Hawk suspected!

[Our Roost]

Living in the north woods of Michigan surrounded by the Manistee National Forest brings cause for concern when trying to raise a flock of chickens. We have all sorts of critters in the area and wildlife thrives very well. Its not uncommon to see deer, turkey, partridge, geese, raccoons, porcupines, fox, coyotes, and occaisionally the rare sight of a bobcat in our area. The American bald eagle is starting to make a comeback in this area. They all add to our enjoyment of nature.
Unfortunate that we lost one of our buff orpingtons to a suspected red tailed hawk yesterday. This was a daytime hunt and we suspected nothing as we have our birds in a forest surrounded coop and fenced run area behind our garage. I have 2 ducks, one being a drake, that are pretty good watch dogs. Any sign of danger and the whole flock heads for the coop seeking shelter.
This red tailed hawk is a territorial homebody to the area and we see it most often. I am concerned as I now know that it will be back knowing where my flock lives. Even though these birds are protected by law, I'm almost ready to shoot it, but I wont. I plan to call the D.N.R. but I dont expect to get much immediate help. Any advice would be appreciated if you have dealt with this before. I feed all the critters, but not chickens to hawks!

 

[chicmom]

I have been through that situation with a red tailed hawk myself. I've even seen as many as five circling high above. We're very active outdoors, so they don't come down often, but I have lost a few younger chickens to them. When this happens, I change their routine for a week or two. Hawks seem to be creatures of habit, and I noticed early morning was when they would strike, so I kept my hens in the coop until 5pm each day for a week or so. Our situation is very smiliar to yours, as we are surrounded by a little over six acres of woods, with alot of different wild animals around.

Just kind of make a mental note of what time of the day you see them, and make adjustments accordingly. Free range your chickens later than when they usually show up, and things should be OK.

At least that worked for me.
Sharon