Arizona Chickens

[Coffee N Chickens]

Well I got my yearly quota of being merciful and nice out of my system last night. I went out to the hydroponics house around noon yesterday, to top water and feed for the babies and found a hawk had gone through the screen door and was inside. I was able to get it out, though I noticed it looked dehydrated and let me get within inches of it, so something wasn't right.

Fast forward 2 hours and I go to start afternoon watering and hear a ruckus from the greenhouse, where I have the 4 - 8 week olds before moving them to the runs. At least until I get the brooder barn built. There is that same hawk, and it was in the pen with the 4 week olds and had two of them under its feet. How it got past the 2x4 welded wire tops I have no idea.

So the hawk, luckily for its life, did no damage to the 2 chicks it jumped on and I was able to contain it and then get it out. It promptly freaked out trying to get out and ended up hitting the top of the dome greenhouse several times before knocking itself out. Of course it was 22 feet up at teh time and it did a nose dive to the ground and landed between the pots near the potting bench, wedged tight.

In a moment of mercy, I picked it up, it was still breathing and put it in a dog kennel I use to move chickens around in. Then started the 5 hour frustration of trying to get it help as I noticed it was skin and bones.

Let me say that both park rangers and fish and wildlife are useless and at this point fish and wildlife needs to have everyone fired and replaced.

Anyway, 6 hours later, a local rescue agent for Liberty wildlife rescue contacted me and I drove the hawk to her ranch, 40 minutes away, she had been contacted by Liberty Wildlife who I had talked too several hours before, but as they were in Phoenix they could not help me, but promised to send out a state wide emergency alert in case someone was down near me.

So I was merciful in letting him, the rescue lady told me it was a male, live and nice to even drive it, in the dark , down dirt roads to get it help.

My yearly quota has been used up

She ended up tubing it to hydrate it and about now it should be on it's way to Phoenix to get medical help and rehab. As evidently it did not have the strength to do more than jump on the chicks and that took so much effort it could not hurt them or eat.

On the down side, I now have 36 chicks to quarantine, after building the new pens, instead of putting them in their new 268 square foot run and coop.

Did you ask where they will release it once it's stronger? Now it knows there's chicken dinner at your place, and some rescues like to release animals as close as possible to their former living places.

 

[springvalley123]

Well I got my yearly quota of being merciful and nice out of my system last night. I went out to the hydroponics house around noon yesterday, to top water and feed for the babies and found a hawk had gone through the screen door and was inside. I was able to get it out, though I noticed it looked dehydrated and let me get within inches of it, so something wasn't right.

Fast forward 2 hours and I go to start afternoon watering and hear a ruckus from the greenhouse, where I have the 4 - 8 week olds before moving them to the runs. At least until I get the brooder barn built. There is that same hawk, and it was in the pen with the 4 week olds and had two of them under its feet. How it got past the 2x4 welded wire tops I have no idea.

So the hawk, luckily for its life, did no damage to the 2 chicks it jumped on and I was able to contain it and then get it out. It promptly freaked out trying to get out and ended up hitting the top of the dome greenhouse several times before knocking itself out. Of course it was 22 feet up at teh time and it did a nose dive to the ground and landed between the pots near the potting bench, wedged tight.

In a moment of mercy, I picked it up, it was still breathing and put it in a dog kennel I use to move chickens around in. Then started the 5 hour frustration of trying to get it help as I noticed it was skin and bones.

Let me say that both park rangers and fish and wildlife are useless and at this point fish and wildlife needs to have everyone fired and replaced.

Anyway, 6 hours later, a local rescue agent for Liberty wildlife rescue contacted me and I drove the hawk to her ranch, 40 minutes away, she had been contacted by Liberty Wildlife who I had talked too several hours before, but as they were in Phoenix they could not help me, but promised to send out a state wide emergency alert in case someone was down near me.

So I was merciful in letting him, the rescue lady told me it was a male, live and nice to even drive it, in the dark , down dirt roads to get it help.

My yearly quota has been used up

She ended up tubing it to hydrate it and about now it should be on it's way to Phoenix to get medical help and rehab. As evidently it did not have the strength to do more than jump on the chicks and that took so much effort it could not hurt them or eat.

On the down side, I now have 36 chicks to quarantine, after building the new pens, instead of putting them in their new 268 square foot run and coop.

No good deed goes unpunished? With any luck the volunteer will keep in touch and let you know how the hawk turns out. If it doesn't have any diseases, and if they test it for diseases, that at least would help keep things positive through your quarantine.

 

[BlueBaby]

Well I got my yearly quota of being merciful and nice out of my system last night. I went out to the hydroponics house around noon yesterday, to top water and feed for the babies and found a hawk had gone through the screen door and was inside. I was able to get it out, though I noticed it looked dehydrated and let me get within inches of it, so something wasn't right.

Fast forward 2 hours and I go to start afternoon watering and hear a ruckus from the greenhouse, where I have the 4 - 8 week olds before moving them to the runs. At least until I get the brooder barn built. There is that same hawk, and it was in the pen with the 4 week olds and had two of them under its feet. How it got past the 2x4 welded wire tops I have no idea.

