coopers hawk in shed

[chickaboo7]

I was inside and my girls were going off .I looked out the window and saw nothing. They kept it up so I went out. There was a hawk in the shed eating one of my silkies. My shed is right up against the house and there is a 6.5 high stockade fence around it. it looks like a runway and it covered with trees. In the summer it looks like dense forest. Are hawks that brazen? All the girls 5 are in my laundry room. They can't stay there forever and my daughters 4-H chicks are coming on Fri. I haven't bin able to go out and clean up I just closed the door. I feel sick. If anyone can help. Please!!!

 

[MandyH]

You have to make sure that the run and everything is covered. If not the hawks and owls WILL eat them. They will just keep coming back until they are all gone. Hawks and owls both can tear through chicken wire so we use 2x4 wire to cover everything. It costs more, but at least your chickens will be safer.

 

[LovingChickens]

I not only have one chicken hawk but I have TWO after my baby girl..I have saved her numberous of times...and like you I also brung mine into my house....But I'm scared I'm not going to be there the next time they attack!!! Is it illegal to kill them? I want my dad to take care of them but he WON'T he was just like you at first didn't know what I was talking about and even thought I didn't know what a hawk looked like...well I got proof for him here it is...

http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/hh98/Chicks-R-US/HAWK2.jpg

 

[Yonaton]

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Yes, very illegal.

 

[TheMartianChick]

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Are your chickens in a covered run? That is probably the only protection against hawks.

 

[chickaboo7]

How about free range? How do you protect them?

 

[MandyH]

You don't. They get eaten unless they are quicker than the hawk, which is very unlikely. I have lost lots of chickens to hawks and owls, that's just part of free ranging.

 

[FlightsofFancy]

I have a BIG Hawk and Owl problem and the only thing I have found that seems to work is to shoot fireworks at them. You know...bottle rockets. They hate it and it makes me feel good. I am a horrible aim with a bottle rocket, by the way. A friend of mine used a paint gun.
Good luck!!

 

[silkiechicken]

Sorry for your loss. About the only thing you can do that is 100% is keep them in a covered run. I have had a problem with a hawk who killed two silkies and my polish bantams, all within a month or so. However, now that my birds have become smart to the predators, they are very sky wary and I have ALOT of things they can hide under.

They hide under a old house, in sheds, in multiple coops, in the black berry bramble, under cars, and on the front porch. They pretty much go under anything with a low cover and are very fast to warn of anything over head. I keep around a bunch of layers who don't lay just because they are wise to predators.

Another thing I did was take down all the low lying fences other than the ones holding my garden in. This way nobody gets stuck while running for cover, as all the ones that got killed, were right against a fenceline. They get complete range now and anyone with a head poof gets a nice trim for visability.

In additoin, I had a hawk try to catch one of my broody's babies, but she did a doubble take and attacked the hawk twice before it gave up.

Ever since keeping the elders, moving away fences, letting them have lots of hiding spaces, and that broody attack, I have not had a single hawk loss even though I see them circle and fly over.

I free range completly though and accept the losses as part of the deal.

Best of luck!

 

[Yonaton]

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As do I. I've always given leeway to the *wild* animals, since all us humans do is take from everything and most don't give anything back. Stray dogs, cats or anything else domesticated though, that can kill my chickens, gets a bullet to the head...end of story and no apologies to anyone.