Hawks?

[polenslager]

What might be getting my chickens.

Its happened to three of mine over the last year and a half.
Its sometime during the day. I put them in the coop at night and shut the door.

They are free range. It happens in the wooded area of our property.
We find a pile of feathers. No body or parts. We actually find a few piles of feathers each is a bit separated from
the other pile. Sometimes a couple of feet, sometimes ten or 15 feet.


Does having a rooster help at all with predators?

I have two dogs, that roam around. They dont bug the chickens. They sleep in the yard while the hens peck the
grass around them.

We think it is a hawk of somesort but Im not sure...

 

[CMV]

Sounds like it might be. A rooster will sound an alarm if a hawk is seen and may even jump in to try to save one of his ladies, but is not much good going head-to-head with a hungry predator. He'll just get himself killed in the process. Dogs are pretty much useless against aerial predators unless they have been specifically trained to deal with them. The only suggestion that I have is a covered run. Inexpensive deer netting over the top of your run area. There are other deterrents that folks have suggested here, but I have yet to try them, so I can't say for sure how effective they are- CD's hung around, mylar balloons, pie tins hung around and bits of mirrors stuck to the top of your coop.

Good luck with your problem. Hawks have been my most successful predators.