Hawk scare

[doublecrossranch]

it can screaming by the backdoor. I jumped up from my chair and throw my chicken shoes on. I could hear that little bastard screaming as it circled the house and went into the trees. I ran down to the coop shutting the front gate behind me. The few chickens out the back door can running thinking I had treats. Unfortunately to their disappointment I didn’t have treats and I shut the back gate. Thank goodness all were there. No free ranging this morning.

We have lived in this house since January and the chickens have been in their coop since May. I have been terrified of the turkey buzzards, bobcat, fox, raccoon, etc. This is the first hawk I have seen. Beautiful bird but I had bad thoughts when I thought it hurt one of my babies. Yes yes I know free ranging and raising chickens is a lesson in nature. That doesn’t mean I can’t be protective or sad.
Sad news. He didn’t get my chickens but he got a hummingbird off my porch

 

[Sobek]

I have a neighbor who was trying to get hawks to land in the backyard on her arms. One was swooping down real close a couple feet from fence level when I had walked outside of my door. When it saw me it bailed out. Hawks know what happens around here. My neighbor is a very weird lady she had the nerve to say "the hawk wasn't trying to eat your chickens it was trying to land on my arm" ??? What? hawks are predatory you think that thing was trying to be your friend? It was trying to eat my chickens and you were encouraging it by offering it food??? She's a weird lonely old woman who is like desperate for friends even if it's a wild animal. I put down a possum that attacked my chickens and that outraged her because animals have the right to live to. This is PETA level garbage. My chickens have the right to live too

I got lucky the other day she stepped outside and possibly scared a hawk off while I was asleep. I'm paranoid now so I'm trying to keep my guard up even though I work night and sleep days. The hawks around here have a schedule and like to attack early in morning. It's the time of the year when hawks come around here in huge flocks. I have to keep patrolling my backyard every 20-30 minutes.

 

[doublecrossranch]

PETA level garbage

And she rather chickens get ripped apart?! I hate those people. I would lose my mind. Good luck to you. We had a ton of turkey vultures around until they tore down an 1800’s house they were living in. We still have some around but not as many.

 

[Sobek]

And she rather chickens get ripped apart?! I hate those people. I would lose my mind. Good luck to you. We had a ton of turkey vultures around until they tore down an 1800’s house they were living in. We still have some around but not as many.

Yes she's a weirdo lol She once told me one of my chickens got out of the fence and she saw the neighbor kill it with a shovel and put it in a bag. Turns out... That never even happened :l

 

[ShannonR]

And she rather chickens get ripped apart?! I hate those people. I would lose my mind. Good luck to you. We had a ton of turkey vultures around until they tore down an 1800’s house they were living in. We still have some around but not as many.

PETA level garbage, LOL

By their logic, chickens have the "right" to run free and live natural lives (as food for every predator around) and your keeping them in captivity is a cruel abuse of their rights.

 

[ShannonR]

I would have thought about dumping all the dead chickens in her porch. Self absorbed is what she is. If it was her chickens and you feeding the hawk. Can you imagine how bat poop crazy she would have gone

Mailbox, not porch! Especially when it is hot outside, makes for a nice smelling surprise. I doubt it is legal, or smart.... those issues aside, if you were going to dump them on her porch, you should do it right and use the mailbox haha

 

[ShannonR]

I probably won’t do anything but I sure think of a lot of bad things to do to her. She’s pretty much training these hawks to eat near her. If it happened again...Hell hath no fury as a woman having her chickens killed! LOL

Are there laws against feeding wildlife in your area? Hint hint

 

[GLoucesterChick]

Sounds like your neighborhood crazy lady and my neighborhood crazy lady are baked from the same batch. If the motivation is attention, (often is, as is the case with mine, and yes she is an animal expert in her own mind as well) I'd ignore her, and ignore her again! I don't believe in rewarding bad behavior. Sounds like she is being passive aggressive. "You have chickens so hmmm what creature do I want to encourage? I know! Hawks!" Whats next fisher cats? Do everything you can to make it not worth the hawks risk of injury to be there. I don't have a lot of experience with hawks, only one time, and the hawk got hit with a pvc pipe while trying to get lift off with a chicken. (Chicken was ok with a few booboos and some lost feathers) Hawk never came back though I've seen them in my area and we are still on alert. I do have, however, a lot of experience with a crazy lady!
My crazy lady has a savannah cat (serval mixed with a domestic cat.) She has let it roam, reeking havoc around the neighborhood. Like birds? tough...Think the bunnies in your back yard are cute? too bad they are dead. Don't like cat pee on your front door? You are out of luck. Seriously...BC (Before chickens) Murder Machine was doing everything it could to get inside my house to get to my cats, so I was working like mad to scare it away....Crazy pants knew this. My neighbors told me she was bringing Murder Machine over when I wasn't home, to "vist" my tenant, and would lift it up to my picture window to see my cats inside. Whatttt??!!
I think MM messed with my chickens once, but they made such a commotion it was scared away. Scared the be-jesus out of the girls, but they are fine and Crazy Pants has been banned from my property. Though we have to deal with her time to time. Anyhow, I can relate! Good luck deterring the hawks, and protecting your flock and good luck with "Mother of Hawks"! (Hmmm...Mother of Dragons went crazy too...) I'm going to predict we haven't heard the last of her!
Best,

 

[cmom]

I feel bad. I just recently lost 22 birds from a hawk. Somehow it got into one of the pens. I'm pretty sure I found the breach and repaired it. I have netting covering my pens so thought they were well protected. I was away for a few hours. Everyone was fine when I checked the birds before I left and I came home to a mess, the hawk was in a pen and the birds were screaming and bodies laying around. I still don't free range anymore due to losses. I thought the hawk may have had company but didn't find any breaches in that pen. I have electric wire around all of my coops and pens, netting covering the pens, concrete under the gates, and in some places I dug a foot deep trench and put some welded wire in the trench and hog ringed it to the bottom of the fence. My fences are welded wire with chicken wire hog ringed to the welded wire.

 

[doublecrossranch]

I feel bad. I just recently lost 22 birds from a hawk. Somehow it got into one of the pens. I'm pretty sure I found the breach and repaired it. I have netting covering my pens so thought they were well protected. I was away for a few hours. Everyone was fine when I checked the birds before I left and I came home to a mess, the hawk was in a pen and the birds were screaming and bodies laying around. I still don't free range anymore due to losses. I thought the hawk may have had company but didn't find any breaches in that pen. I have electric wire around all of my coops and pens, netting covering the pens, concrete under the gates, and in some places I dug a foot deep trench and put some welded wire in the trench and hog ringed it to the bottom of the fence. My fences are welded wire with chicken wire hog ringed to the welded wire.

I am so so sorry. I would be devastated.