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Oh what a day. Yesterday came home from picking kids up from school and went out to check in the girls that were free ranging in the backyard. 3 had already gone to bed. Found my daughters favorite wyandotte shoved under a log on the edge of the woods. Thought she was dead, she didnt move or make a sound. I pulled her out and she WAS alive! She trembled when I carried her to the coop and kept her tail feathers curled down. So back out I went to search for my elderly black bantam Suzie.... my favorite. I couldnt find her, but i did find a couple handfuls of my Orpington's feathers in the corner of the fence. She was safe though, in the coop. Suzie was never found. I hoped in the morning I would look out and see her waddling around the yard. That she had hid somewhere from an attacker. Nope. Didnt happen. I kept them cooped this morning, and my husband called me to our bathroom window and just pointed. A HAWK perched right above the attack site. It had to of been what took Suzie, but couldn't carry my fat Orpington. :(
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She was my favorite, so sweet, like the best Grandma Chicken ever.
Anyone know how i can keep the hawk away? We dont have a Rooster...
 
Crafty chick said:

She was my favorite, so sweet, like the best Grandma Chicken ever.
Anyone know how i can keep the hawk away? We dont have a Rooster...
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Sigh. Sorry for the loss.

@Crafty chick

I do have a recommendation that has been working well for me for the last 2 years. But there is a cost involved.

I have purchased - and use - bird bangers.



We were having so many for awhile especially during the fall time. We have many towers in the area where they like to sit and look for prey. I lost one bird in 2013. Have had times, like you, that I would lock them in the run.

One of the things that the DNR recommends using is "bird bangers". They are a "scare-tactic" pyrotechnic gun that shoots either "screamers" or exploding shells, or both. They are fancy-pants "noise-makers" that are meant to scare the hawks from the area.

The hawks around here were so bold that they would sit 6-8 feet away from where I was walking and just look at me. I'd sometimes walk right close to them, shaking my finger menacingly (
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) and they'd often just sit there looking at me like they owned the place. I imagined they were wondering why I didn't JUST LEAVE and let them have their lunch.

People are their main predators and they are no longer afraid of us, unfortunately. While I have a bit of land, there is residential all around and very close on all sides and some possible actions I could have taken wouldn't have worked well.

I decided that I'd try the bird bangers and I've been glad I did. It makes me feel like I have at least some control on the problem and really has worked quite well.

When I first got them I wanted to fire when I was hidden because I wanted the hawks to be afraid of the area rather than afraid when they saw me. I was never able to pull that off well, but no matter. They seem to work pretty well anyway. We do have hawks in the area but when I use the bangers, they stay away for longer periods of time. I try to remember to carry shells and the launcher in my pockets if I'm working outside so that I can use them as needed. If I'm inside and I hear the warning I can grab them and shoot in a moment's notice when I'm home.

I will say that I had to use them a lot the first season I had them. But I think that being diligent and shooting whenever I was able to observe them in the area has paid off and the hawks no longer "stake out" here like they used to. I see plenty of hawks around the area - as many as before when I'm out driving, etc., - but they don't seem to congregate here any more. It appears they avoid the area. But I do keep diligent and still shoot even if I only see them way up high. THIS FALL HAS BEEN AMAZING COMPARED TO PREVIOUS SEASONS.

Of course, I use them in any season that I see a hawk.

Not sure if they'd be appropriate in your situation but just in case, sending a link. I got the double-shot launcher. If you have a 12-Guage you can get shells that fit those instead but have to have a permit for those I think.

You have to fill out a Wildlife Control Statement to obtain the ones I got. Not a big deal. And shipping is expensive because it ships hazmat explosives. Ship cost is the same if you purchase 20 items or just one, so if you decide to purchase, get a supply of shells and/or screamers at the same time.

