INDIANA BYC'ers HERE!

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

[COLOR=A52A2A]BYC needs to get with the times and convert to Responsive Web Design!   [/COLOR]

Maybe it's just me, but I prefer the HTML.

[rule][COLOR=4B0082]pipd~[/COLOR] [COLOR=8B4513]Congrats on your layers, too! And is your broody one the GLW Garfield hen? Sorry to hear about Chickie. I hope my hens have a good long life like Chickie's.[/COLOR]

Yes, the Garfield-looking one. She's my uber-broody:

 

[SallyinIndiana]

I agree that some chickens are more likely to end up as hawk food. And
Right now I have all of my chickens in the same pen / coop unless they are in my basement. But I have 5 meaties that would not escape a hawk, 2 ducks that I don't want to fly south, and then RIR heritage pullets that I just know will be laying any day. Since My HRIR flock is so small, I really don't want to lose any of them to a hawk. I had them free ranging this summer when there were fewer hawks out, but now that my meaties are basically hawk attractors I have my HRIR locked up too. There is no simple way for me to let out only part of the outdoor flock right now as they are all in the same coop until we get our larger coop finished.
All in all though it makes checking for eggs easier as I only have to check the run and coop and not the whole yard. Some day soon I'll be getting some eggs from my chickens.

If the weather was warmer at night I would have my chickens that I thought were large enough and fast enough out in our box / hoop coop making free ranging so much easier.

 

[Leahs Mom]

Yep...Sally, I'm with you. I have the kiddos and mamma that I can't separate from the flock. And only ONE SFH pullet left since the one that was taken was the other SFH.

I definitely want to protect those or out they'd all go.

 

[browncow15]

Back to the hawks...

I don't think ALL hawk breeds are as agile as the breed in that video. 

My first thought when I saw it was that all our chickens are doomed.  But I've kept chickens here for a year and a half with no hawk incidents until this fall.  During that whole time I saw hawks hunting in the area almost daily throughout the spring, summer and fall and still had no incident.

That is why I asked the question about whether hawks hunt in the woods as I had always been told to give them brush/woods or other places they could go to hide under when hawks are present. 

The bird I lost this Fall was just at the edge of the woods.  I imagine heading for cover.  But that particular bird had 2 things going against her just naturally. 

1.  She was the bottom of the pecking order and she often stayed to herself on the outskirts of the flock.  Rather than "pecking back" and holding her own, she was a "runner" who would run away at the slightest provocation.  Kind of like that one kid on the playground that just can't take the harassment rather than the ones that dish it right back out.

2.  She was the ONLY light colored bird in a flock of "reds", BRs, and EEs that are brown with the lacing on the feathers.  She was light gray (blue) with a bit of mottling.  From a distance pretty much a white blob on the horizon.  Add that to her tendency to isolation.


Because I have 9 week olds right now with a broody mamma that are part of the flock, I have kept them mostly penned since I had the attack unless I'm physically outside with them. 

But if I didn't have the little ones I would have only penned them a few days to a week or so just to discourage the hawk by changing dynamics and teach that bird that this isn't a place to go for a free dinner or to build a nest nearby.  But then I think I would have let them out again.  However, if I had seen this hawk perching (like Sally did) daily, I would not have put them back out until something changed with the hawk pattern.

I think that, for the most part, they are able to hide themselves if there is adequate cover. 

For the open areas I'm all for devising whatever kinds of creative ideas to deter them...like the fish line, providing things like dog houses, little huts or covers like an over-turned chair, an old foot stool....get creative.... whatever kinds of things for them to run to for cover.

Don't hawks fly off elsewhere with their prey? So even if there was one agile enough to get into the woods and catch a chicken what's the likely good of them being able to fly OUT with something as big as a LF chicken?

Thanks to all that responded about my girl with diarrhea! I've been keeping an eye in her and things seem to be righting themselves without any help. She was out with everyone else when I threw scratch out this morning so hopefully it was just something she ate or something when they were out the other day.

 

[SallyinIndiana]

Quote: I have had two different hawks just kill and eat not fly off and this was with chicks that were 4-6 weeks old. We had just moved them out that Oct. And I had no clue that Oct was a hawk busy season.

 

[Leahs Mom]

The one that got my girl couldn't lift her. When I went out, it flew away. I spent some time getting the hiding ones into the hen house. While I was in the hen house, it came back and began to feed on the ground.

When I went out it tried to carry her away but couldn't. Tried valiantly but dropped her back down and left.

 

[CRSelvey]

Hi All. I'm still working on getting caught up but I wanted to share a video and a pic with you.

. This picture is the cupola that just made its way up to the roof with the rooster weather vane. I think I need to put the video in YouTube first, but I will do that and get right back. Its of my sick chick and I just don't know what to do for her beyond what we have been doing. She is not getting any better and I'd appreciate any suggestions you may have. Her eyes are bright and clear and she is eating well, but as usual will not eat anything other than feed. The video appears to have loaded sideways, so I'm sorry about that.

 

[CRSelvey]

OK, here is the video. Thank you for looking.

 

[CCCCCCCCHICKENS]

leahs mom- yes not all hawks are as agile as the one in the video you posted. That was incredible. But i would say more are the oppsite than that one.

 

[kabhyper1]

Hello Hoosiers!! I'm between Fort Wayne and Warsaw. Just got into ducks and chickens this summer. Our animals are as follows
3 APHA horses
3 dogs (1-bloodhound, 1-pitbull, 1-yorkie)
1 fuzzy cat
8 ADGA nubian goats ( soon to be 22 this
spring, YIKES!!!)
3 Moskovy ducks
5 khaki ducks
6 Golden comet chickens!
I think that's it!?!?
Anyone from my neck of the woods?

I'm in columbia city.