had a visitor today

[breezy]

This beauty showed up in the backyard today. In this pic hes watching my chickens but Im not worried since my birds are actually bigger than he is. So is he a sharp shin or a coopers?

 

[BeccaSmith]

He is a beauty! But I would still be worried! I watched a you tube video of a average sized hawk flying into a chicken run and then into the chicken coop and took what it wanted in the coop....a chicken...it was hard to believe...but I was seeing it with my own eyes and I could tell the video hadn't been altered!

 

[Mattemma]

Very nice picture.Beautiful bird.

 

[Kevin565]

Hawks can take down birds bigger than them. You should be cautious when he's around. Beautiful photo though

 

[jmc]

if most of your birds are larger than the hawk, i'd surely say it's a sharpie. they are pretty small.

if a sharpie tried a run on a standard bird, imo, it would have one royal heck of a time, and almost certainly come away--if a roo didn't kill it--still hungry.

sharpies go after small sized songbirds, generally, at least when taking birds for food.

Coopers tend more toward Robin and Jay sized--though we know the harm they can wreak esp. on bantams

lovely pic

 

[CMV]

I'm not enough of an expert to tell the difference between a Sharp-shinned and a Cooper's from a picture. I will tell you that a Cooper's hawk will go after a full-sized hen. My first hawk incident was a Cooper's trying to snatch a full-grown GLW from my flock. That hawk ripped my poor bird apart. She was flayed- 8X8 inches of skin removed from her back and sides down to the muscle. The hawk was literally half my hen's size! There was no way it could have killed her, but it did make a huge mess of her. She took months to heal.

Do not underestimate raptors. They will go after anything if they are hungry enough.

Good luck.

 

[breezy]

My birds are not only large they were in an enclosed run with a roof. They were safe from this raptor. I just thought he was a pretty bird

 

[mkeawsh]

My birds are not only large they were in an enclosed run with a roof. They were safe from this raptor. I just thought he was a pretty bird

We have a hawk and I am not an expert on hawks but my neighbor and I saw one that had a wing-span of about 4 or 5 ft. I never knew they could get that big but my neighbor said it is a hawk. It has a nest in a cedar on our other acreage not far from us. My Great Pyrenees has chased it away at least twice.

 

[ldutch123]

I have seen several hawks. We have a ton around here but I always thought oh they won't other the girls because the hawks aren't terribly big. My chickens free range the property. Should I worry? They have my deck to hide under if they need to

 

[mkeawsh]

A hawk can pick up a animal bigger than they are. We have a lot of them around here - different breeds, small and large. I am wary of all of them. But my chickens would be miserable if I kept them in. Do I want to keep them cooped up and unhappy or let them run and take the chance. I'll accept the consequences of letting them run because why do I have them I can't enjoy seeing them pecking all around the house and the grounds, catching frogs, toads, lizards and eating bird seed off the ground. They love hanging out and laying with my five myotonic does I have, that are out all day browsing.