Hawk Attack

[Trish1974]

Agree with centrarchid.

 

[happyfrenchman]

We've been very fortunate for so long (free ranging over 7 aceres for about 8 months) and not having any chickens lost to any predators. Unfortunately that ended yesterday when one chicken (Ang) was taken by a hawk (just a pile of feathers as evidence) and another chicken (Prussia) has obvious wounds from escaping talons. She thankfully was wearing a chicken apron which I think saved her life from the talons. Do hawks tend to hunt together in pairs? The piles of feathers were about 20 yards from each other. My roo does a good job at protecting the hens but he cant be in two places at once. Im also concerned that now they know where to find the other chickens in case they want another meal. I don't like to have the chickens confined in their run. They dont like it either, especially since they are so used to being able to run around and eat all the things they do and have fun. For Prussia who escaped with her life, Ive been applying neosporin to her wounds and hoping for the best but Im not holding my breath. Any tips or advice for this issue?
RIP Ang

Chicklove..... Sorry about your birds.... nature is hell.

Are you sure it was a hawk? CA makes a good point. If hawk, the ring of feathers you describe usually contains some other remains as well... (feet, beak, wing....). However it could be a hawk kill that was subsequently taken away by some other scavenger. Or, if the hawks (which do work in pairs at this time of year) could have been feeding on it for a whole day, three or four different birds (nest mates) eating, there might not be a lot left.

Roos are good, but they generally cannot stop a determined hawk and will die trying.

In any case, I would leave the chickens in for a week, Just to make the predator go in a different direction for it's next meal. It is good to have a larger pen for these times when you have to keep them in. As for the hawk....they are protected, so most people are unwilling or unable to shoot them. If that is you, your only defense is to keep them in for a while.

 

[ChickloveCVT91]

Thanks everyone for the help! We've netted our run that is about 10x 10. Were going to have to have them in there for a while until we know that the area is relatively safe again (but it never is guarenteed). We might try the old cd trick to see if that helps as well. We had to cull another chicken with fatal wounds (RIP Henni Hendrix). We are devastated. Our flock is getting smaller and smaller, I guess thats apart of owning chickens but is still extremely sad. Good news is we have pullets that are almost ready to be apart of the existing flock. Thanks again for everyones advice/help.

 

[aart]

You said that the chicken with an apron survived, maybe you could make improved versions of that. This video on youtube could inspire you:

But the hawk kite idea sound very helpful!

That's crazy!
Great idea for everything but the dogs playing/wrestling together.