Hawk Problems

[AllenK RGV]

I did not state obvious. You are jumping gun wasting the time of many by not providing key details about circumstances around loss of chickens.

Specifically, you did not answer my question. Unless you actually saw hawk pack off birds lost, it is not a hawk. An adult standard sized hen of breeds you lost can not be packed off by any raptors short of an eagle. That would mean you are barking up wrong tree with respect to what predator species is involved. I am betting your predator barks or at least yips.

Does OP not have at the least a securely fenced yard? To rule out the 4 legged?

 

[AllenK RGV]

Having chickens around and a hawk problem comes hand and hand. We all take that risk. Nothing anybody can do about it. Except cover your run or lock them up until migration season is over. Uncle Sam has a nasty axe to grind with people who attempt to eliminate any raptor. They are an endangered species or at the least protected species. WE ALL DEAL WITH IT, unless you don't raise poultry..
Lock up your birds. They will leave.. with a mouse in their belly, not your pullet.
Here is Hubby filming a hungry hawk stalking my flock...
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Lock up those chickens, stay out of jail... good luck & best regards..
Connie Jane

Migration season for my area starts with the first cold front that makes it down here, I believe we are on our 3rd one, the first was a joke but it pushed the Monarchs through. Unfortunately, we are also the destination for the majority of the following hawks:
Symbols used:
R – resident, M – migrant, W – winter, S – summer, V – visitor; might appear at any time of the year but is not usually present at the site, X – rare; very few records, F – fly-over; not usually seen perched

Acciptridae Kites, Eagles, and Hawks:
Osprey Pandion haliaetus MW
Swallow-tailed Kite Elanoides forficatus MFX
White-tailed Kite Elanus leucurus R
Mississippi Kite Ictinia mississippiensis MF
Northern Harrier Circus cyanea MW
Sharp-shinned Hawk Accipiter striatus MW
Cooper's Hawk Accipiter cooperi MW
Harris's Hawk Parabuteo uncinatus R
Red-shouldered Hawk Buteo lineatus MW
Broad-winged Hawk Buteo platypterus M
Swainson's Hawk Buteo swainsoni M
White-tailed Hawk Buteo albicaudatus V
Red-tailed Hawk, Buteo jamaicensis MW

Falconidae Falcons & Caracaras:
Crested Caracara Caracara plancus V
American Kestrel Falco sparverius MW
Merlin Falco columbarius MW
Peregrine Falcon Falco peregrinus MW

These unwelcome to me migrants who over winter in my backyard will leave sometime in Feb-Mar 2018. Keeping them cooped up aint gunna happen, my best hope is my birddog. She did bark at the Harris Hawks yesterday. So she earned some treats.

 

[Lazy Farmer]

A hawk can't carry a grown chicken

The dine and dash... no doggie bag.. I have seen it numerous times.

 

[happyfrenchman]

Hello, I have been having problems with a hawk swooping by and picking off my beloved chickens that I raised since they were little peeps. This flock I have is one of my best flocks yet with diverse breeds such as wellsummers, cuckoo marans, buff orpingtons, and highland browns. They are a very docile flock and they have produced the most for me out of all the flocks I have raised. Any suggestions on how to deter this hawk from feasting on my precious flock?

Ma'am? Have you seen the hawk? Or are you just missing birds? More info would be helpful if you knew it. If you don't know and have not seen the bird, that would make me think some other animal like a hungry dog or fox. (dogs that kill recreationally would kill a bunch of your chickens and leave them.) I suppose a large hawk could make off with a hen but that is not the usual way. Usually they eat a good portion of it on the ground. Or fly a short distance to a stump. There is evidence left behind, a bunch of feathers if nothing else.

 

[song of joy]

Here is Hubby filming a hungry hawk stalking my flock...

Wow! Amazing photos! Thanks for sharing. That hawk didn't even seem bothered by your husband's presence. I've seen hawks stalk and attack chickens even when people were outside with their flock. Brazen little guys!

 

[User495506]

Hawks get brazen when food gets scarce, I notice the same behavior with people. I got really close to a hawk once and chased it off with a shovel like a crazy person. I thought there's no way it would come back, but it did. Whatever solutions you try, there's no guarantees with hawks.

I wouldn't get another Guinea unless you actually want one apart from a hawk warning system. The guinea could really help, but you probs shouldn't count on it. Sometimes, chickens ignore the warning and really good foragers can be really easy targets.

My Narragansett turkey hen went after a hawk in mid swoop. The hawk quickly moved on. I don't know about other heritage breeds, but if you have room and a tree for the turkey to roost in, it might help (my narra roosts in a tree in any weather). Also, my neighbor's guineas used to occasionally come over to pick fights with my roosters, but have since befriended the turkeys and leave the chickens alone.

 

[TexasSam]

Hawks get brazen when food gets scarce, I notice the same behavior with people. I got really close to a hawk once and chased it off with a shovel like a crazy person. I thought there's no way it would come back, but it did. Whatever solutions you try, there's no guarantees with hawks.

I wouldn't get another Guinea unless you actually want one apart from a hawk warning system. The guinea could really help, but you probs shouldn't count on it. Sometimes, chickens ignore the warning and really good foragers can be really easy targets.

My Narragansett turkey hen went after a hawk in mid swoop. The hawk quickly moved on. I don't know about other heritage breeds, but if you have room and a tree for the turkey to roost in, it might help (my narra roosts in a tree in any weather). Also, my neighbor's guineas used to occasionally come over to pick fights with my roosters, but have since befriended the turkeys and leave the chickens alone.

I wonder if a turkey would run a hawk off they can be aggressive

 

[mortorffsquail]

Ma'am? Have you seen the hawk? Or are you just missing birds? More info would be helpful if you knew it. If you don't know and have not seen the bird, that would make me think some other animal like a hungry dog or fox. (dogs that kill recreationally would kill a bunch of your chickens and leave them.) I suppose a large hawk could make off with a hen but that is not the usual way. Usually they eat a good portion of it on the ground. Or fly a short distance to a stump. There is evidence left behind, a bunch of feathers if nothing else.

I am a sir, not a ma'am. I have seen the hawk try to carry the birds off.