Hawks: Terrible and awe inspiring...

[JerseyHen]

I know how most chicken keepers dread hawks. I am fearful for my flock from the danger they present as well. We have them around our yard all the time. In addition to being concerned for my chickens, I am also in awe of the amazing skill of most raptors and their intensity. A friend of mine shared this short video about a goshawk and I had to share it. This incredible video show exactly how skilled a hawk can be at traversing small openings at top speed. Amazing and scary. Keep this skill of theirs in mind when creating your chickens housing and yard areas.

 

[highpointfarm]

Funny thing, the thing with the tail thing right? lol, I have seen my chickens do that =]

 

[BuffOrpington88]

Wow!

 

[chiques chicks]

I have a hawk nest 75 yards from my back door. It has been active for 4 years. I love watching them. Am I worried about my chickens? Yes. I have seen the hawk dive into the pine 20 ft from my coop chasing a squirrel! I know i'll likely loose some. It's the price I pay for living where I do. I just mowed an area of the field under the hawk nest to ease their hunting. Chased out a groundhog and innumerable moles, vilest and mice. I try to co-exist, as nature is beautiful.

 

[horsetails16]

Wow, that video is incredible! I have always loved hawks and eagles, they are so beautiful. Now that I have chickens though I would just rather not see them in our yard anymore.

 

[tellynpeep]

That is amazing!

 

[gg706]

WOW That was incredible!

 

[Oregon Blues]

She is absolutely gorgeous. She's so trusting of her partner, to fly to him through such tight spaces. I would bet that there was a lot of training leading up to that, starting with a huge hole and gradually making it smaller as she learned where her partner could be found and had her confidence built up.

Goshawks are one that might go after chickens, so if you have one in the area, keep tight fencing around your birds and a cover over the top. I'd like to point out that any hole , even the small one, that the hawk flew through would be big enough to allow some other predator inside your coop. Probably a raccoon could get in through any of those spaces.

 

[Gallus Sapien]

WOW That was incredible!

x2