Hawk nest in the backyard

[Toi-toi]

I have big tall pine trees in my backyard and found hawk nest there.
My chicks are only 1week old and they are not going outside yet.
I was planing to do free rang but I'm not comfortable now.
So closed run is the only option for me??

 

[Bear Foot Farm]

Have you actually seen hawks in the nest?

 

[Toi-toi]

Yes, and I saw a couple of hawks are flying over my yard.

 

[bobbi-j]

Quote:
We have hawks living in our grove and flying around here all the time, but I've never lost a chicken to a hawk. But we are very rural here, with lots of pheasants, ducks, rabbits, gophers and other hawk food available nearby. Could be our hawks would rather not come into the yard for my birds.

 

[Papadavid]

If it is a coopers hawk or redtail, it will diffinetly get chickens. I had a redtail kill a full grown comet hen at the corner of my house. It went under the azaleas and drug her out!!!

 

[Toi-toi]

I googled coopers hawk and redtail hawk but I can't tell which one I got by pics.
I googled sounds then sounds like redtail hawk is the one I got.

So no free range for my chickens??

 

[Papadavid]

I think the redtail is the biggest hawk we have in the US. They have a distinctively red tail, thus the name. They can carry a full grown standard chicken off. I would only free range when I could watch the chickens. Good luck.

 

[Toi-toi]

So if I'm in the backyard with them, hawk won't attack my chickens??

 

[Papadavid]

Probably not. I have saw them circling overhead when I am out mowing or working in the garden and have never saw one attack. I have saw them land in a tree and really check everything out. Depends on how hungry they are I guess.

 

[Nostalchic]

Where are you? I don't know if there are regional hawk-culture differences, but here in Colorado, we have LOTS of red tailed hawks, they soar over our property many, many times a day, and have never gone for any of my (admittedly fairly large breed) chickens. We also are semi-rural, lots of mice, rabbits, snakes, voles for them. I am very careful with immature birds, would be worried about bantams, but despite the very sad stories I read on this site about hawk-vs-chicken, we have never (LOUD knock on wood!) had problems with hawks going for our chickens, nor has our neighbor who also has standard breeds that free range over several acres.