Close Call - Hawk edition

[rubanr]

Phewww close call yesterday. I was about 25ft away and my 50lbs dog about 15ft away from my 3 fully grown Black Orpingtons (they are by no means small). My back was to them and I heard the scream and turned an saw one running across the yard. I looked to my left and then saw the hawk (who btw was much smaller) had one of them pinned down under the Mountain Laurel tree. I ran over yelling and screaming and wasn't until I was about 3 feet away that he finally let go and then flew up on a branch and watched. Luckily, MaryAnn was ok and I could not find any injuries just a ton of missing feathers. The 3 of them spent the next couple hours huddled in the corner of the coop but fine. Looks like the days of roaming around the yard are over and they will have to go back to using the PVC/Deer Netting thing I made. I can move it around the yard easily so no big deal but I just enjoyed having them pick around while I was out there with them

 

[TheTwoRoos]

Maybe try getting a rooster and free ranging

 

[Kessel23]

A rooster would help to look out for hawks, I have plenty of roosters in my flock when free ranging and hawks rarely sneak up on them. She likely has several small puncture wounds on her, they are hard to find, if a tiny hawk pinned a big bird like a BA and she was not able to rip free I would bet that the hawk was holding onto something more than just feathers. Hawks can take out chickens and other prey animals much bigger than them, they have a lot of muscle to work with.

 

[llombardo]

So if a rooster is near by like let's say directly across the street and he starts making noise mid day, should that be taken as a warning?

This is a stray rooster that showed up last fall. I couldn't catch him but he ended up hopping the neighbors fence and making his home with their older chicken. He was on his own for about a month. Every night when I came home from work I would walk him across the road because he roosted in the trees. I visit him often, full of personality and just beautiful. I sometimes wonder if he hears my car pull up and starts, but that could be my imagination. I saved room in my coop if they decide to give him up when their girl passes away. He has grown on them though.

 

[rubanr]

I would love to have a rooster but I am only on an acre and the neighbors would not be happy with me... I couldn't do it anyway (keeping them locked up) and let them out yesterday evening. I just stayed close by. THey have a big run now and is about 100 sq ft for the 3 of them but they are much happier outside of it so I guess I will have to just be more diligent about keeping an eye out. Plus hopefully they learned a lesson as I noticed last night 2 of the 3 were definitely being more aware of their surroundings. I know it is going to happen again though

 

[rubanr]

Well I am pretty new to this so just passing info along that is already here but just in case someone else who is new missed it. If you ever hear someone say that Hawks only hunt in the morning and afternoon know that is not true. I let the girls out about 45 minutes from sunset (7pm) and within 5 minutes the hawk swooped down again. This time the hens were totally on top of it ran inside the dog house and hid in there. They were upset for sure but I was happy to see they were not clueless like when he attacked the other day. Anyway, obviously he has my place pegged as an easy meal so I guess I am going to keep them in lockdown until he moves on.

 

[happyfrenchman]

In my experience, a rooster is not the silver bullet some would like... better than nothing. I like having them and they do sound an alarm, but they are just chickens. Maybe some of these gamecocks might be able to (probably easily) defeat an experienced hawk, but my rooster, who is a good bird in every way, was tangled up with a hawk once, and he was losing..... now, when the bird flies up and lands in a branch, that is your opportunity to solve the problem once and for all, but you've got to be ready. If you are of a mind, in the event you find a bird already dead, it is also helpful, to leave the carcass out, and sit up over it. A blind is helpful. The killer will generally keep returning until all the meat is gone which for a Coopers hawk, might be several trips. I once saw a female Coopers fly up off a dead bird. I set the bird out in a good area and waited. The next visit was actually from a male. Then got a visit from what I took to be one of their youngsters.... and the next morning, the female returned as well. It took awhile but they do come in. As for time of day, They are active from sunup to sunset and sometimes I think some of these Coopers are halfway nocturnal. They will come in late, when the sun is down, if they think they will get a feed.

 

[Abriana]

My columbian rock rooster Napoleon is awesome. He has fought off several hawks and gives warning signals for the smallest issue, even a butterfly. Though columbian rocks are very aggressive so think about how you’ll handle him if you decide to get one. The hens are amazing too. Very friendly lap hens.