Are white chickens like Delaware more likely to be caught by hawks?

[johndeerelover]

Just wondering, I've always had Marans, welsummers which blend into our woods setting. Was thinking about getting Delawares but will they stand out and be found easier by coopers hawks etc? Anyone have any experience with different colors of chickens?

 

[lazy gardener]

@Beekissed has had a flock of White Rocks for years, with occasional addition of other colors. She swears that white birds are no more predator prone than others. It depends on your predator load, your range safety, whether you have a guard dog...

IMO, a predator will take which ever bird happens to be in a location where she is easiest to snatch. The predator doesn't care what color her feathers are. They all taste like chicken.

 

[Molpet]

I have white, black, buff, red and barred... the barred have been attacked 2x...
the first one was 8 wks old and I was 200 ft away.. heard the roos alert, seen a flash of brown and ran just as the juvenile cooper started tearing her neck, blood out of her eyes and mouth thought she was going to die..that was 10-26-17 and she is still living in the house and isn't quite right yet.
the 2nd one was 2 yrs old and had jumped the fence and was out in the yard. I was in the house and heard the ruckus and ran out, she was shaken up but no wounds. same hawk

 

[chickengeorgeto]

I don't think that hawks single out white chickens. This is IMHO more true when discussing birds like White Leghorns. White Leghorns are quite active and I think that all things being even that a White Leghorn can better protect themselves against and evade predators than almost any domesticated bird that you can name. In fact Silkies, Polish chickens and most bantams needs a sign on them in hawk that says,
>>>>>"Open Here"<<<<<

 

[Crazy for Chickens!]

Yes, lighter colored chickens are more obvious, therefore making them easier prey. But I would be more worried about a larger bird. We just have red tailed hawks around here, so I don't know the size of coopers. I think a hawk could scratch up a chicken, but I think a large chicken like that is too much for a hawk to carry off. Now something like a eagle.....that's a different story.

 

[Redhead Rae]

I have Delawares and leghorn crosses. Lost two buff orp roosters to a coon and one Cochin/Dominique cross cockerel to a possum. No issues with Hawks. Only lost one white to an accident.

 

[Victoria Thompson]

I have Marans, RIReds, Wyandottes & mostly white leghorns & the leghorns being smallest are faster, roost higher & seem more alert to anything that moves.

 

[lazy gardener]

Yes, lighter colored chickens are more obvious, therefore making them easier prey. But I would be more worried about a larger bird. We just have red tailed hawks around here, so I don't know the size of coopers. I think a hawk could scratch up a chicken, but I think a large chicken like that is too much for a hawk to carry off. Now something like a eagle.....that's a different story.

It's not a matter of the hawk carrying off a full grown chicken. It's a matter of a hawk killing a full grown chicken. In a matter of weeks, I had Northern Goshawk kill 2 partridge and a RIR. The hawk would flip the chicken on her back and tear her breast open, and start devouring. I caught hawk in the act, and scared him off. I'm sure that eventually, he'd have stripped enough weight off the carcass that he could then carry the remains where ever he chose to go with it. My friend has had a number of full sized birds killed by Red Tails. His free range area is every flock owner's dream. Overgrown pasture with pond, various sizes of trees, shrubs, raspberry thicket, tall grass. Not a barrier at all to the hawks.

 

[JedJackson]

Just wondering, I've always had Marans, welsummers which blend into our woods setting. Was thinking about getting Delawares but will they stand out and be found easier by coopers hawks etc? Anyone have any experience with different colors of chickens?

White is the most visible color except in snowy weather, so yes, white birds are more prone to predation as a result. In the past I had both white leghorns and brown leghorns, free ranging, and several of the whites were attacked but not one of the browns. And Cooper's hawks can easily kill a large breed chicken. Those talons mean business.

 

[williatn]

In my experience, the color doesn't matter so much as size. My small Easter eggers were the first to go. After that it was whatever hen got separated from the rest. I have a red tailed hawk targeting mine. The only solution seems to be not to free range them