Hawk - bought to lose my patience

[MOTHERCLUCKER]

Quote:
I never really thought about the cost cause my uncle is the one who stuffed it for us. I guess you could try just leaving the pelt out there, near the pen.
If you can't shoot one, you can always trap him.
The chickens seem to get used to it being there.

I see Coyotes run over on the interstate all the time... perhaps one of these would work?

 

[clustercluck]

Quote:
I never really thought about the cost cause my uncle is the one who stuffed it for us. I guess you could try just leaving the pelt out there, near the pen.
If you can't shoot one, you can always trap him.
The chickens seem to get used to it being there.

I see Coyotes run over on the interstate all the time... perhaps one of these would work?

I don't see why not. That would be a great way to make use of the animal too. Might be magled a little more than if you shot it or trapped it but it's worth a try.

 

[hoosierhen]

No coyotes around here. I vote SSS!!!

 

[cadman68]

I spent most of the weekend almost totally enclosing a portion of my pen with plastic netting. I will keep the small chicks in this area until they get big enough to fend for themselves. Out of 11 chicks he ended up getting 6 and of course the ones that are left are more roosters than hens. I really don't feel like i should have had to go to the expense nor the trouble to enclose this thing but since i couldn't get rid of the hawk i had no choice. I will however keep a close eye out for mr. hawk and my shotgun at the ready.

 

[JudyMcKinn]

I am glad you have managed to get an enclosed area for your remaining chicks. I hate to be the "wet blanket" here, but I can tell you from experience that chickens don't get big enough to "fend for themselves" from hawks, owls, etc. You will have to SSS, or keep them covered if you have hawks around. The chickens will remain an easy meal, no matter what their size. Of course the smaller ones are easiest, and tenderest.

 

[cadman68]

Judy, I agree with you to a point. They never get big enough to not be a meal for a hawk, but they do start to get very good at evasion tactics when they reach adulthood. Especially when they learn what the big rooster means when he makes the "there's something flyin' above us, run for cover" sound. I will however have no problem SSS if he gives me the chance.

AND you tell'em Julie! Sorry to hear about your Silkie

 

[snugglepup]

The other problem with SSS is it really is not a permanent solution. You may eliminate a single individual, but as long as the environment stays the same, another will come in and take its place. This is true for almost any pest. No amount of extermination can take the place of good management.

I am sympathetic, because I have lost half my chickens and guineas to a fox in the last month... its awful. I am frustrated and angry, both with the emotional loss, but also the financial burden of tearing down my pen and rebuilding a fox-proof run. We are also looking for a way to get rid of this particular fox, but realize this won't really solve the problem. We have to close down the buffet!

 

[Barnyard Dawg]

I had a hawk do a fly over and slooped down on my chickens it sure shook them up. I was changing their water and adding some ACV when I heard the comotion when I looked up and saw its wing span I took a shot at with my water sprayer and it flew into some trees. My chicken are too large for him but he sure gives them a fright.

 

[suburbanhomesteader]

Dawg, your chickens are NOT too large for a hawk to kill.

I lost my one laying hen this past weekend, and when I processed her, she was nearly 5lbs.

The mature Red-Tailed Hawk grabbed her by the back, punctured her lungs with his talons, broke a couple of ribs, and probably her back (she couldn't move her back legs, but she was flapping her wings like mad until he dropped her because he couldn't get enough height to clear the trees on my property line.

Now that I think about it, I have seen immature hawks pursue small prey into the underbrush (never saw a mature hawk do that), so I wouldn't feel safe with brush cover.

Part of me wishes he had kept her and at least gotten a meal out of it, so her death would not have been in vain. But someone else mentioned that had he been able to get away with her, he probably would come back for more.

I live on 3/4 acre, in a suburb of Dallas. This is another case of man and wild animal needing the same resources. I still think more hawks will come back, even if it's not this one. I officed at the very busy intersection of Hwy 183 and Hwy 35 in Dallas, and for several years enjoyed watching a red-tailed hawk hunt in the small triangle of overgrowth right at the intersection; this is NOT just a rural issue.

I would never kill a hawk, but I will do everything I can to make my land harder to hunt and my chickens safer in their own home.

 

[Barnyard Dawg]

Quote:
Chicken Hawks can and will take chickens,
ducks, rabbits and have attempted piglets and cats. The one that has flow over my chickens twice this week is an immature bird and not a RTH looking for a easier smaller chicken. I've seen many hawks go after cripples that got away when I use to waterfowl hunt so that at least they didn't suffer. Hawks are protected here.