So the hawk, luckily for its life, did no damage to the 2 chicks it jumped on and I was able to contain it and then get it out. It promptly freaked out trying to get out and ended up hitting the top of the dome greenhouse several times before knocking itself out. Of course it was 22 feet up at teh time and it did a nose dive to the ground and landed between the pots near the potting bench, wedged tight.

In a moment of mercy, I picked it up, it was still breathing and put it in a dog kennel I use to move chickens around in. Then started the 5 hour frustration of trying to get it help as I noticed it was skin and bones.

Let me say that both park rangers and fish and wildlife are useless and at this point fish and wildlife needs to have everyone fired and replaced.

Anyway, 6 hours later, a local rescue agent for Liberty wildlife rescue contacted me and I drove the hawk to her ranch, 40 minutes away, she had been contacted by Liberty Wildlife who I had talked too several hours before, but as they were in Phoenix they could not help me, but promised to send out a state wide emergency alert in case someone was down near me.

So I was merciful in letting him, the rescue lady told me it was a male, live and nice to even drive it, in the dark , down dirt roads to get it help.

My yearly quota has been used up

She ended up tubing it to hydrate it and about now it should be on it's way to Phoenix to get medical help and rehab. As evidently it did not have the strength to do more than jump on the chicks and that took so much effort it could not hurt them or eat.

On the down side, I now have 36 chicks to quarantine, after building the new pens, instead of putting them in their new 268 square foot run and coop.

I hope for your sake that the hawk didn't have any of those wild bird disease's. That would be bad.

 

[cavemanrich]

No good deed goes unpunished? With any luck the volunteer will keep in touch and let you know how the hawk turns out. If it doesn't have any diseases, and if they test it for diseases, that at least would help keep things positive through your quarantine.

I think the disease hawk suffered was HUNGER
I respect all living things. No shortage of hawks in my area also. I focus on prevention. and security. I do the best to keep my chickens safe. (my pets )

wolfwalker​

 

[AngBantamLuv]

Just had the tastiest blue berries!! Planted this one at the end of February.

 

[Coffee N Chickens]

Did you ask where they will release it once it's stronger? Now it knows there's chicken dinner at your place, and some places like to release animals as close as possible to their former living places.

I think the disease hawk suffered was HUNGER
I respect all living things. No shortage of hawks in my area also. I focus on prevention. and security. I do the best to keep my chickens safe. (my pets )

wolfwalker​

Hunger for sure, but for it to be weak with hunger is another thing. I would suspect a problem. There's a red tailed hawk around here, and it is not weak by any means. This would worry me. Did you have a rabbit die-off in your area, too?

All five of the girls laid an egg today. Not sure how I'm going to keep up. My morning omelets have gone from two to three eggs. But eggs are good for you, right?

 

[budkingston]

So I was merciful in letting him, the rescue lady told me it was a male, live

My yearly quota has been used up

You did the right thing. Ironically, we are often angry because as an apex predator, we are targeting the same prey. While you may not be planning to eat the chicks, you may be planning to eat their eggs and offspring.

Few things are as soul destroying as watching an apex predator die of starvation. Lions, eagles, or humans. It’s a horrific sight to watch them lose the strength to hunt.

Few things are as soul satisfying as showing mercy. You won’t be able to distinguish those 2 chicks from the rest in 6 months from now but you’ll never forget the experience with the hawk. You’ll never regret that.

 

[springvalley123]

Hunger for sure, but for it to be weak with hunger is another thing. I would suspect a problem. There's a red tailed hawk around here, and it is not weak by any means. This would worry me. Did you have a rabbit die-off in your area, too?

All five of the girls laid an egg today. Not sure how I'm going to keep up. My morning omelets have gone from two to three eggs. But eggs are good for you, right?

Animals die of hunger so I could understand it being weak just from hunger. Plus, was that after it bonked its head? Hopefully that's all it was.

You could separate the yolks out of some of the eggs if you want to limit cholesterol, but I think eggs are a superfood.

 

[BlueBaby]

Re-homed the Aloha cockerel today because he came in the batch of Aloha chick's that I got back in Nov., so most likely was closely related to those girl's. The NN Aloha boy get's those girl's now, and he's happy to be let out of his little pen that he's been in since Easter.

 

[CaroleW]

Did you ask where they will release it once it's stronger? Now it knows there's chicken dinner at your place, and some rescues like to release animals as close as possible to their former living places.

@wolfwalker you did the right thing with the hawk to give it a chance to rehab. I'd like to know if you hear from the rehaber on the outcome.

You are right about Game and Fish, they are not where they need to be - they are probably spread too thin to cover any but the most dire animal emergencies that are a risk to humans.

The Prescott zoo/sanctuary told my neighbor the hawk she turned over to them recently would be released in the same area here. But my assumption is probably not if it only has one eye and can't hunt. I'm not sure if we will hear the outcome.