Hawk got two of my pet chickens...

[CourtneyMB]

I normally do not let my chickens out of the coop, but I was off yesterday and decided it would be okay, especially since I would just be inside cleaning. About an hour after letting them out, I heard chicken screams and I ran to the window and saw a hawk grab my favorite girl, my BO Poppy!

I ran outside to scare it off and and I don't know if it was just that fast, or if there were two hawks, but another grabbed my 2nd favorite girl, my EE Raptor Tina.

These were my first chickens in me and my SO's first house, so needless to say I got emotional. I was screaming and crying and trying to round up the remaining chickens, who were so freaked out and just circling the coop.

About 10 minutes after the ordeal, I saw the hawk land on a nearby tree with nothing in it's talons, so I got hopeful and searched the ENTIRE woods within 1/2 mile radius, and found nothing.

I left the house depressed and hung out with some friends the remainder of the day, I was gone about 8 hours and when I came back, who should I find but my two hens, circling the coop trying to get in!!

They were both missing quite a bit of feathers, and my BO has a nasty hole under her wing, but I've been doctoring them both and they seem to be doing ok at the moment.

I visibly saw them get carried away by hawks...how does this happen? I'm not highly religious, but this just made me realize that God does care for even the smallest sparrow (or chicken, in this case)

I just thought I would share this awesome story with ya'll, who share my love for chickens. I never thought I could like birds so much, they are definitely part of the family.

 

[downsm75]

I'm so happy your girls are ok!

 

[En Plein Air Farms]

That is a miracle...

 

[1muttsfan]

You may have a breeding pair of hawks nearby raising young. Now that they know where the chicken dinners are they will be back, so if you let your hens out you may want to stay out with them.

The birds may have been too heavy for the hawks to be able to carry and were dropped.

 

[CourtneyMB]

I didn't think about that, but I bet you're right. I hear them all the time, I just didn't think they would come so close to the house and, honestly, I thought my chickens were too fat for them to carry so didn't worry about it.

I think that's what happened too, I'm just glad they didn't kill them immediately like I always assumed hawks hunted. I will definitely only let them out when I'm with them.

 

[downsm75]

Or put some scratch out to attract crows

 

[RaeRae2]

Awesome that your girls came back and will be okay!!!! I also have had 2 hens get carried off only to come home DAYS later, literally!

We have a horrible red tail hawk problem here. Over the years they have been my #1 killer of chickens. I had 1 hen killed by a fox and all the others have been hawk attacks. We finally built a huge run and they never are loose during the day.

Over the years of observation, I have noticed that the hawks hunt heavily during the morning and earlier part of the day. By evening (5 p.m.) they are long gone. So I have been letting my girls out in the evening around 6 p.m. for a couple hours. But even so, I stay out there with them the ENTIRE TIME. I do my other chores and watering plants and trees, etc. (I have a farm.) I have never seen a hawk in the evening in all these years, but they are out there through the day.

I did let them out once in the moring, around 7 a.m. and they were unattended for about 2 hours, and one of my pet girls was killed by a hawk.

So that was further proof that you just can NOT let chickens out in the morning if you have hawk problems, but the evening is far safer. Still not 100% safe though.

 

[RaeRae2]

Also - I have had young red tails kill, pluck, and eat my Jersey Giant hens right on the ground! A 2 lb. hawk eating a 10 pound chicken. If they can't carry them off, that doesn't mean the chickens are safe. I came one day to see a hawk ripping apart one of my black hens on the driveay, near the house, in the snow! It was horrible. They killed and ate my huge Partridge Rock hen the same way.

I actually gave all my remaining chickens away and only kept the two old girls who are extremely hawk savvy. I couldn't bear to see another one killed! I figured no chickens until we get an appropriate run built. Once we got the big run built, I got a McMurray batch and raised them.

 

[Roxannemc]

Scarey story and sad ,....VERY best a GOOD ending!

 

[CourtneyMB]

Also - I have had young red tails kill, pluck, and eat my Jersey Giant hens right on the ground! A 2 lb. hawk eating a 10 pound chicken. If they can't carry them off, that doesn't mean the chickens are safe. I came one day to see a hawk ripping apart one of my black hens on the driveay, near the house, in the snow! It was horrible. They killed and ate my huge Partridge Rock hen the same way.

I actually gave all my remaining chickens away and only kept the two old girls who are extremely hawk savvy. I couldn't bear to see another one killed! I figured no chickens until we get an appropriate run built. Once we got the big run built, I got a McMurray batch and raised them.

That is terrible!! I don't know what I would do if I witnessed such a thing. And thank you for the information about hawk hunting times. I will definitely remember that next time, because this incident happened around 9 in the morning. I've let my girls out after 5 without a problem. But I still think I'll sit out with them from now on. They're fun to watch anyways.