Hawk Attack

[Chickie64]

New to the site but my chickens were just attacked by a hawk. We lost one of our six earlier on the winter naturally but we just lost another to the attack. Initially we thought the hawk had somehow gotten three but we found two under a wooden board alive. They all seem very shaken up and now that there's only four left in the flock I'm worried about the rest of the winter. Anyone have any advice on keeping the stress levels down and helping them out?
Thanks in advance

 

[redsoxs]

Well, short of keeping them penned and covering your run, what I do is a well-timed shotgun blast into the trees near where they are roosting or into the air when they are searching. No, I don't shoot them. But it certainly seems to chase them off. I know others take their place but the spooked ones seem to stay away.

 

[chickengeorgeto]

You can put your free range chickens inside a chicken house 24-7-365 or you can take actions against the Birds of Prey and therefore cause the hawks as much or more stress than the hawks cause your chickens. This will encourage the hawks to seek better if not happier hunting grounds.

But only four pairs of eyes on the lookout for hawks is the same as ringing the raptor dinner bell.

 

[Chickie64]

Trust me if we had a gun the hawk would be dead, it's been flying around the neighborhood driving me insane. The rest of the chicks will definitely be staying in for a while, hey just get very mean to each other and my buff is always the one picked o the most. Thanks for the advice

 

[C REds]

You can tell a hawk by its call. I'm not sure how to describe it but it sounds something like a short scream. The hawk will make that sound several times when it's close to the ground. I keep a 12 gauge close to the back door just for hawks and other predators. A hawk will carry off a small house dog too.