Double shot launcher: https://reedjoseph.com/products/pyrotechnics/double-shot-launcher/

Shells: https://reedjoseph.com/products/pyrotechnics/bird-banger-100-round-box/

Screamers: https://reedjoseph.com/products/pyrotechnics/screamer-siren-100-round-box/


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Hi everyone! My chickens have helped me cope with a bad year, and I've especially enjoyed my newest little ones from @ellymayRans — Black Bantam Cochin Frizzle girl, two months old. They're still in quarantine in my basement bathroom although I extended their space so they could look out the sliding glass door to the backyard. Although I had full spectrum lights in the bathroom, I felt bad about them not having a natural light source. The first day I saw my four pullets that I got last summer from @kittydoc looking through the glass at the chicks. When the four saw me, they turned around and ran like they thought they weren't supposed to be looking. Haha They are always well-behaved, and I've still never seen them peck each other. I've kind of wished they could be a separate flock from my three four-year-old hens! The three hens occasionally peck the new ones, but mostly give them the stink-eye. The four pullets are beautiful, sweet, and are excited about everything. They're like, "Oh boy! We get cut-up grapes!" "Oh boy, we get to go on a field trip in the far backyard with Mom!" The three jaded hens are like, "Grapes again?" "Same ol' field trip again! Boring!" At nighttime, after changing positions in the coop several times, the four pullets decided to sleep on the top perch with the flock leader, my SLW Lacey. Lacey gripes about it, but I trained her not to peck at them in my usual way—I look a chicken in the eye and just point my finger at her and say, "No!" Meanwhile, the four pullets haven't started laying—They should be old enough, so I'm guessing because of the season change. My jaded hens haven't laid in at least two months. They went through major molting and then the season changed. It's been a long, dry spell!

Back to my Frizzle babies—They are so adorable and funny! Sometimes they look like conjoined twins, and they constantly chatter in that chick style nose whistling manner. I wonder what they're talking about! The younger one is more fiesty. I take them outside across the street at least once a day while I do work in my DS's yard. The best thing about Cochins is that they are so friendly, curious, and want to be held. They definitely think I am their Mom. They like to perch on my shoulder while I try to work. I occasionally have to change my shirt! I wish chickens could be trained to use a litter box. Here's a very short video of them dust bathing, out of focus, but you can see how fluffy and cute they are: Frizzled Black Bantam Cochin Pullets Dust Bathing
In this photo, the one on the right has her head buried in frizzles!


Below: The child-sized hoe is a reminder to Lacey to not peck the new girls!




I have to run, but I will respond to some posts this evening.
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Thanks for the idea Leahs Mom. We will be moving at the beginning of summer, so not sure how much I want to invest yet. My dad will keep the hens for me while we are gone. (Husband has a year long vicarage (internship)). Then we move back for a year before being called to a parish. We could end up anywhere. Just hoping it's chicken friendly :)
 
Crafty chick said:
Thanks for the idea Leahs Mom. We will be moving at the beginning of summer, so not sure how much I want to invest yet. My dad will keep the hens for me while we are gone. (Husband has a year long vicarage (internship)). Then we move back for a year before being called to a parish. We could end up anywhere. Just hoping it's chicken friendly
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Click to expand...

Wow...sounds like you're in for a great adventure in the next few years!
 
Catching up on the thread, which is always a rollercoaster of emotions!
@jchny2000 Sad to read about your 15 year old family doggie, Suzy!
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I bet she had a great life.

And your story about re-purposing a haunted house float into a steer shelter—you should win some sort of creative award for that.
This is such a great photo of your Scovy and Pekin ducks along with your Chinese geese enjoying your pond—looks like a Poultry Pond Party!
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@EmSteele Congrats on your human baby boy!
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Glad to hear the good news and see you posting again.
It was terrible to read about the squatter killing your chickens—what a horror story. I hope that he stays locked up because it's a fact that many murderers started their path by killing animals. So you've had a protective order against the squatter for harassment and stalking, plus he's made threats about harming your chickens. You believe he killed your chickens, but law enforcement won't file a report since there is no proof...it certainly is a suspicion that should be noted in perpetrator's file. I don't mean to sound pushy because I know little of your experiences, but IMO, please call your local or Indiana Humane Society to report what happened. It's sometimes called "cross-reporting" — notifying both police and animal welfare since the situation involves both. It would also give you documentation of the incident since the police apparently were reluctant to jump to conclusions.
@CCCCCCCCHICKENS Good to see you posting again! (I should talk—I've had to take time off here and there, but it seems like a long time since I've seen you post). Btw, I love your adopted goose!
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@Indyshent You've had more than your share of losses!
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So sorry.
@Crafty chick ~ Condolences on the loss of your beautiful black bantam, Suzie.
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I made this earlier this year and just added @Leahs Mom 's suggestion of bird bangers.
Just think of things that Reflect Light, make Scary Sounds, and have Movement.

 

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