Luckily none of my 5 chicks were killed on their first outing, though there were a few injuries, but boy did they learn a lesson (and so did I). I have a couple of local redtail hawks that take care of the squirrel population, and I thought my 4 week old chicks were safe with my dog watching over them. I heard the hawk up in a tree, while my chicks were playing around in the yard. I told my dog, "Go get the squirrels!" which means be on the lookout in his language. I went inside to get a glass of water, no longer than 30 seconds and I hear some freakin loud screeching, high pitched chirps, and dog barks. I ran outside as fast as I could and found my dog pinning the hawk down. I pushed him away but wasn't fast enough to get out of the way from the hawk. It felt cornered, (which it was) and lunged and grabbed on to my arm with it's talons, and boy....those are strong strong claws for a 5 pound bird or so. It litterally dug 3 1/2 deep holes into my arm. I gave it a hard slap, enough to dislodge it's talons from my arm. (Ouch!) I watched as it flew away screeching, but with my arm pouring blood, I could only think about were the chicks went. They were no where to be seen. My yard isn't very big, it has a couple bushes, but it's amazing how quickly the chicks can duck and cover and not move a muscle for several minutes at a time. It took me 10 minutes just to find all 5, 2 under a bush, 1 in the coner of a fence, another one that was hiding in some tall grass, and the otherone somehow managed to wedge itself under my fence, I found it before it could do any more harm. All 5 were recovered and returned to their inside brooder. I turned my attention to my wounded arm, and yikes. I was going to post some pics....but then that would be pretty graphic, trust me, it sunk those talons in and thrashed. This was at 10:00 AM, I've dressed my wound and it stills hurts pretty bad. I had to get my sister to type this. NEVER, ever ever ever attempt to fight a hawk back. If cornered they WILL attack, especially a large hawk like a redtail. Lessoned learned, though painfully. Also, don't think a hungry hawk won't snatch up a chicken or chick right infront of you.
Last edited:
