Hawk attack left her with half her face.....Very Sad

[robot rooster]

I could not find my girls today, they were outside with me the entire day. Then I noticed that only one was walking around.

I found the rest of my flock under a big bush.....one was missing......

I found her still alive with half her head missing. She was still trying to stand up and breathing real heavy.

I had to take a shotgun to her.

It broke my heart, but I hated to see her suffer.

As I tried to get the others in the coop they saw the shadow of a massive hawk and continued to hide. It took me an hour to get them back in.

Now I fear letting them free range...

...what to do...

 

[DuckLover2399]

You could make a secure pen for them for free rangeing sorry i really dont now what to do becuase all i have is ducks and the are sooo smart and hide under the bridge or come to there coop so yea by the way sorry for yyour loss

 

[southerndesert]

Shoot some bottle rockets up at it, seriously it works! Hawks of all species are protected so any other common method of predator handling is not an option. They hate the fizzzzzzzzzz POP and quickly look elsewhere for food in most cases....

Edited cause I can,t spell....

 

[dsrapunzel]

Quote:
I'm so sorry,

we had that happen last week. Our girl was attacked (we don't by what) but we had to put her down I ask my son to do it for me.

 

[chickenlover54]

Shoot the shotgun at it, its illegal to kill hawks so don't aim at it, just fire in another direction. It should be enough to scare it away

 

[crawfordmama]

I'm really, really sorry that happened to her and you.

The only way I know of to fully deter a hawk is to keep your flock in a secure, covered run. They're not happy about it at first, but they get used to it. You can fill it with plants and interesting things to keep them occupied. If you continue to free range, they're open to another attack. Unfortunately, hawks don't care whether you're outside with your birds or not. If they can swoop in, they will.

Again, I'm sorry for your loss.

 

[Theapplechicks]

we have lost one to a hawk as well. I still let them out to free range but only when I am home. Our hawks when they come around generally make their presence know w/ their shreiks. As soon as I hear or see them I'm out rounding my girls back into their pen!

 

[Imp]

I'm so sorry, that sounds awful.

Imp

 

[Dutchgirl]

I believe there is a link somewhere on BYC to a site that can help with how to get a permit to shoot hawks that are injuring your livestock.
We've had hawk trouble too... our solution is often just to stay outside for long periods of time. The hawks won't attack when the dog (who won't eat chickens) is outside, or one of us.

 

[SirFarmAlot]

Sorry robot rooster. Never can be too careful.