I live in the woods. I have pairs of red shoulders hawks and barred owls that nest on my property. In fact, the hawks have two youngers they're teaching to hunt right now. I also have a grey fox who likes to make a nest out of the top of the horses' round bale and a family of raccoons who seem to think my garden is for their personal consumption. Obviously, I take some precautions with my chickens. I've lost one rooster to the fox and that was because we didn't make it out to lock up the chickens until 11 pm. The hawks haven't tried to bother the chickens since they were about 2 months old. My roosters easily outweigh the hawks. Also keep in mind that I'm an aspiring falconer, so while the hawks should be my natural enemy, I have a soft spot for them. All that being said, it seems one of the juvinile hawks has taken an interest in my chickens. Wednesday, I had all but the two adult roosters inside the enclosed run. The roosters were right next to the run eating their corn. I look outside and this hawk is sitting right on top of the coop, looking down into the run. My only guess is that he saw the 2 week old chicks and was trying to figure out how to get them. He was completely ignoring the roosters and would have been at a disadvantage anyway as close to the ground as he was. I went outside and he flew to the top of the light pole 10 ft away. He was still pretty bold to stay that close while I went over and explained to him that the chickens are off limits. I'm crazy, I know. I locked the roosters up after that. They also stayed locked up yesterday. I do free range my birds when I'm home on the weekends. Looks like I need to hang some CDs from the trees.
I'd definitely try the cd thing. While he might not be able to kill a rooster, I'm sure he could at least injure on. Guess I agree with you and mitigating the issue before it gets worse. Good luck!
I had a adult Red tail hawk on my coop 2 summers ago be for the guineas were full sized. Now that the guineas are adults the hawks seem to keep away. Maybe get some guineas they seem to keep my chickens alert and alive.
I wish you well. The hawks have been unmerciful with my flock this year. We've lost at least 20 this year alone; 4 last month. And never before, until now, did they hunt out of my chicken yard; only when I free-ranged . Everything from red tails to sharp-shinned & coopers are hitting my flock this year. I've been stringing fishing line for two days now. While I admire the falcons, I'm losing my patience with their taste for live chicken mcnuggets.
