well, it just so happens that recently our chicken escaped out of the yard and when she came back around she had a little chick with her. I was confused because she had only been gone on and off for about two weeks and I knew that wasn't enough time for her to already have a chick. The little fella was strange and would ride on her back because he couldn't keep up. Turns out, she was sitting on a zone tailed hawk egg very shortly before it hatched. I have no idea how this took place. But I have an adolescent hawk now who thinks he is a chicken. He's almost the same size as his mother now but she still fiercely protects him and he still tries to get on her back. It's hilarious.
It's illegal to own a hawk without proper license, first of all. Secondly, raptors are Altricial (vs chickens being precocial) at hatch and take several weeks of intense care that a chicken wouldn't give, meaning if a hen hatched a hawk, it would die soon after hatch.well, it just so happens that recently our chicken escaped out of the yard and when she came back around she had a little chick with her. I was confused because she had only been gone on and off for about two weeks and I knew that wasn't enough time for her to already have a chick. The little fella was strange and would ride on her back because he couldn't keep up. Turns out, she was sitting on a zone tailed hawk egg very shortly before it hatched. I have no idea how this took place. But I have an adolescent hawk now who thinks he is a chicken. He's almost the same size as his mother now but she still fiercely protects him and he still tries to get on her back. It's hilarious.
