Chicken Hawk SwoopsDown On Chickens

[gila_dog]

Quote:
I found one of my big pretty Rhode Island Red hens dead in the pen this summer. Her head was missing. I've lost chickens to all kinds of predators but they were either all tore up, or just gone. This was different. A few days later I was standing there pondering the problem when suddenly the chickens scattered and a little hawk, about the size and color of a pigeon, swooped right over my head and made a grab for a hen's head. She ducked just in time and the hawk missed. That showed me what had happened to the headless hen. The little hawk had streaked thru the pen and grabbed her head as he went by. She was so heavy that her head just popped right off. I guess he enjoyed eating that chicken head (crunchy and oh, so tasty!) because he came back for another one.

So, no... big chickens are no safer from hawks than little ones.

 

[jjthink]

Ugh - what a visual! So glad this hen ducked!
JJ

 

[tiffanyh]

Hawk got one of my big chickens last spring.

 

[JethroBCochin]

Lost many hens and a fine Dark Cornish Rooster to a full grown Coopers Hawk. I usuall won't say what I do to get rid or them but will add that just burying them doesn't shut off that little GPS chip and if, "The Man" comes walking up on your burial site asking you if you've killed a hawk, always say NO, and then add that you found one dead so you disposed of it, HUMANLY.
The Man from the DNR here made the comment to a group of us reguarding hawks and our chickens- "The plastic in those chips and FIRE in your barrel don't mix to well! Then bury properly."

JW