Hawks actively hunting my chicks

[MrIgmo]

Every morning for the last two weeks when I open the door to let them out within 30 seconds a Hawk dive bombs them and only pulls up at the last second when it sees me there. I realized that it sits up on top of the light pole at the nearby high school football field and has a direct line of sight to see them coming out in the morning. It knows they are there but it knows I am too. There are so many squirels I'm sure it gets fed not long after its failed attempts. But will it keep coming back until it gets them or give up if I stay outside with them every morning for a little while? I have 3 legbars and they are really fast and vigilant and 3 lavender orpingtons that stand out, are slower and seem not to realize the danger as much. I almost wish the Legbars were older but they are a week younger and because of that the head bird of the flock is one of the Orpingtons. Although the most dominant legbar is kinda dumb, the other two are far smarter than it is. I never expect the legbars to be so friendly after everything I've read. They are also very vocal and seem to like if I talk to them. They chatter up until the minute they go to bed. Then the head bird makes an "enough" followed by a soothing purring sound and then silence. But they would be safer with one of the legbars leading them around. Oh yea I meant to ask if they will always stay in a flock of 6 when they graze or will they ever break into smaller groups. Because right now if they get separated they panic until they are reunited. Loudly.

 

[Quarterhorses1]

Every morning for the last two weeks when I open the door to let them out within 30 seconds a Hawk dive bombs them and only pulls up at the last second when it sees me there. I realized that it sits up on top of the light pole at the nearby high school football field and has a direct line of sight to see them coming out in the morning. It knows they are there but it knows I am too. There are so many squirels I'm sure it gets fed not long after its failed attempts. But will it keep coming back until it gets them or give up if I stay outside with them every morning for a little while? I have 3 legbars and they are really fast and vigilant and 3 lavender orpingtons that stand out, are slower and seem not to realize the danger as much. I almost wish the Legbars were older but they are a week younger and because of that the head bird of the flock is one of the Orpingtons. Although the most dominant legbar is kinda dumb, the other two are far smarter than it is. I never expect the legbars to be so friendly after everything I've read. They are also very vocal and seem to like if I talk to them. They chatter up until the minute they go to bed. Then the head bird makes an "enough" followed by a soothing purring sound and then silence. But they would be safer with one of the legbars leading them around. Oh yea I meant to ask if they will always stay in a flock of 6 when they graze or will they ever break into smaller groups. Because right now if they get separated they panic until they are reunited. Loudly.

Are they out in the open ?

 

[MrIgmo]

Are they out in the open ?

Yea they are just roaming around the backyard right now. There's some big trees on all sides that give them some cover and we have a covered porch they go on and I leave the garage door open for them during the day so they can go inside where I have water and food for them. I'm building them a coop with an inclosed run that's 16x8x6 with a hen house that's 8x4x4 built off the ground in the upper corner of the run, giving them the 2ft underneath to hide.

 

[Quarterhorses1]

Yea they are just roaming around the backyard right now. There's some big trees on all sides that give them some cover and we have a covered porch they go on and I leave the garage door open for them during the day so they can go inside where I have water and food for them. I'm building them a coop with an inclosed run that's 16x8x6 with a hen house that's 8x4x4 built off the ground in the upper corner of the run, giving them the 2ft underneath to hide.

I would definitely build a run soon, as it’s just a matter of time until one gets eaten

 

[CaretakerCarol]

If you continue to assert your presence whenever you see it eyeing your hens, he may move on. I know a lot of folks advocate a covered run, but it just isn't doable for me. I have lots of hawk activity but so far (five + years) have had no hawk kills. This time of year is the toughest as there are a lot of juveniles who are honing their skills and the chickens always draw their attention.

But I have a 30ish size flock and some turkeys. They do react in a defensive mob whenever they see a predator. It wouldn't actually stop a serious effort, but it has convinced our local population to opt for the plentiful rabbit, quail, and chipmunk population. Do you have a rooster? The rooster in my profile pic rushed and ran off any hawk that attempted to come into the yard. He has passed, but I think the new rooster will behave the same.

Juvenile hawks have landed on the ground and gone under whatever cover my birds use - to comic effect, but the adults usually make a dive and leave strategy. If you can handle the 24x7 crowing and it is allowed, I do recommend a rooster if only to set off the alarm for the hens.

As for always grazing as a flock - possibly, but you may also have a hen or two that decides to be a loner. I remember laughing so much when we got our first flock of 8, and we would watch them run as a group from one covered bush to the next. Now with so many additions, I have a couple of the old girls who like to go off and do their own thing but the majority tend to stick pretty close together.

good luck

 

[CluckyandPeepsFlock]

If you are unable to set up a covered run, a rooster could help mitigate the issue.

 

[MrIgmo]

So every morning when I let them I out I wait until the hawk makes a low pass just to show he's been watching them. But The local wild bird population goes crazy as it approaches and the chickens dive for cover. So he won't be able to kill one by striking it and I don't think he'd be fast enough on the ground to catch one of them. I'm curious will hens band together to fight something off? I have seen videos of hens protecting chicks so I know they will fight if they need to. I read somewhere that CCL are a good free ranger but I don't know if that's because they have good camo, paranoia or if they fight.

I have put some time into staring down that hawk. When I'm not around he probably thinks I'm waiting to ambush him for my own dinner. I've seen him and he's seen me on enough of his low passes that I think he's just opting to eat one of the plentiful squirrels around here.

My new bigger concern is the skunk that has been kidnapping the feral kittens living in my neighbors garage and eating them in my other neighbors garage on the other side of me. Skunks are fairly powerful animals and I'm afraid it's going to rip right into my coop I'm building. Kinda made me stop and change my designs a little bit. I'll post some pictures on an appropriate thread of the progress of the coop building.