Do you free range your chickens?

[centrarchid]

I think @centrarchid is saying they won't hunt right in the area of their own nest? But rather protect the area right around their nest and hunt further afield. Is that correct, @centrarchid? And won't let other hawks hunt there either? Interesting.

You got my meaning correct. I watch hawks a lot and I'm also competent when it comes to species ID. Most raptors, at least the adults do not actively hunt in immediate vicinity of the nest. My guess that is a mechanism that decreases risk of targeting own offspring as prey as well as may make so young have something to target shortly after fledging. The breeding adults vary much do not want other raptors, even of the same species hunting close to their nest as the other raptors have vested interest in disrupting a competitors breeding effort while also getting something to eat.

 

[centrarchid]

Oh, they absolutely will take a chicken! I lost a hen yesterday to a RSH while my husband was standing about 20 ft away! We have had a couple of hawk attacks over the years but this one was especially awful because we were right there, so assumed the hens were safe. Do not let your guard down!!!

Did the hawk fly off with the chicken?

 

[BigBlueHen53]

A smart hunter does the same. That way if he's ever in desperate need, sick or injured, he'll have game close to hand.

 

[SwampPrincessChick]

Oh, they absolutely will take a chicken! I lost a hen yesterday to a RSH while my husband was standing about 20 ft away! We have had a couple of hawk attacks over the years but this one was especially awful because we were right there, so assumed the hens were safe. Do not let your guard down!!!

That is why I made it one of my priorities to learn a bit of chicken language. I look up into the sky whenever my rooster does a warning that he saw something. You can never be too cautious with the way hawks will snatch a chicken in front of you.

 

[Red Mangrove]

That is why I made it one of my priorities to learn a bit of chicken language. I look up into the sky whenever my rooster does a warning that he saw something. You can never be too cautious with the way hawks will snatch a chicken in front of you.

I personally feel like one of the humans in Star Wars that can understand what the wookie is saying

 

[cincyfarmgirl]

Yes, we do need to learn chicken language, if you’re keeping chickens, especially if you’re free ranging them, which makes them so much happier and healthier and results in good egg production. But it’s a risky business.

 

[SwampPrincessChick]

Yes, we do need to learn chicken language, if you’re keeping chickens, especially if you’re free ranging them, which makes them so much happier and healthier and results in good egg production. But it’s a risky business.

I agree, learning basic chicken language is one of the most underrated concepts in chicken-keeping, in my opinion.

 

[Florida Bullfrog]

My hound ran off a large bird of prey this morning while I was going out the door. Couldn’t ID the species. In form and flight style it reminded me of an eagle but from the angle I saw it, its wing span didn’t look wide enough. I’ve documented either in this thread or others that aggression against birds of prey has been an acquired behavior by my redbone coon hound. For years she ignored birds of prey even while the raptors were on a chicken in the yard. Then a switch flipped and now she runs them off as soon as she is aware of them.

 

[My Very First 6 Chickens]

This is actually the last chicken I watched the fox personally chase. American Game / RIR mix. A highly productive bird that the predators can't catch
View attachment 3479877

What a beauty!

 

[fluffycrow]

I free range. Though the property is way smaller than the ones most of yall have, so I guess it's not exactly free range. Not many predators here so that definitely has something to do with it. I also select breeds that are agile, blend with the ground and fly well. Pretty much at all times the farthest a bird can be from the cover of a tree is two meters. Yeah we've lost some over the years, that comes with free ranging. But I truly believe that the land itself and the breed plays a big role