Hawk pre-attack behavior

[cmom]

Do you mind me asking what happens right before an attack? Do the hawks swoop out of the open sky? Drop down from a nearby tree? I’m wondering if I would have a chance to intervene.

I’m thinking the best option is to make their run bigger and just keep them enclosed. It’s around 10 sq feet per bird right now. I have room to double that. They’re sure gonna be unhappy though. Hopefully they forget that they used to have freedom.

This happened several years ago. I had let the birds out. I went into our blueberry patch and one of the birds followed me. I didn't have any time to react. A hawk came down and killed my bird right in front of me. The hawk flew off and didn't take its kill. I never saw the hawk coming.

 

[cmom]

Another time we had some chicks out in a little temporary pen next to where my DH was cutting some wood on his table saw. A hawk came out of nowhere and took a chick. Again it happened so fast there wasn't time to react. From then on I never put them out without covering their pen.

 

[rumbleBee_STi]

I bought my first flock as chicks March/April of this year. Never had any issues. Now it’s December, I’ve lost 2 birds to predators. It’s always when you least expect it. When you aren’t looking, when you aren’t around. If they are an opportunity, they will take it.

 

[Sunshade82]

Another time we had some chicks out in a little temporary pen next to where my DH was cutting some wood on his table saw. A hawk came out of nowhere and took a chick. Again it happened so fast there wasn't time to react. From then on I never put them out without covering their pen.

Wow it sounds like there really isn’t much notice to them attacking. That’s what I was afraid of.
It looks like I’m going to build them a bigger run...and/or a portable pen. I’ve created a bad habit of letting them out every afternoon and now they wait by the door squawking for yard time hopefully they forget soon. Maybe the added run will be enough to keep them happy locked up

 

[cmom]

The birds are creatures of habit. I used to let my birds free range but lost too many to predators. They have nice large pens. Now when I let them out they may come out but before I realize it they're all back in their pens but my land is mostly open pasture and they have more shade in their pens. They will adapt to a new routine. Give them some treats or put a flock block in for them to peck at to keep them occupied. You can hang some greens or letuce for them to peck at.

 

[cmom]

I made some of my own treat cakes. The birds loved them. You can also put a hole in them and hang them. I made a chicken ladder similar to this one.

 

[KyCoop]

My girls pre hawk behavior includes trilling which means everybody freeze there may be danger. To BAWK BAWK BAGUK which is imminent danger run for your lives! They are in a very secure run that a hawk can't get in but they have tried many times. Also, different hawks have different hunting styles. The giant Coppers hawk hunts ON THE GROUND. It's basicly a flying wolf. I've seen it trying to find the girls hiding in their coop by walking around the run. Frightening. The smaller red tail hawk swooped down from nowhere right after the danger, danger run alarm. I was cleaning out the coop and it almost hit me
My girls learned about hawks very early on when they were 7wks old and in their run for of the first times. The Coppers attacked the run and the tiny girls hide where they could. One of them burried herself under the bottom 2x4 and was so frozen with fear I had to pry her out. I can tell you the only thing that saved her was the 1/4 inch HW cloth.

 

[hayley3]

My girls pre hawk behavior includes trilling which means everybody freeze there may be danger. To BAWK BAWK BAGUK which is imminent danger run for your lives! They are in a very secure run that a hawk can't get in but they have tried many times. Also, different hawks have different hunting styles. The giant Coppers hawk hunts ON THE GROUND. It's basicly a flying wolf. I've seen it trying to find the girls hiding in their coop by walking around the run. Frightening. The smaller red tail hawk swooped down from nowhere right after the danger, danger run alarm. I was cleaning out the coop and it almost hit me
My girls learned about hawks very early on when they were 7wks old and in their run for of the first times. The Coppers attacked the run and the tiny girls hide where they could. One of them burried herself under the bottom 2x4 and was so frozen with fear I had to pry her out. I can tell you the only thing that saved her was the 1/4 inch HW cloth.

My chickens will run like the dickens from their covered porch to the tree, that's how I know they've spotted a hawk. Otherwise they casually walk around inside their electric fenced-in area.

 

[PJC]

A few weeks ago, I lost 2 hens to a hawk (1 killed instantly, 1 was severely injured and had to be put down). This was not a sudden attack, it was thoughtfully planned by the hawk. He or she had been hanging around during the day - perched in nearby trees, and on at least one occasion, actually landing on the ground near the caged run. The girls were safe in the caged area, but freaking out. Hawk was getting ready for the opportunity - which I provided. I stupidly allowed the 9 hens to free range (in an enclosed area, but open to aerial attack), and that's when the hawk made it's move. Totally my fault, totally foolish first-year mistake. Note: the chickens' area is in the woods. There were no hawks around when there were leaves on the surrounding trees, but now the trees are bare and the hawk had a clear shot, which might have made the difference.

 

[varidgerunner]

Hawk covers a broad list of species, which have different tactics that they have evolved to use to their own benefit. These could range from the classic swoop from the sky attack, to the set on a perch and drop a few feet to attack, even the land and chase down on foot attack. Depends on species, terrain, time of year, and lots of things. A lot of US hawk attacks on chickens come from coopers hawks, which can use any of these tactics, as well as their graceful slalom flight through obstacles, sometimes perching horizontally on a small tree trunk to get their bearing and timing correct, or even grab a limb and swing around like a pole dancer to make a direction change. Hawks are migratory at various stages of their life cycles, if they grew up eating chickens, and see your chickens as they pass through it is like seeing the golden McDonalds arches on a road trip. So it can happen without warning, usually fall migration. That is how it happens for me, it's always a passer through, the local hawks know that they are no match for my chickens and they don't want to end up broken and bald after tangling with a hen that heard her chick make the wrong noise. But the migrators don't know that these aren't ordinary chickens.