Hawk

[gimmie birdies]

My hen was attacked and bloodied. A hawk was hanging out and brave enough to sit on a fence 15' from me. At first I thought she got beat up by a goose, that has beat her up before. But this hawk keeps hanging out. Today I was prossessing 2 roosters, one rooster ran off 20' or so, and the hawk jumped on his headless body. I put all my hens back in the coop. They will be cooped up for a week or so.

 

[Bawkbok]

I'm sorry to hear about this incident. I hope your hen will recover.

It is mating season for hawks and they are looking for places to nest as well - at least here.

We had a hawk that was approximately 20 feet away from us sitting on a tree limb only 10 feet above the ground. I never saw it land and it came in quiet. The girls were out roaming about and they froze and reacted with their alarm trills for about 10 minutes. I couldn't figure out what they were freaked out about until I started walking around. I never saw it until I got too close for comfort about 8 feet away and it flew off. The chickens then ran for the run and put themselves away. The hawks here seem more assertive than usual. Food must be scarce.

 

[gimmie birdies]

We have a lot of little quail that like to hide in the chicken area. i think that is what the hawk is mainly after.

 

[gtaus]

Today I was prossessing 2 roosters, one rooster ran off 20' or so, and the hawk jumped on his headless body.

Sorry, but I found that scenario rather funny. Probably a good YouTube video if you had filmed it!

I just got done talking to someone about how brave hawks can be when going after chickens. I told him that I have heard of hawks swooping down and attacking chickens only feet away from the human. That is why I have bird netting over my chicken run.

Next time I process my chickens, I'll have to remember your story. Actually, I have a kill cone, so I don't expect I'll have your specific problem with the chicken with its head cut off running away and getting attacked by a hawk. But it's a good story.