A hawk got my baby chick!

[murgiyan]

A hawk got my baby chick Ginger yesterday. He was sitting eating her when I spotted it. It flew up and sat on the power line behind my house and sat there for an hour while I buried the remains of my baby and took the others inside.

I have 4 (now 3) babies that are about 9 weeks old now. I had started to leave them outside in my backyard all day and would keep an eye on them. They were so happy running around, often following me when I brought the food. They would usually sitting in sheltered places, under shrubs etc. The last couple of days they had started venturing out in other open areas of the yard.

The hawk got to them before I could see. The other 3 ran and hid behind a dense geranium at the farthest corner of my fenced yard, which is quite a ways away from the spot where they were attacked. I looked all around the yard several times. Couldn’t find them. Kept telling myself that the hawk couldn’t have killed all of them. Then this time when I went in that area, I heard a faint peep. Really it was so faint it could have been from a hummingbird (I have tons of hummingbirds). I looked. At first I didn’t see them. Then they moved just a bit. I tried to catch them- they were so scared. Two of them kept looking in the direction of the spot where the hawk had attacked Ginger.

The hawk came back first thing in the morning and sat atop the neighbor’s roof with a view of the garage back door. He knows they’re there. I came into the backyard a couple of times this morning and saw it fly away. He knows he has easy prey here.

My babies are so traumatized. i am sure they’re missing their sister. I tried bringing them out (because they’re still in my garage) while I sat there the whole time to keep an eye on them. They stayed at their favorite spot. Didn’t even move a foot away.

Will this scar them for life? I hope they will be able to be the fun little girls like they’ve been in the last few weeks.

I do know that I can’t leave them outside when we’re not watching. Hopefully once they’re older they will not be attacked.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

Unfortunately even adult birds can and will be picked off by hawks

 

[Aunt Angus]

I am so sorry for your loss...

Unfortunately, that hawk DOES know they're there, and you'll have to keep them penned up for a while (if not for good). I supervise my flock when they are foraging, and I've been able to scare off multiple hawks. If I hadn't been there watching, who knows how many I'd have had to bury? I have been VERY lucky - I know it. Everything wants to get our chickens, and it's nearly impossible to keep everything at bay.

Do you know what kind of hawk it was? Larger hawks (like Red Tails) will easily carry off an adult. Smaller hawks (like Coopers) will still attack and kill adults. I find that knowing which hawks I'm dealing with helps.

 

[rosemarythyme]

No they won't be scarred for life but you'll always need to be mindful of aerial attacks if birds of prey frequent your area.

 

[Joken]

Our 14 week old birds have been venturing out daily and having a great time. there was a mob of Crows in treetops on our property line about 600' from where the chickens were messing around. I happened to see the Crows flying our direction and although I doubt the chickens actually say the crows in flight, they scattered in a panic when the shadows of the crows crossed where they were.

 

[Aunt Angus]

Our 14 week old birds have been venturing out daily and having a great time. there was a mob of Crows in treetops on our property line about 600' from where the chickens were messing around. I happened to see the Crows flying our direction and although I doubt the chickens actually say the crows in flight, they scattered in a panic when the shadows of the crows crossed where they were.

Crows often scare off hawks, but chickens don't know that. But I've heard ppl say that crows have taken very small chicks.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

I had a crow take a little 3 week bantam roo

 

[JacinLarkwell]

Actually i think it was 6 weeks. Still super tiny but I had him for a bit. Now I know to watch f or crows and birds

 

[tsperry88]

I have had a rough time with predictors. In my case its foxes. I wanted so bad to let them free range, and I know it works for some. I lost over half my flock in 2 attacks. The remaining birds lost free range privileges, and the new ones in brooder will not free range. Mine were super on edge for a few days after an attack and went back to normal.

 

[Folly's place]

So sorry for your loss!
Your survivors aren't scarred for life, rather they have learned a valuable life skill, and will be better able to cope in the future. In a mixed age flock like mine, older birds who have seen disasters help educate the youngsters, something yours haven't experienced, until now.
KEEP THEM IN for two to three weeks, until that hawk has given up and moved on. If they are out now, you will just loose them, one by one, regardless of you being out there.
Only predator proof coops and runs are truly safe; free ranging is always a risk.
Mary