Hawk Killed One and Wants the Rest

[revolutionarygardens]

Yesterday, I found one of my little sweethearts killed. We only have four and this was the one who was always a little behind the others. We called her Slow Poke, and she was a real little doll. At first, we were worried that our dog had killed her first chicken--an idea very upsetting beyond just losing Slow Poke. Then, this morning I went out to their run and saw a hawk picking around where the body had been before I cleaned it up. The hawk has been hanging around all morning. I keep chasing it away. I have the chickens locked in their chicken coop/tractor. I think they are a little freaked because they are staying up in the coop part instead of in the bottom screaming to get out. They would normally not have any patience for not being let out into their larger run area. I've been reading old threads and combing through ideas for hawk protection. I guess I am really just posting this because I know BYC is a place where there will be folks who understand how hard it is to lose your little baby. I never even clicked on the predator section of the forums before. I guess that shows how lucky I've been in the past...

 

[easttxchick]

I'm so sorry about your girl.

I lost one of my banties to a hawk last summer so I know how it feels.
I had a hawk try to grab one of my White Call duck hens not 5 feet from me this spring, but I hit it with a bucket and it let her go and took off.
This morning, one tried to snag one of my girls, but THIS time, my turkey was on the job! The only thing that seems to help at all with those bad boys is a gander or in my case, a protective tom!

 

[revolutionarygardens]

You hit it with a bucket?! Good instincts! Maybe that is what we need--a protector in the flock. This hawk does not seem like it is going to give up very easily.

 

[easttxchick]

I actually threw the bucket because I was inside the run and my ducks were out free ranging. This happened RIGHT outside the run fence. I threw the bucket at the fence where the hawk had my girl, the fence bowed and it hit that stupid hawk. Apparently it was so focused on trying to take off with her that it didn't even realize that I was that close(or it didn't care). Thank God my girl just lost a few feathers and he didn't hook a talon in her.
The flock protector that is bigger than the overhead predators has been the only thing that has seemed to be effective for me. The hawks down here are terrible-especially with the terrible drought we've had.

 

[revolutionarygardens]

Yes, I've been thinking that the drought is probably making all of the wild animals more desperate. Where I'm at in Northeast Texas, we finally got some rain this past month. We are still way behind, but we have some green grass now, something we sure didn't have this summer!

 

[seminolewind]

Attract crows and blue jays. They are very territorial. I leave the crows an egg or two every day.
A few weeks ago, the crows must have been sitting on their own eggs, and a hawk came by and killed an 11 week old pullet I had. I guess my chickens saw it, they have been extra careful, staying in bushes and under cover.

I don't know if there's anyway to get rid of them. You may have to let them free range while you're outside.

 

[shellybean40]

I think the Blue Jays help keep our Hawks away. I feed them everyday.

 

[flowerchicks]

I am so sorry about Slow Poke

I lost my favorite 4 month old pullet to a hawk 2 weeks ago. She was also the one who tagged behind. It was our first loss to a predator

. We always had roosters until August, so I am getting another one tomorrow. It is going to be a serema for the quieter crow, so I know it wont be able to protect them from a hawk, but it will alert them.

I second the crows and blue jays, though. We live in the foothills and have lots of trees. The chicken run/area is "guarded" by a large flock of woodpeckers. They are even more territorial than the blue jays, and will chase them away. I have seen them attack squirrels. The area my girl was taken was in the back yard, where it is much more open and not part of the woodpecker territory. The chickens aren't allowed back there anymore.

 

[revolutionarygardens]

Thanks everyone for your kind words. We do have tons of blue jays and crows at our place. In fact, the crows were mobbing the hawk all morning. They were certainly trying to chase it away, and it is gone for right now. Too late for Slow Poke though...

 

[revolutionarygardens]

Flowerchicks-sorry about your baby too! I'm thinking that I need to get a tough guy to play bodyguard for our ladies....We've never had a rooster. Do you know what the dynamics are like when you introduce one into a flock?