigs :( . all runs need strong galvanised metal to ensure predator proof.ive seen a magpie take a friends guinea pig,very unpleasant.Hope your piggies are ok.x
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:( OMG, too awful for words
 
A pigeon killed itself recently flying into one of my windows. When I picked it up it was about the same weight as my pigs. I think a female sparrow hawk would give a guineapig a go. :-(
 
Sorry to say Yes. If you haven't done so, just make sure the run has a roof. I'm afraid to say a piggy wouldt be taken away, the deed would be done on the ground.
 
I used to bring my piggies down to the lawn one by one and then put the cover on the run, once they were all in, but my neighbour said there was a hawk about which had taken a small bird from the hedges, and I've seen a magpie watching them when they're out, so I put the cover on the run before I start to move them into it now.
 
It's highly unlikely that a Sparrowhawk would take a piggie, they don't often feed on mammals.

We have several |Sparrowhawk's here. Last week I heard a noise in the garden and one was on the garden fence with a blackbird which was making a right racket.

I shouted to my OH and I think I scared the Sparrowhawk as the blackbird managed to escape.
 
I have three sparrowhawks that are resident around my garden, all of which use the place as a charnel house. They can and will take anything when in the breeding season and they're hungry enough, I've seen them go for wood pigeons, rats, and frogs, all of which they take off the ground so suffice to say my pigs do not go outside! Between the sparrowhawks, buzzards and foxes, it's not a pig friendly place here!
 
We get a sparrowhawk on our roof spying on the racing pigeons someone keeps over the back of us. I've come home several times to a garden full of feathers where it sits and plucks the wild birds it catches, don't think it's ever caught a racing one! My runs have wood framed wire tops with catches but I still put a house brick in each corner to make sure it's extra secure. I only put the pigs out when I'm around to watch them.
 
eileen said:
yes they can prey on guinea pigs :( . all runs need strong galvanised metal to ensure predator proof.ive seen a magpie take a friends guinea pig,very unpleasant.Hope your piggies are ok.x
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. You must have been traumatised seeing that happen. I once went into the house to put the kettle on only to see something in my peripheral vision. A cat had jumped the garden wall and tried to lift my poor wee Coco Pops. Needless to say she didn't survive the attack. I was upset for weeks after that as she'd only been out the run for a few minutes. That's why we now have the large covered runs that we do now.
 
I think definitely they would. A garden centre I went to had them out in the open and I pointed out to them this could happen, they kill mice so even if they couldn't carry it off they would definitely kill it. Sorry to be blunt x
 
Sorry @sport_billy I am late to the party.... Sparrowhawks are bird eaters and will only take mammal prey if they are absolutely desperate and in most gardens that's unlikely. Male sparrowhawks are nowhere near big enough to contemplate taking an adult guinea pig and a female might be but is unlikely to try, their hunting technique does not suit ground prey and they risk damage to themselves which isn't worth the effort.

In gardens, rural and towns, your biggest threat is buzzards as their primary prey source is rabbits and carrion so piggies are definitely of interest to them. If I put my boys on the lawn there's buzzards over us within 20 minutes so they are never left outside unsupervised, ever. Even so birds of prey are fairly naturally wary so unlikely to come down if you are there. Leaving runs unsupervised without lids is asking for trouble though. Wire mesh is fine for keeping birds out, it's what I use for keeping birds IN aviaries and no they can't chew through it so don't worry about that. Rats and foxes are more the problem for wire designs.

Magpies are a completely different thing and yes, they can be nasty so watch out for them and crows. They are a much more realistic threat to piggies than any bird of prey as they are happy and confident in gardens.

Hope that puts your mind at rest a bit....
 
MerryPip said:
Sorry @sport_billy I am late to the party.... Sparrowhawks are bird eaters and will only take mammal prey if they are absolutely desperate and in most gardens that's unlikely. Male sparrowhawks are nowhere near big enough to contemplate taking an adult guinea pig and a female might be but is unlikely to try, their hunting technique does not suit ground prey and they risk damage to themselves which isn't worth the effort.

In gardens, rural and towns, your biggest threat is buzzards as their primary prey source is rabbits and carrion so piggies are definitely of interest to them. If I put my boys on the lawn there's buzzards over us within 20 minutes so they are never left outside unsupervised, ever. Even so birds of prey are fairly naturally wary so unlikely to come down if you are there. Leaving runs unsupervised without lids is asking for trouble though. Wire mesh is fine for keeping birds out, it's what I use for keeping birds IN aviaries and no they can't chew through it so don't worry about that. Rats and foxes are more the problem for wire designs.

Magpies are a completely different thing and yes, they can be nasty so watch out for them and crows. They are a much more realistic threat to piggies than any bird of prey as they are happy and confident in gardens.

Hope that puts your mind at rest a bit....
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Thanks for your reply. It does put my mind at rest a bit! We have crows here but they don't seem interested in the pigs - just my poor nesting blackbirds this year. No Magpies down in the Borders at least so far!
 
Yeah, crows generally won't bother either unless they are desperate but they can be a bit mischievous at times which isn't always helpful :)
 
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