Cooper's Hawk - will it eat a full grown chicken?

[marktoo]

Coopers & Sharp shinned are forest hawks. I have watched both hop around my overgrown veggie garden trying to flush out prey that may sought to take up refuge when the hawk attacked. What bugs me is how our hens can be so wary at times & oblivious at others to the presence of a hawk. Or are they just more attuned to a hawks body language? I have a Coopers coming to visit every few days, so far, as far as I know it just watches but it's presents annoys me.

This is an interesting video if you considering a plastic owl as a deterrent

 

[Stephen4417]

I would never dream of losing a hen to a hawk .. yall roosters must suck cause the only hawk that got to my Chickens got killed.. My roosters and Muscovy drake are a killer team.. Btw we have ospreys red tails and coopers.. they free range and i have had 0 losses

 

[tcstoehr]

Last week I saw my five hens run under some shrubbery underneath a cedar tree. They didn't seem panicked but I wondered why they weren't coming over to investigate my dinner plate as they always do. When I went to take a look there was a Coopers Hawk on a fence rail staring down into the shrubbery where my hens had taken cover. It flew off and I haven't seen it since but I'm definitely concerned.

 

[Stephen4417]

Get a muscovy drake.. It could kill a coopers no problem

 

[AnnieSantiago]

I watched a Cooper's Hawk take a big old rat in my backyard yesterday.
My chickens were freaking out and I ran out to see what they were cackling about.
Then I saw the Hawk struggling with the rat.

I guess no more free=ranging unless I'm there to watch.
Dang!

 

[mamaknapps1]

I came home from work yesterday afternoon to find a Cooper hawk eating one of my full grown leghorn hens in the chicken run. So yes,they do eat full grown chickens.

 

[mamaknapps1]

Yes. A Cooper's hawk will eat a full grown chicken. Happened in my run yesterday.

 

[loujeany]

My neighbor had a coopers hawk go into his coop. They got it out and no chickens appeared to be injured but he said the next day his hen was dead. His thought was that it died from a heart attack.

 

[JD123]

Ugg, I just moved. At our last house we had a relentless fox that took two of my birds and countless close calls. We have been in our new home 3 days, three beautiful partially wooded acres, and one of the first things I see is a coopers hawk. From what I have read on this post it sounds like coopers hawks will be just as bad as the fox. :-(

 

[RocketDog1]

I am new to Backyard Chickens and new to raising chickens. My wife and I, along with our granddaughter, are having great fun!
In my younger days I was very involved in the sport of falconry, so the question about Cooper's hawks caught my attention:
While I don't doubt that a large female Coop is capable of killing a chicken, I think it would be very rare. A female (males are smaller) weighs anywhere from 14 ounces to a pound and a half. Robins, bluejays, sparrows, blackbirds, and similar size birds, make up the majority of their prey. They feed almost exclusively on birds, not rodents and reptiles. Smaller pullets & cockerels are at risk, but full grown hens & roosters would make very unlikely targets. However, juvenile hawks of any species are unpredictable, as they haven't yet learned the "risk/benefit" of attacking certain prey.