Hawk in my COOP!! It was a Falcon!**Update post 18**

[chicken stalker]

I just got home from the grocery store and went to check on the girls and found a small hawk inside my coop!!! It was a little one, about 8 inches tall. Unfortunatly it killed our beloved Saquatch, she was 23 weeks old yesterday. Sasquatch was a rather large hen. She was almost as big as my rooster and towered over most of my other hens. My DD's are devistated. Not only for the loss of her but the loss of the possiblity of green/blue eggs, yet again. The last hen we had that laid blue eggs was killed by a fox a couple weeks after she started to lay. After that I fenced them in and thought I was fairly safe. The rooster put up a fight because he is missing a lot of feathers. Now to cover the run because I'm sure it will be back and start looking for a blue egg layer...sigh..

Rest in Peace Sasquatch

 

[#1California Chick]

I am so sorry for the lose of your chicken.

How do suppose the hawk got into the coop? Through the pop door??

Cindy

 

[Mojo Chick'n]

That sucks! I'm sorry you lost a hen, and amazed the hawk would go right into the coop.

My run/coop is right near the woods, so I made sure I had a roof on the run before putting chickens into it. But, I also have some free rangers, so they are at nature's mercy when they are out.

I am lucky I haven't lost more than I have, so far. The one I lost was inside the coop - a coon got her - my fault, design flaw I noticed too late. I have that fixed, so no more coon invasions.

meri

 

[DDRanch]

I am so sorry for your loss and surprised at the size of the hawk and the fact that it killed your dear Sasquatch. Covering the run sounds like a good idea, because it will probably come back.

Anne

 

[chicken stalker]

#1California Chick :

I am so sorry for the lose of your chicken.

How do suppose the hawk got into the coop? Through the pop door??

Cindy

I think the chickens paniced and ran inside through the pop door and the hawk followed. The hawk was still in there when I got home. I took me a while to try to get it out because my roo was standing in front of the pop door defending the others. My husband said it reminded him of the Faughorn Leghorn cartoons with the huge chicken and the little tiny hawk that followed him around.​

 

[johnmayersquare]

I'm so sorry

I know exactly how you feel......we lost TWO on tuesday morning by hawks(I think!)......It really does happened VERY quickly and I'm so sad too! Hang in there!

 

[AHappychick]

Sorry for your loss, she looks a lot like my favorite hen.

Hawks are the worst!! at least for me, I can deal with the fox, coons, cats and such but the hawks just know and it is so hard to spot them. Sometimes when I am out with my flock free ranging (it has to be supervised ugg) I can sometimes hear them first and then I shoo the flock back in. My hawks are sooo ballsy I had one nearly take my head off once and another came down onto the ground between me and my coop (about 20 feet) and proceeded to brazenly walk over to the coop. It was not until I was no less than 4 feet from it did it fly off. I was literally yelling and tossing small pebbles at it (which it did not even seem to feel not a jerk or flinch even) I could almost reach out and touch it. Anyway I am designing a much better system and am trying to come up with a way to set up the fenced in part of my yard (about 1/2 acre) so that the hawks cant come in or would not want to. Mine are bigger though Cooper hawks I believe. I think your hawk was very ballsy too following the chicks inside.

 

[davidb]

sorry for your loss

 

[ThreeGlovers]

So sorry for your loss.

I do agree with your husband, when you described how small the hawk was the first thing that popped into my head was the little fellow following foghorn around going"I'm a chicken hawk"

Once again sorry for the loss.

Bo

 

[Rufflemyfeathers]

I am sorry about the hawk getting your hen...is the coop got a top on it..I have sheltered coop and pen for my chicks..hope the rest of your will be ok..