Hawk hunting my chickens

[Brindlebtch]

Wow. 'Bout 5 pm this evening a juvenile red tailed hawk had one of my chickens, Henrietta the Speckled Sussex (and, of course, my favorite) on the gound grappling with her.

I heard her start yelling and went into the backyard and had to scare it off her. It didn't leave very fast, either. Looks like I will have to hang CDs in the backyard!

She wasn't hurt very badly, but she was terrified.

 

[ranchhand]

Whoa, scary! CDs, pie pans, anything flashy and noisy, and constant vigilance, too. Can you cover an area with netting and keep the chickens in there?

So glad you saved Henrietta!

 

[Brindlebtch]

Poor Henrietta is limping and feeling pretting sorry for herself this morning. I'm thinking about bringing her inside.

She is the only one who keeps escaping from their enclosure, where there is a lot of cover. That is why the hawk was able to get to her - she was in a large open area. I trimmed her wings very close last night so I don't think she will be getting out again. I don't think she wants to.

You know what was very strange? My Brabanter, Penny, was flailing away at the fence trying to get to Henrietta and the hawk! Everybody else was invisible and there was Penny, the mildest mannered smallest chicken I have, trying to save the day! After I had picked up Henrietta I looked at Penny like 'What on earth are you doing?' and THEN she ran and took cover!

 

[FortWorthChicks]

Awww. That is so sweet. Penny is was trying to be the hero! Im glad you were able to save Henrietta.

 

[chickenlady08]

Bless Henrietta I am glad you save her. I have 40 chickens and let them out each night for about an hour and a half. I stay out there with them because I like you are afraid of some creature coming and taking one of my precious babies. If a hawk flies over my boys stand real tall and make all kinds of noises to put the girls on alert. I bet Penny is a super sweet girl trying to save her friend.

Good luck with that hawk, my husband would kill it, because he knows how I love my chickens.

 

[Bunnylady]

We have a young hawk that has laid siege to my pasture lately. It's odd, I've had chickens for about 10 years, and this is the first time I have had a hawk be this persistant. We have lost birds to them in the past, but it was a once-in-a-blue-moon kinda thing. Anyway, he killed a young BR hen yesterday morning, Hubby spooked him before he'd had time to do more than pluck a few feathers. The hen had tried to shelter in a brushy spot, but I guess the cover wasn't dense enough.

A little while later, I was out feeding the goats and birds, when I noticed that all of the goats were looking off in one direction. I was standing there, trying to see what the goats were looking at, when a rooster behind me uttered a loud growl. Suddenly, birds seemed to explode all around me, as the ducks ran flapping and quacking to the pond, and the chickens flapped and squawked in a panic toward the barn. I looked around wildly, fully expecting to see the (not so) little bugger on a chicken practically at my feet, but I never saw him. I don't know what the rooster saw, but I'm glad to know the chickens are getting smarter!

And I guess that goes to show that ducks can understand chicken-speak!

 

[trinacliff]

WOW, so happy Henrietta survived! It is nice to hear a happy ending to these predator stories every now and then...it is definitely a rarity, unfortunately!

Kristen