Has anyone actually had a hawk get a chicken?

[Cuban Longtails]

Yes, I've lost chickens to hawks. I free range some of my fowl, and thus accept the losses when they happen. It has not become a habit of the hawks to shop my yard for food. I might lose one or two a year. Not a big deal.

 

[CMV]

I lost a full grown Wyandotte to a Cooper's hawk. The hawk was half the size of the hen, so the hen got away, but had horrible injuries that took 2 months of intensive care to heal. The flock then refused to accept her back and she had to be re-homed.

 

[Uppity Peon]

My neighbor free ranges his flock. When he started them, and they were all quite small, hawks and feral cats were his biggest problem. In fact he says that were constanly coming back for more! Being a teacher he had the summer off and he played rooster standing guard and chasing off the hawks! He seems to think he has them trained now. The chickens are grown up now and have places to run for cover, and he has a couple roos to keep an eye out for danger. He also put some small mirrors on some of the shelters and this is supposed to scare or confuse the hawks.

 

[Chicks_N_Horses]

Never lost a chicken to a hawk or an owl.

A hawk did get a parrot of mine once. She had opened her cage while it was outside to dry and got out, wandered off into the woods about 100 yrds from the house and I went out at the same time the hawk swooshed down and grabbed her....needless to say how traumatic it was.....

 

[giasmom]

Yup, Hawk got my dads full grown RIR 5 year old ROO,and off he went!

 

[nzpouter]

yep.. about this time of the year every year... harrier hawks, we're allowed to shoot/ trap them if they're after our animals.

 

[Rafter 7 Paint Horses]

It seems I feed the hawks very well, compared to others on here.
They are not very well fed this year though. We had to pen the chickens so we could have a garden.

We used to free range 24/7, everything except for what I wanted as purebreds to hatch.
I would lose about 70 chickens every year to hawks and owls.

My youngsters are now at the age I usually turn them out, and it has been hard not to do that.
I have a female dog in heat, so I am getting visits from neighborhood dogs...and they must be new, cause I've never seen them before. Probably replacement ones because of my SSS program for chicken hungry dogs.

My laying hens have a large open top run attached to the coop, I don't close them up at all, so I have a dog that lives with them. I don't lose any to predators in that pen.

It is a risk to free range, and I've had young hawks come right down in front of me to get a chicken. I've had a young Cooper hawk hit me in the head trying for some young chickens.
That said, I still believe free ranging chickens is so much healthier for the chickens, and they always look so much better than when I have to keep them penned up.

Jean

 

[silkiechicken]

Have had three birds lost to hawks, the last one who almost got lost was being watched by mom who turned and beat the hawk up to save her baby. She did save it and the hawks haven't been back since. The rooster stood the entire time screaming in the bushes.

 

[nzpouter]

that's one clever sensible roo....

 

[chickensioux]

I lost one hen to a predator that at the time I wasn't sure what had happened. Feathers everywhere and found her body with her head destroyed. Several days later, saw the hawk sitting on one of my silkies on the ground. I ran toward it just knowing it was going to fly away with the silkie. It left the silkie and she had just minor wounds and recovered well although she was very flighty for days. I got a tom turkey and put it with the chickens and have not had a problem since. He does a wonderful job of protecting them.