Hawks

[Ducks4us]

That explains it,our southern crows are respectfull.

Lol

 

[Trish1974]

Are you sure that was a Cooper's hawk? They are fairly small. Most adult hens outweigh an adult Cooper threefold.

 

[centrarchid]

If is an actual hen, then even a Ref-tailed Hawk cannot pack it off. Eagle could but it would be tough.

 

[BBB Becky]

Today, we saw what we thought was a Cooper's Hawk carrying off one of our hens. There was only a pile of feathers left on the ground. Almost seven hours later, the hen came walking out of the woods and was standing by the coop. She appeared really shook up. How could this happen? How did she survive???

 

[centrarchid]

How much does bird that was attacked weigh? Largest chicks I have seen a female Coopers Hawk fly with was at most 3/4 lb or about 7 weeks old. Male Coopers can handle 5 week chicks pretty well. In both instances the hawk carries live victim into a tree where victim is dispatched. Not pleasant.

I have seen Red-tailed Hawks make kills many times. Victim dispatched before flown off with unless some small like a vole or mouse.

 

[BBB Becky]

The hen weighs about three or four pounds tops. What kind of bird of prey could possibly drop a hen during flight. How did my hen survive? Amazing.

 

[song of joy]

It flew away with my hen. Ugh!!! I have six Golden Comets...well five now. They are six months old. I am all shook up feeling like the hawk is out there waiting. I have my Comets in the run (covered) now. Does anyone think roosters help for warning and all.

Sorry to hear about the hawk problem. Yes, they are very persistent, so it's wise to cover the run to hopefully deter future attacks. A cooper's hawk killed one of my hens and two, 6-month old pullets last year over a 2 month period (November through January). I was surprised it was able to kill chickens that were 5 to 6 pounds in size. In each case, the hawk apparently killed the hens and started consuming them at the kill site rather than trying to fly off with them.

Roosters may or may not help - it really depends on the rooster, the amount of escape cover available, and the wariness of the hens. All three of the above fatalities occurred under the "watchful" eye of a 6-month old cockerel. This year, I have 3 cockerels on patrol and 1 hen has disappeared, probably due to hawk predation. However, the cockerels are definitely keeping an eye on the sky and they warn the hens of the presence of hawks. I'm sure these alarm calls have been effective in reducing hawk predation, as the hens seem to take the alarm calls seriously, dodging for thick cover to hide. I think a flock becomes much more predator-wary after a successful hawk attack. Up until that point, they may not understand the risk.

 

[centrarchid]

The hen weighs about three or four pounds tops.  What kind of bird of prey could possibly drop a hen during flight.  How did my hen survive? Amazing.

My Great-horned Owls can not fly even with 2 lbs. Chicken lesser in weight than you think or hawk had a lot of feathers rather than chicken in its talons. Raptors drop prey once in a while or could have been distracted. Once I forced a Red-tail to drop a rabbit by running up on it immediately after it made kill, Hawk got up to head height with rabbit before dropping it in front of me.

 

[centrarchid]

Sorry to hear about the hawk problem.  Yes, they are very persistent, so it's wise to cover the run to hopefully deter future attacks.  A cooper's hawk killed one of my hens and two, 6-month old pullets last year over a 2 month period (November through January).  I was surprised it was able to kill chickens that were 5 to 6 pounds in size.  In each case, the hawk apparently killed the hens and started consuming them at the kill site rather than trying to fly off with them.  

Roosters may or may not help - it really depends on the rooster, the amount of escape cover available, and the wariness of the hens.  All three of the above fatalities occurred under the "watchful" eye of a 6-month old cockerel.  This year, I have 3 cockerels on patrol and 1 hen has disappeared, probably due to hawk predation.  However, the cockerels are definitely keeping an eye on the sky and they warn the hens of the presence of hawks.  I'm sure these alarm calls have been effective in reducing hawk predation, as the hens seem to take the alarm calls seriously, dodging for thick cover to hide.  I think a flock becomes much more predator-wary after a successful hawk attack.  Up until that point, they may not understand the risk.  

Roosters do not engage raptors until a good eight to nine months old. And they need to be be in good feather, not heavy molt.

 

[mich9510]

We have a few hawks here and there but our 17 wk old Jersey Giants have never been bothered by them. They do run for cover when they circle above but honestly, they seem more afraid of the crows. Even though they are bigger than the crows....lol. the other night my three month old ducks were attacked though. The smaller Cayuga was unharmed but the larger Pekin had some bloody marks on the back of his head, right beside his eye, and on his leg. They have a duck house but some how got out. I found them on the back porch after I got home from work. We figured a coyote, Fox, or weasel would have killed him. Our guess is that they got out and an owl attacked. My tough little Pekin must have put up more of a fight than the owl thought was worth so the owl moved on. We don't call him Duck Norris for nothing!