For 8 years I have never had a chicken taken by a predator but I have lost 2 in the past month. I hadn't seen a hawk in all this time (I think) until this fall. Now there is one that keeps sitting on the pasture fence. Of course I scare it away every time that I see it. We have a lot of crows here also so I don't think that they are scaring it away.
The first time I lost one of my girls was when I had them out to free-range. There were no feathers anywhere but she was just gone. I haven't let them out of their yard since.
Today I went to tuck them in for the night and one is missing. Again, no feathers. This happened in their yard. Their yard is about 24' by 40' in a strange shape. Their house is in the yard which is attached to the barn. The fence is at least 6' tall and about 20' from the woods.
Could a hawk swoop down, grab a chicken, and still have enough room to get out?
The first time I lost one of my girls was when I had them out to free-range. There were no feathers anywhere but she was just gone. I haven't let them out of their yard since.
Today I went to tuck them in for the night and one is missing. Again, no feathers. This happened in their yard. Their yard is about 24' by 40' in a strange shape. Their house is in the yard which is attached to the barn. The fence is at least 6' tall and about 20' from the woods.
Could a hawk swoop down, grab a chicken, and still have enough room to get out?