I think it was a falcon. I was sitting in the kitchen while the chickens/ducks free ranging their morning away. i look outside and the chickens are silent, still. just then a huge falcon swooped down on my plymouth rock chicken! it was awful, shes a heavy girl, she fell. i ran outside, screaming my head off like a maniac. the chickens and ducks were hiding for cover. the falcon (thats what we think it is) swooped down again, right in front of me.. i am waving my arms in the air, like a crazy person. screaming. get away get out of here. everyone was okay but frightened. my girls love to free range, but going to have to keep them locked up in the run for awhile. i feel sick to my stomach now. my legs were shaking. i lost my voice too.. (just from the screaming.)
If that falcon lived around my house I think it would suddenly come down with a serious case of lead poisioning. I'm glad all your chickens are okay.
yeah, hubby said, " you know where the guns are annie"....... dont know if you can kill them, could be illegal, so i wont.
We have all kinds of migratory hawks arriving daily so I keep the gang in the coop. I've actually seen a redtail sit on the top of the enclosed pen but he got a squirrel and I've never seen him again.
My boys and girls have been in their enclosed runs for over a week now because of the heavy activity of migrating hawks. They are not happy about it and long to go into their fenced pasture again. Twice I had hawks swoop down less than 20 ft from me. Glad I had a rake in my hand because one had a wingspan of nearly 5 ft!
Quote:I don't thing the hawk is after you but after the critters you stir up in the grass. Last week I had several hawks watch me move round bales and they were snatching up the rats scurrying about.
i just wonder how long, they need to be locked up in their run for? i cant see free ranging them, while i am at work. (sigh))
Make friends with crows and jays as they can chase away hawks and owls. Also shooting hawks is definitely illegal.
