Red tailed hawk killed my chicken

[Kevomxracer]

My hens were free ranging yesterday and I went outside and said "where are all my girls" so I walk behind the shed and there's a hawk on my black feather footed chicken so I grabbed a log and threw it at it, and it didn't even move so I hit it with a stick and it took off. Now what can I do to help control this. Because just a few months ago my neighbors cat killed my other feather-footed hen. And I don't really want to keep my girls locked up in there coop all day everyday. Any ideas?

 

[BeulahBreezes]

I am so sorry for your loss.......I know how terrible this is because this just happened to me and my favorite 9 month old hen, Klara, on Monday. It was a cooper hawk.....it too, would not leave 'the scene'. My husband was throwing lumber at it and it just sat there and then moved up one branch! It finally flew off after about 5 minutes. My favorite girl was dead......awful! I am raising my chickens as free-range...this was the 1st attack from a hawk since we started in March '12. So I guess that is good. I am very careful now to only let the remaining 3 chickens out of their pen when I can 'watch'. I don't mean I just sit there and stare...lol, but I can watch them from the windows or when I am outside doing chores. I have decided to not let them out if I am not home or too busy to 'watch'...... I only let them out for about an hour before sunset or so...that way they don't wander too far from the coop. How this is helpful.........~Beulah

 

[Chikyn]

I know how you feel, a hawk swooped down and ripped poor Bravey's head off...
You could try netting, but you have to keep that chicken confined in a netted place...

 

[MeghanShane]

Same thing just happen to me as well. We lost two just yesterday to a hawk. (not to mention we think a coyote got two a week prior.... a friend left the coop open... so I was already mourning. We set up a night vision camera and got picts of the coyote the following evening as well. Thankfully he didn’t mess with the coop and just sniffed around.) I went to the post office to grab stamps at 4pm and was back within 20 mins while the chickens were out free ranging. I went to put them back in the coop and find them all scared senseless and trying to hide in any corner possible. I counted my girls and realized 2 were missing. I yelled for my boyfriend and immediately were began searching. He found my babies not too far down the hill. One was on ground and the other was half way up a tree. I was devastated.
I think now we are fencing in a HUGE area with an open "lid" so to speak so they can still roam around but will not be in harm’s way. We also will have a door that will allow me to let them out and range since we have 2.5 acres and I enjoy just hanging out with them.
We will be working on their new addition this weekend so I will post picts.

 

[MommaK6]

I lost my favorite hen yesterday as well to a hawk...I will be adding a guinea hen to our flock this spring to help "alert" the roosters and will be putting up owl statues. Today I played the radio in the garage in hopes that voices would keep it at bay. We didn't have a return visit but we will see.

 

[benisarooster]

I also had the same thing happen to me, and mine was just a baby. Not even full grown yet. It was really sad.

 

[benisarooster]

Do you have any roosters? They will try to scare the hawks away and alert the hens to hide.

 

[chickengeorgeto]

How times have changed.

As a kid I remember an old German lady who lived up the road killing or shooting at every hawk that flew over her garden and chicken pen. Every farmer kept a loaded shot gun in his truck and remained on the look out for hawks sitting on power lines. No hawk sitting on a power line was bold or maybe it was foolish enough to let an automobile or truck drive up on it at any speed.

Now they thumb their beaks at you while sitting at arms' length on your dead chickens.

 

[Rumbull]

I have lost 3 to hawk over the last 2 weeks. I live in the city and my chickens free range in the back yard. The hawks are not big enough to carry them off. They kill them and then eat them there in the yard. My hawks are fear full and fly away as soon as they hear the door open. I would attempt to shoot them with a pellet gun otherwise. I have heard the crows making a fuss in the past when a hawk is in the neighborhood. I have had chickens for two years now and this is the first time I have had to deal with this. I am now keeping them penned up but don't like it.

 

[eggtimer]

Our Buff Orpington had a scare yesterday from a Red Tail hawk. Thankfully my wife and I were in an area inside our home where we could hear the commotion outside from the other girls, and we were able to save our sweet Sunny. When I heard all the noise, I looked out our window and saw these huge wings on the ground flapping, and upon sliding our door open, the hawk jumped off our hen and flew up to the nearest branch of one of the pine trees. I ran up the yard and waved my hands to scare the hawk, and it flew away, and all I can remember is how large the wing span was. I looked down and there was our precious girl looking hopeless with blood coming out of her mouth and an opening on the side of her neck. I immediately grabbed her and held her in my arms and she seemed to come back to life. I think she was in shock, but it scared the hell out of me! I cleaned her up and everything seems fine today.

I know raccoons are a big threat, as we lost one of our girls in the past year due to these little savages, but the hawk threw a curve ball at me. We browsed a few Youtube videos about hawks and chickens after this happened, and needless to say, the videos were disturbing as we now know that hawks don't just fly down to scoop up their prey, but they actually land and walk right up to the chicken and start terrorizing.

In the aftermath of all this, I assessed the feathers on the ground and where the trail started, and it looks like the hawk landed, ran underneath the bush the chicken was in, and drug her out in an open area to begin trying to eat her. The trail of feathers was the length of about 20 feet from the big batch of feathers from under the bush...unbelievable.