A prairie Hawk, while it was migrating, flew into my yard and had my snowy, Australian spotted duck and was trying to eat it.
That is very scary indeed! You have a different climate setup for the type of trees your area supports ~ very tall & some leggy varieties. We've been lucky to have the climate that supports bushy thorny grapefruit, lemon, & pomegranate short trees that don't give flight space to hawks ~ plus we have the two added patio roofs & popup canopies in our small suburban backyard to hinder aerial space. We do get a juvenile Cooper's fledgling or two every Spring but they cry a lot so our hens are savvy to hide when they hear the tell-tail screeches.We have sharp-shinned and Cooper’s hawk. Both are arboreal hunters; they are highly skilled at flying through dense trees to attack and kill prey. I have seen them fly through my fir trees here and kill a Mourning Dove! It was soooooooo fast
And one day I was sitting on my lawnchair on Mount Poopmore having a tea watching the chooks in the horse paddock when as fast as can be a hawk zoomed in and swooped at Buttercup! She ducked I screamed and the hawk like lightning turned sideways and took off!!! It didn’t even flap its wings! Holy Dinah! It was soooo swift just zoooom gone!
Buttercup looked around and by then I was running down the manure pile screaming ‘run for the hills’ and they all ran into the barn. Sooo close, I don’t think it saw me in the chair on the pile, I was on the opposite side as it swooped in. But when I screamed it saw me and flew away - or rather swooped away!!!
My adrenaline was pretty high at that point! I am sure that’s how BY Bob must have felt when the hawk attacked when he was in his pool!
A Polkie CAN'T be refusedYou wait, I will sneak some of my blue silkie crosses to Bob...just you wait and see...
That is so scary to see! Spring is also our most vigilant time watching out for Cooper's fledglings that are still too inexperienced to hunt well yet. We love our neighborhood Crow murders that don't bother our hens but do chase off any hawks.
Hmm - interesting. I guess I never really thought about it since my chickaloos (both incubator and mama raised) are generally out and about digging in the dirt and whatnot eating heavens know what. Even in the barn they can get access to gravelly bits by digging up my brick pavers - the limestone screenings used to pack in the bricks are particularly enjoyed and I am forever filling in the spaces between the bricks.Well, that was news to me!!I have raised chicks for 9 years, and except for chicks raised by their mamas, I have never given them chick grit until I introduced other foods besides chick crumbles to them, usually at 7 or 8 weeks. I have even read that if I want to give them scrambled eggs as a treat prior to that time that they won't require grit to digest it.
So far, these chicks are confined with no access to any foods except for their chick crumbles. But, you made me head out and check it out again. I found the following on the Homestead How To site:
When to Start Giving Grit to Chicks
The need for grit depends largely on the age of your chickens. Chicks do not require grit, so it’s best to avoid giving it to them initially. However, once your chicks eat foods other than crumbles, you can introduce grit into their diet.
Grit should be introduced to chicks usually between 8 and 12 weeks of age. If your chicks only consume crumbles, there’s no need to provide grit.
However, they are a month old now, so I think I will introduce some chick grit to them, based on your advice. I think I will also offer a treat from time to time as well since I know they will have the grit available.
wow scary !!!!!!
Lots of babies this Spring 
