Chickens for 10-20 years or more? Pull up a rockin' chair and lay some wisdom on us!

[ejb3810]

Beekissed, I disagree with your philosophy regarding hens killed by hawks as being less than desirable. They won't be available to carry their genes forward, in most cases, only because of bad luck on their part. They were most likely as intelligent and vigilant as the rest ?
In my case the primary hawk of concern is the Goshawk. They do not normally circle over head and then drop on their prey. They know the area well, and they come in low and extremely fast. Their prey does not have a chance to escape, unless they are large enough to physically fight the hawk. That would perhaps be a bird the size of a Brahma rooster. An adult female Goshawk is a large bird with large razor sharp talons.

 

[Farmerboy16]

Beekissed, I disagree with your philosophy regarding hens killed by hawks as being less than desirable. They won't be available to carry their genes forward, in most cases, only because of bad luck on their part. They were most likely as intelligent and vigilant as the rest ?
In my case the primary hawk of concern is the Goshawk. They do not normally circle over head and then drop on their prey. They know the area well, and they come in low and extremely fast. Their prey does not have a chance to escape, unless they are large enough to physically fight the hawk. That would perhaps be a bird the size of a Brahma rooster. An adult female Goshawk is a large bird with large razor sharp talons.

Cooper's Hawk hunts the same way too. I have lost countless number of chickens to them, and witnessed a hawk flying very low and got on top of my sister's biggest Barred Rock hen, I scared it off, while the hen ran for cover.

 

[Beekissed]

In a yard patrolled by dogs, a hawk of any breed can't complete the actual kill and nab in the traditional manner. They would have to grab and lift off immediately, which is quite difficult when dealing with heavy breed hens/roos.

At the largest end of the size scale, a Goshawk weighs around 4.9 lbs and at the lowest 2.2lbs. Impossible for such a bird to stoop upon and then fly away with a hen that is double their weight without extreme difficulty and particularly before the dogs can catch it. Our local prey bird rehabilitation staff states that even a red-tail hawk, weighing in at 13 lbs, cannot complete the maneuver. I seriously doubt a lightweight like the Goshawk has the power to do it either.

We have hawks of many breeds where I live and none have managed to snatch a bird. I attribute this to many factors: tree growth, places for hens to duck under and into, a vigilant roo and the constant presence of dogs. I also attribute it to the survival skills of the individual hen....if she is so complacent that she ignores danger from any source and does not take evasive action, then she is not adaptable to free ranging.

For instance, I have a WR hen that regularly strays from the group, goes through the perimeter fencing and forages far away from cover into a large field next door. She is fair game for any bird big enough to kill and carry....so far they haven't and it is probably due to her sheer size. If she were a bantam, she would have been gone already. In either case, she is not a desirable bird for my flock, despite her superlative egg laying and hardiness. Why? She's stupid and careless....if she gets killed, I won't be a bit surprised nor will I mourn her loss. It is also the reason I don't try more to keep her close to the flock...she is expendable because of this undesirable trait.

And, yes, I find a bird that doesn't adapt to the dangers of free ranging to be less vigilant and less desirable in my husbandry practices. In other folks' setups it probably doesn't matter how adaptable a bird is because they don't need to adapt, they need merely be a chicken.

If you have breeds that are so small a Goshawk can carry them away, then the deck is stacked against you from the beginning.

 

[flagirl]

thank you beekissed. your wisdom and knowledge and others like you is what i come to this thread for. i do not have a large flock, nor intend to, but i need the no nonsense info you all are willing to pass on.

 

[Mommy 2 Wee Ones]

Bee - I keep telling my BR the same thing, if she is dumb enough to go over to the neighbors yard, where any dog or hawk can get her, then she is free picking. Every time she comes back, our roo gets on her about straying, but she likes to go off alone. One day her wanderlust is going to catch up with her. But I have 6 standards in the brooder right now to take her place, if & when the time comes. Granted I will not see eggs out of them for another 5 or so months, but there will be more love for our roo "Owl" to spread around, once they are mature.

Am always ready for more Bee Wisdom!

