Integrating a cockerel into a flock of mature hens

[Leahs Mom]

Very sorry on the hawk attack. It's just awful to have that happen. Just makes you sick.

 

[Leahs Mom]

But...

Glad your boy is still doing well with the flock!


On hawks...
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 (

) 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. We're 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.

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/

 

[islandgirl82]

Thank you both. I think we all have members of our flocks that are a little more special to us than others and Amelia was one of those. Hamburgs are notoriously skittish and for good reason - they do make great free rangers. She was three years old and we acquired her as a 16 week old pullet. We didn't have the advantage of raising her from a day old and it took a long time to gain her trust. I would take her from the roost after dark every night to handle her to get her used to it and eventually she learned that we aren't scary. She would often leave the flock to spend her time with me whenever I was working outside. After Willie chased off a crow that had her pinned last summer, she would also follow him around and seemed to be the one to show the new flock members that he wasn't to be feared. When they would run from him, she would walk right up to him and stand beside him, pecking around in the grass and they would see it and eventually join her.

It wasn't until she survived the stray dog attack this past April and I had her in the house for a few days to tend to her wounds, did she trust me enough that I could just reach down and pick her up. I can't say she liked it - she preferred to be the one to initiate contact and for over the last year, would occasionally stand on my lap. She was the reason I had to cover the run as Hamburgs fly quite well. Prior to the cover she would escape and meet me at the door to walk the children to the end of the drive and wait for the school bus. Then she'd follow me back to the house and wait for her handfed treat of sunflower seeds.

The Golden Spangled variety is very difficult to come by and my plan was (and still is) to raise a breeding flock of them along with the Dominiques. Amelia tended to be picked on by some of the larger hens (RSLs specifically) and was a bit of an outcast because of those two. She was looked after by my top hen and Audrey, the SLW that we lost to the dogs but once Audrey was gone everything changed and she and one other hen were targeted. It wasn't until the Dominique hens got here did she start to form true bonds with any of her flock mates and I found the two breeds to be quite complimentary. The Hamburgs are very alert and are the first to sound the warnings and the Dominiques being very friendly with not only humans but also all of their flockmates makes for a well balanced bunch.

 

[islandgirl82]

I woke this morning to what sounded like a hundred crows (probably only 5-10) screeching all around my yard. I hope they were chasing some raptor off. We do have bald eagles and osprey right here but they both circle the water looking for fish, not chickens. The Red-Shouldered Hawk is large, rare and beautiful. I'd seen it a couple of years ago while mowing around the main house and had no idea what it was. The longer I keep the flock confined the less often I see it coming around, thankfully. I'm hoping to give them some time out soon.

Neighbors down the road have/had a small flock, not usually out to range but driving home one day last week, I had to stop and herd one out of the middle of the road. She didn't go home though and the next time I drove by, I saw their run had been taken down and the chicken door to the shed was closed. I haven't seen them to ask them what happened - for all I know, they could be building a more secure run but if it's another predator, I'd like to know.

I love the idea of the launcher and as for noise...I'm not overly concerned. My neighborhood consists of mostly summer people who are only here on weekends or just a few scattered weeks of the summer and between boats and fireworks...what's an occasional sound from a launcher?

 

[speckledhen]

@islandgirl82 I am so sorry about Amelia. I am very pleased with how Ichabod is looking! He is really filling out!

 

[islandgirl82]

@speckledhen , Thank you.


I know I'm bias but I also think he's turning out well. Better than I had expected. His wattles are a little lopsided...not as much as they had been and I hope that they'll even out a bit more as he continues to develop. His personality is top notch. I really couldn't ask for anything better. It's one thing for him to allow me to handle him as I've been doing so consistently since he came here but for him to be the same with my children when they haven't spent nearly the amount of time with him speaks volumes.

 

[dawnpel]

 

[islandgirl82]

After not seeing it for a couple of days, the hawk was back today. My daughter and I heard the chickens screeching and she asked if she could go out to check on them. As soon as she opened the door, I saw the hawk fly off. Instead of perching in the trees by the water's edge, it was perched right above the coop and run. Much too close for my comfort and thankfully it's covered but something tells me I'll have to do more than just use bird netting which won't last through the winter anyway. The chickens were all huddled by the root ball that's in a corner of the run but as soon as they saw us, they came rushing towards us.

These are very pleasing displays of Ichabod's temperament.

 

[lazy gardener]

Nice roo you have there. Trade you a couple hens for him!!! JK! I don't think Jack would take kindly to him!!!

 

[islandgirl82]

Haha... No, I'm sure Jack wouldn't and I'm all set in the hen department but you know you're welcome to hatching eggs when the time comes. I'm having a difficult time telling whose eggs are whose and keep trying to catch them on the nests to get just the dom eggs but I'm missing it.

I was feeling bad for a while about sending Russell back to his old flock but each day it becomes more and more clear that it was the best decision. We NEVER could have handled him like this and my daughter eventually told me that he would charge her whenever she'd try to pick up her favorite hen. Ichabod, on the other hand, has zero issues with it no matter who is being picked up. I just can't get over how laid back he still is but he sure knows how to break up a despute between hens.