Big Daddy vs The Hawk

[thebirdguy]

You were visited by a male kestrel or sparrow hawk.. I doubt he would have tried for a full grown chicken but chicks would have been on the menu.. They primarily eat sparrows (big surprise given their name huh?) mice, other small birds/rodents and insects ie grasshoppers, etc.

I raised a pair of orphan kestrels from chicks when I was about 12.. They were fun birds.. After releasing them, the male hung around our property for about a month but never bothered the chickens..

 

[Firearia]

Lots of birds tend to fly over my coop, however they seem to pass right by (hawks, eagles, ravens, herons). I don't know if it's the big tree hanging over it or what... My chickens will still stop immediately and stay as still as possible. I still don't know why the birds don't come in though!

 

[annageckos]

Look up Red Shouldered Hawk. If I had to guess that would be it. It is not a red tail. Red tails are larger and the colors are very different. You can also tell by the beak size. It is a juvenile, and looks like something got it's tail

 

[sheilawagner]

Is Big Daddy a barred Rock? He looks incredibly handsome, he's such a good roo. I love it when the good roos do what they are supposed to do, WELL.

I have 2 cockerels (cochin bantams) and they work as a tag team, both taking turns, watching over the hens and scanning the skies. I love it when I watch them work.

 

[secuono]

I'm gonna say it was a Red Shouldered Hawk. They are real pretty and I used to take pictures of them all the time when I lived in Woodbridge, va, with no chickens.

 

[Kaceyx73]

Yeah I think secuono got that one. I'm not familiar with the red shouldered hawk.
My original guess would have been a falcon or kestrel, depending on where you live. Here in upstate SC we have plenty of red tails and buzzards. Our local area has a few peregrine falcons that have moved into the area over the last 10-15 years. Most people never pay much attention to the wildlife in their area. There still shocked that we have falcons back. Knowing what wildlife lives around you can save you a lot of grief. A red tail hawk can be devastating to a chicken flock, but not the falcon. Watch out if you have doves and pigeons around your feeders, though. The falcons like smaller birds than chickens, and need room to hit their prey at full speed and fly away. Hitting a ground bird at 150mph plus is a little risky.

Thanks for the pics. I look into the red shouldered myself and see if they are in my area or not.

 

[crawfordmama]

Woot, woot! Go Big Daddy! It's so great to have a rooster who knows his role in the flock.

 

[dottie1111]

I Have Had Two Attacks On My Ee Chickens Also The First Time It Must Have Picked Up And Dropped My Annie Because It Could Not Lift Her Out Of The Pen After This She Molted All Her Feathers She Was So Scared. So When I Here The Call From Them Out There I Run To See Whats Going On.i Dont Want To Loose Any Of My Chickens. What I Think He Was Mostly Attracted To Was The Modern Game Hens In The Enclosed Pen Near By He Actually At One Point Thried To Pull Of The Hatched Lid In There Day Pen.

 

[lovinlife]

Quote:
Totally off-subject here: how in the world do you type like that? Is your computer set to capitalize the first letter of each word automatically? I know I'm weird to ask, but it's really hard to read....

on-subject: I hope you don't loose any chickens to the hawk.

 

[lcw1995]

Quote:
Totally off-subject here: how in the world do you type like that? Is your computer set to capitalize the first letter of each word automatically? I know I'm weird to ask, but it's really hard to read....

on-subject: I hope you don't loose any chickens to the hawk.

GOOD JOB BIG DADDY ...
and the way she types like that is she types all capital without any lowercase.
if theres lowercase it will capital all the letters.