Buzzed by a hawk yesterday - now what?

[curiositykt]

I have 5 nearly hens in an enclosed coop. I let them out for an hour or so every evening while I am out watching them in the yard. Yesterday they had wandered probably 20 feet from me on the yard near the wood line and all of a sudden I heard squawking and looked up just in time to see a somewhat large hawk (2-3 foot wing span?) like bird swoop up and away. The chickens were all safely in the woods under a small bush freaked out of their little brains but entirely fine. I climbed under the bush and counted and checked them all out and they were fine. After grabbing a handful of treats I eventually coaxed them across the yard and back into the coop (half way across the yard they all ran as fast as they could to the safety of their coop, it was pretty funny to watch) The one that was the presumed target ran directly from the woods to the coop once most of the birds were half way across the yard. My yard is pretty small.




It extends about 10 more feet and then wraps around the garage. I generally sit in that shady area.

My questions are:

Why didn't the hawk try to eat them?
Will the hawk try to get them again? (I had never seen a hawk here before, but we have lots of bunnies in the neighborhood so there certainly is food for them)
What can I do to protect them while I sit outside with them?

 

[joshwilson42728]

i have the same problem here in ky, im also like u keep them up till im outside the hawk has gotten a few of mine but recently i bought a couple of fake owls and set them around my yard (making sure i move them around couple times a week) this has really helped and also took cds and put on top of my fence post they say hawks dont like bright objects and it has also helped, i havent had any probs in last couple of months hope this helps u sum....

 

[pigcoon]

Hawks will definitely swoop down and attack chickens. They have done it several times here. I can't let mine free range without supervision any longer which is sad. I can let mine out in the evening, as the hawks are rarely around at that time. It might help to figure out when the hawk comes by and avoid that time.

 

[real_redhead]

This time of year some hawks are migrating which I think that's why I am seeing more of them. Within the last few weeks there was a hawk sitting in the tree right beside my coop around 7:30 am. I didn't let the girls out for several day and am now letting them out when we are home and can be with them. But am having second thoughts about that. Last night my daughter and I were sitting on the front porch while she was doing her reading for school and I was catching up on my magazines when I saw fly by about 4 feet off the ground the same hawk I saw sitting by the coop, my mom thinks it is a red shouldered hawk but it also looks like a coopers hawk?? Ran to check on the girls as they are in the fenced in back yard and they had seen it because they were all hiding. Generally I am warned when I hear the crows, I called them and they are getting really good about going into the covered run/coop area when they sense danger. So they are not coming out unless someone is out with them. Tonight I let the kids play 30 min. of DSI but they had to sit in the yard and keep an eye on the girls, there were some buzzards (my kids think anything big flying around is a hawk, they are 8 & 10 and I have explained what a hawk looks like from underneath, I guess they will figure it out one day)

 

[curiositykt]

Hadn't seen the hawk before, and haven't seen since. It happened around 5:30 pm, so the sun was just starting to get low.

 

[shober]

Try hanging old cd's in the trees. They don't like the colors in the sunlight. Its worth a try!

 

[janinepeters]

Hi curiositykt, I am up the road in Bolton, MA! The hawk probably did not have time to go for the chicken before you noticed, but it will likely be back, and will go for it, if it thinks it can get it. Can talk more later, if you like, but gotta run now. Briefly, I've changed my set up to make it more predator resistant. Fenced in to 1/3 acre, small trees and shrubs in center for excellent cover, and no cover around perimeter, so approach of terrestrial predators can be seen before they try to strike. Chx stay in cover of small trees and shrubs most of the time, so aerial predators don't have much of a chance. No losses to predators in 4-5 years with this set up.

 

[janinepeters]

What can I do to protect them while I sit outside with them?

Hello again. Your set up is much like my neighbor's - Her coop is right at the edge of the woods, and she has a lot more trouble with predators than I have. I would keep the chickens out of the woods. Yes, they have cover there, but you can't see predators that are lurking among the trees, and something will eventually snatch them before you notice. My neighbor had a hawk take one right at the edge of the woods while she was sitting out there, not 15 feet away from the hawk's victim. She did not notice it in the trees.

I would fence in an area for them. It doesn't have to be expensive or fancy, just something to contain the chickens, so they cannot wander into the woods and so and you and they will see predators before they strike. They will need some sort of cover, and something to keep them entertained while roaming the fenced in area. A compost bin will provide foraging opportunities, and some shrubs and/or small trees will provide cover. Keep fence perimeter free of vegetation, so nothing can hide before striking.

If you cannot do that, I think I would build a larger, totally enclosed run, and keep them in that all the time.

Be sure your coop and run are impermeable to digging predators.

 

[curiositykt]

The "woods" are only a 8 foot wide section of scrub between two lots. There's not much that can hide in there. There is an empty lot to the back of our property where things certainly can hide, but the underbrush is too thick for the chickens to think it's a good idea to wander over there. I would think fencing in our back yard so the chickens can't get any cover would just give the hawks more of a "shooting in a barrel" experience?

Their run and coop are entirely predator proof, but being small I like to give them an hour or so after work to stretch their wings and run about while supervised.

How close do I need to be to the chickens to ward off hawks? I can just move my chair next to the woods, but I figured they probably wouldn't mind some sense of freedom.

 

[janinepeters]

Oh, I didn't realize your "woods" were so small. How close you need to be to the chickens: Hard to say, it depends on your own set up, the closer the better. The more human noise and activity in your yard, the better. With my current set up, just being out and about in the yard is enough to keep everything away, though as I said, my neighbor had one taken quite close to her. For me, only juvenile hawks in winter try (but haven't succeeded) to get my chickens when I'm out there, right amongst the flock. I think it's because these young hawks are relegated to the fringes of adequate habitat, and are forced to take risks hunting close to people when starving in winter.