A Hawk on Our Coop (pics)

[wyliefarms]

What an adorable coop!

What a brave red tail hawk!

Our hawks sit in the trees and watch the birds. The only ones I am worried about is the bantams when they are loose in the yard.

 

[bwebb7]

Beautiful girls too!
A really sweet set-up, the coop and run, nice.

 

[Wraith]

That is a fine looking coop. We have hawks around here, but since we got chickens I haven't seen one. My wife is getting slack and lets the chickens out to run in the yard without staying with them. They go under the shed a lot, so she figures they are safe. I figure it's a matter of time until we have an issue with them. The worst thing about hawks is you can't do anything to them legally. They are protected and it kneecaps any kind of defense for your animals.

 

[the1much]

put up 2 pieces of wood at each end of the coop,, and run a rope or "colored" wire, not to tight,,that should stop the "coop sitting"

 

[Wraith]

Is it true they are afraid of owls and an owl statue will keep them away? Will owls harm chickens and would the owl statue scare the chickens? Just asking. We have a big owl in our woods that calls around 5:45 AM until 6:30 AM.

 

[redhen]

..well....okay, so now i know i've been wrong about what i "thought" were hawks flying around my house......but last week i did see one of those birds..(real close-up) for the first time....but i thought it was a small falcon of something?...

...i was sitting on the bench outside the run..and the girls give a holler..and take off into the coop...so i looked up in the tree above the pen(RIGHT above the run..)..and there it was...i jumped up..startled, and i in turn startled IT..

..lol..then it took off..but i didnt really think i was after my chickens...it seems so small to kill a chicken??..

..i thought i was after my rabbit..his hutch is right by the chicken pen...but..i'll tell you what..my chcikens would not come back out for about an hour...so...now to my next question.....

...what type of bird have i been worried about then flying around my house?? he gets real low....like roof high..and circles!...

....it is HUGE!.(.i guess i always thought hawks were huge or something..and thats why i just assumed it was a hawk)..but its all brown..and i mean, its big! and it dosent look like that bird at all..i live in mass,..does anyone know what it could be?..thanks, Wendy

 

[CarolynE]

That is the biggest hawk I have ever seen! Ours are puny in comparison!

 

[PitterPaws]

Quote:
Not sure without pictures but it could have been a young bald eagle, they don't get their white head and tail feathers until they are around year old. We have alot of Bald eagles here.

 

[chickypoo]

Nice safe coop you have! We had a Cooper's Hawk watch our girls for a little bit but they are too small to grab one. It is interesting to watch them try and figure the coop out.

 

[redhen]

we do have them here also..and the bird is around that size..but..its these same 2 maybe 3 birds...and they have been around us for years....(this is my fisrt year with chickens)..we have alot of wild bunnies..etc, around and i think they eat them..

..but i never notice the head getting white or anything...they just stay all brown...

..but they are probably about 2-3 feet tall..and the wing span is huge!..they even, when i had a min pin dog, would circle around...

..i couldnt leave her out side by herself in the yard....and the bird didnt care that she was barking right up at him..he just kept checking her out!..till i came out..and started to wave my arms around at it..

....i will try to get a pic of them flying around as soon as i see them again...thanks for the reply...

.Wendy