 

[Lbrad7]

You need to do a little more research...I had a neighbor who lives a quater of a mile away bring back one of my buff rock hens that fell out of the sky and hit beside him as he was mowing his field. The hen was dying and the redtail hawk was still circling over head.

This whole thing of hawks and eagles not being able to carry any kind of weight is nonsense. I suppose you haven't seen the videos of the golden eagles taking the baby mtn goats off of the ledges on the side of a mountain..they did drop a few to their deaths but they also were able to fly off with a couple. I will agree that most of the time the hawk will eat the hen or roo where they kill it but don't be fooled....if determined, they can carry one for some distance. Just because a local volunteer and the nature center says that they can't do it doesn't mean it's true...I have seen it myself.

In a yard patrolled by dogs, a hawk of any breed can't complete the actual kill and nab in the traditional manner. They would have to grab and lift off immediately, which is quite difficult when dealing with heavy breed hens/roos.

At the largest end of the size scale, a Goshawk weighs around 4.9 lbs and at the lowest 2.2lbs. Impossible for such a bird to stoop upon and then fly away with a hen that is double their weight without extreme difficulty and particularly before the dogs can catch it. Our local prey bird rehabilitation staff states that even a red-tail hawk, weighing in at 13 lbs, cannot complete the maneuver. I seriously doubt a lightweight like the Goshawk has the power to do it either.

We have hawks of many breeds where I live and none have managed to snatch a bird. I attribute this to many factors: tree growth, places for hens to duck under and into, a vigilant roo and the constant presence of dogs. I also attribute it to the survival skills of the individual hen....if she is so complacent that she ignores danger from any source and does not take evasive action, then she is not adaptable to free ranging.

For instance, I have a WR hen that regularly strays from the group, goes through the perimeter fencing and forages far away from cover into a large field next door. She is fair game for any bird big enough to kill and carry....so far they haven't and it is probably due to her sheer size. If she were a bantam, she would have been gone already. In either case, she is not a desirable bird for my flock, despite her superlative egg laying and hardiness. Why? She's stupid and careless....if she gets killed, I won't be a bit surprised nor will I mourn her loss. It is also the reason I don't try more to keep her close to the flock...she is expendable because of this undesirable trait.

And, yes, I find a bird that doesn't adapt to the dangers of free ranging to be less vigilant and less desirable in my husbandry practices. In other folks' setups it probably doesn't matter how adaptable a bird is because they don't need to adapt, they need merely be a chicken.

If you have breeds that are so small a Goshawk can carry them away, then the deck is stacked against you from the beginning.

 

[Lbrad7]

Note the eagle flying off with the baby goat at the 5:10 mark...I can remember seeing this years ago..gotta love youtube.

 

[ontimeborzoi]

I was outside and saw a hawk carry off one of my barred cochins. She showed up two days later, came walking up through the wood, so apparently the hawk wasn't able to hold on, but it did carry her away!

 

[galanie]

Note the eagle flying off with the baby goat at the 5:10 mark...I can remember seeing this years ago..gotta love youtube.

I don't suppose you noticed that this eagle is coasting DOWN the whole way?

 

[Lbrad7]

I don't suppose you noticed that this eagle is coasting DOWN the whole way?

Absolutely, but the point is..he was able to stay aloft for a very long time with a GOAT! That is a bit more of a load than your average hen...not to mention that these eagles actually attack, KILL and feed on GOATS..not chickens, GOATS!!! Makes me crazy that some people, not all, but quite a few, say that birds of prey can't take on a rooster. That is beyond ridiculous. I had a large red tail attack and kill a rooster not 15 yards away from me while I was sitting on a big noisy tractor pulling a bush hog!

For those who say that eagles only eat fish and the occassional rabbit and hawks only eat mice and voles...if you have unprotected chickens in areas that they hunt, you will learn the hard way that they do take farm birds.

My point is..admire birds of prey for the amazing and beautiful animals that they are, but you have to be ever vigiliant in guarding your chickens from them. If not, be ready to lose that favorite bird, cause you can have 100 birds and one favorite...they will get that one favorite bird every time.