Chickens froze in their tracks!!!!

[trunkman]

I let my 6 hens out every night after I get home from work to let them free range till dark. Last night I was watching them while free ranging and all of a sudden the all froze. I caught a glimpse of a big bird in the corner of my eye and noticed it landed in a tree about 100 feet from where my chickens were, I noticed it was a large hawk that purched up on a branch. The hawk stayed purched there for about 10 minutes and my hens didn't move a muscle for the whole time. It was like looking at 6 concrete statues. They were all watching what the hawk was doing, I quess they were scared stiff.

So I took out my pellet gun and shot near the hawk to try to scare it off, after the second shot the hawk took off and the hens went right back to pecking away at the ground. I was just amused at how they all just froze till the hawk left, and then went back to what they were doing like nothing ever happened.

 

[lovinlife]

That's wild! Smart little things!

 

[Armageddon]

Smart little buggers! Good for you!!

 

[chickenshagg]

It was important that you did not shoot the Hawk. That can be a federal offense.
Glad to here that it flew away without harming your girls. I purchased some Crow decoys from Cabela's and have them steaked out in the yard to help scare away the Hawks. It has been working so far.

 

[GreenGoddess]

Quote:
All depends on what kind of pellet gun it is.. I have a spring loaded hand gun.. It does the trick as far as scaring animals away but it's basically harmless.. I use it for the dogs in my neighborhood (no one around here knows how to keep them in their own yard/house) when they come in my yard.. I shot one dog in the thigh about 4 ft away and he yelped and started running.. But, the skin wasn't broken or anything.. Hubby shot a friend in the butt (she told him to!) through jeans with it right up against her and it didn't even bruise or anything.. Just stung.. So, would I use it on a rat, coon, possum, dog, or even a hawk, You bet your bippy, in a heart beat!! The safety of my child and chickens are most important to me! Luckily, I don't have to worry about hawks or other predatory birds roosting in a tree in my yard since i don't have any trees.. I'm on pretty flat land...

Now an air pump or CO2 gun, that would be a different story all thogether!

Goddess

 

[77horses]

That's their instinct. Ours do that all the time.

Even the local birds that stop by the bird feeder will do that if they see a hawk (such as the Chicadees and Blue Jays, etc...). When they see a hawk or something, one or two of them will all make a high-pitched alarm sound and they will ll freeze up and just sit in the same spot, looking around, until finally they know it's safe. One time their was a hawk way up in the sky just passing through, and one of our roosters made the alarm noise and all of the chickens either stood frozen or ran under a bush. Our little Bantam hen ran under the trash can and stayed there for a long time.

 

[trunkman]

My pellet gun is very high powered, as fast as a 22 cal.. I would never shot a hawk, I just shot at the tree next to him so the noise would scare him off...I hope he doesn't get any of my chickens but I know it's very possible, and I still wouldn't shoot him, he's just hungry. That's why I'm totally enclosing thier run with half inch by half inch wire..Although that won't help the hens when I let them free range...

 

[GreenGoddess]

Quote:
Yeah, would definitely do a LOT more damage than mine does.. lol.. I need one like that for the dogs around here.. Most of the dogs in the neighborhood are nice and don't bother anything.. I just normally like to scare them out of the yard or yell at them to "go home"... But, we have a handful that are VERY nasty!! I fear for my son when he goes to the bus stop (right in front of the house) in the morning as they have been known to circle and growl, they have been seen killing smaller dogs, cats and chickens in the neighborhood and animal control don't seem to care nor do the owners.. One of THOSE dogs come in my yard, I wouldn't even hesitate! Please don't get me wrong.. I LOVE animals.. But, I keep my animals in the house or penned up or they are supervised when they are roaming the yard.. And I refuse to put my child, my animals or myself in danger...

Goddess

 

[trunkman]

Oh, I've had a huge boxer, a chow and a pitt bull try to attack my rabbits, they got a pellet in the butt and I've never seen them again. Dog owners should keep their dogs in their own yards to keep them out of trouble. It's not the dogs fault, it's the owners fault, the pet shouldn't have to suffer for owners ignorance...

 

[GreenGoddess]

Oh! I most definitely agree!! I don't blame the dogs at all.. BUT, on the same token, I refuse to OWN a nasty dog (I have a rottweiler, a pitbull and a pitweiler and all three are big mush balls!) so I also refuse to have someone else's nasty dog around me too.. Like I said, most of the dogs in the neighborhood are nice and don't bother anyone.. Just roam the streets and the yards.. But, they are harmless.. But, there are about 4 or 5 that I would put a bullet in their heads in a heartbeat if they came too close.. They are the ones who will circle and growl, chase cars (not the typical dog chasing a car) while bearing their teeth and growling, and have shown aggression in numerous other ways.. We probably have about 15 dogs running the neighborhood at any given time..

Goddess