Hawks....

[centrarchid]

Don't be fooled. This one killed a full size EE hen three weeks ago with the roo right there. It attacked our bantam also but she hunkered down in the briar and the hawk was scared off before she was finished off. She escaped with a huge gash on her back. They are all in lock down until the foliage comes in and breeding season is over....they are not happy but it beats the alternative.

I will bet money the red-shouldered did not attack your full sized EE. More likely species was red-tailed which is slightly larger. I have worked around hawks all my life and some simply do not target poultry even though they are larger and sympatric with species that do.

Featherz, your hawk will target chickens. It is an accipiter hawk of some sort, Coopers or goshawk I can not tell, and it will go after chickens. If former, then my games roosters can and do repell it; if goshawk, then I pen birds up or make certain dog is out there with flock.

 

[featherz]

Featherz, your hawk will target chickens. It is an accipiter hawk of some sort, Coopers or goshawk I can not tell, and it will go after chickens. If former, then my games roosters can and do repell it; if goshawk, then I pen birds up or make certain dog is out there with flock.

I *think* it was a coopers, but I am certainly no expert. That's usually what I see around here. My property is mostly forest and I have all LF chickens (except youngsters, but those are in covered run and not allowed to free range yet). Roo did his job and got them under cover and I didn't lose any or have any injured. Still, I'm keeping them in the covered run when not around for a bit - foliage is not fully in yet although thankfully their favorite 'cover' area is almost fully grown in.

 

[centrarchid]

I *think* it was a coopers, but I am certainly no expert. That's usually what I see around here. My property is mostly forest and I have all LF chickens (except youngsters, but those are in covered run and not allowed to free range yet). Roo did his job and got them under cover and I didn't lose any or have any injured. Still, I'm keeping them in the covered run when not around for a bit - foliage is not fully in yet although thankfully their favorite 'cover' area is almost fully grown in.

My game roosters will actually stand their ground against Coopers hawk and position themselves between hawk and offspring. Once games better than half grown, if father is around they do not seek cover but will bunch up. During much of year when all chickens grown, they chickens do not even look up when Coopers hawk flies just a foot or so above their heads. They know the Coopers is after songbirds. If only juveniles or hens, then Coopers can be a threat.

 

[hondo58]

I will bet money the red-shouldered did not attack your full sized EE. More likely species was red-tailed which is slightly larger. I have worked around hawks all my life and some simply do not target poultry even though they are larger and sympatric with species that do.

I didn't witness the attack but I did see the hawk sitting in a tree about 10' high above the freshly killed hen. I've never seen a red tailed hawk around here but we do have more than one of the red shouldered hawks. The hawks have built their nest within 50' of the coop. If there was a red tail hawk around here would they invade the others nest area?

 

[CityGirl35]

I'm new to this--5 hens (1 is not yet laying, the others are great layers). I've had them about 5 weeks. They have a secure coop with a rather large deep-litter straw floor but I have been letting them out in the morning and letting them free-range in my backyard (just a good-sized city lot, close to a large urban wooded park) all day. They put themselves in to the coop at night and I close it securely. This afternoon, just before dusk, I heard horrible squawking and ran outside to see a hawk lifting off into the air. I believe it was a red-tailed. I found all my girls safe in the butterfly garden, lots of rather dense foliage. It wasn't too hard to encourage them to go into the coop a little early. Now I'm not sure what to do. I LOVE to watch them roam freely through my yard, scratching and pecking at the large pile of leaves and mulch, etc., but I bought these heritage birds as near-adults and they were expensive and they have names and I don't want to lose one to a hawk. I do have a 'chicken tractor' but one hen--a large black australorpe--doesn't really like being in there with her coop mates. I theoretically could string chicken wire across the yard, affixing it to the tall privacy fence posts, but I hear that this may or may not work. So I guess here is my question: how adaptable are chickens? These are not CROWDED into their coop.... will they--I'll come out and say it--be as happy in there if they get used to it? Will egg production drop? Will the eggs be as nutritious if I put fresh greens and edible flowers, etc. in there along with their commercial feed? Maybe I could just put 2 or 3 into the movable coop and leave the other 2 or 3 in the permanent coop? I'm trying to be a responsible person and also not be afraid of the natural cycle of predation. I absolutely could not be doing this without this incredible community of chicken owners. Thanks!

 

[hondo58]

Looking for breakfast.

​

 

[CityGirl35]

Thought I'd attach a couple of photos of our hawk-deterrent fishing wire 'net' over my entire back yard. So far, so good. They've been outside all day and I haven't heard any squawking or seen anything suspicious. This was strung 8-9 feet above the ground, using existing fences, some 'augmented' fencing (strips of wood nailed to the uprights to make them taller), trees, the roof of the coop, etc. We used 450 yards of 50-lb fishing line. Daniel and his uncle affixed the wire to the wood by wrapping it around the shank of a wood screw (many times) and then screwing it down snug. It is barely visible when I'm in the yard, and it's funny to view it 'from above,' likemy 2nd-floor bedroom. Here's hoping it works!

 

[joan1708]

Has anyone tried horns. I've seen and heard them used successfully at Baylor medical center in Dallas to keep masses of black birds from roosting in the trees. They sound like shotguns and fireworks. I think they would persuade a few hawks to move on and be safer than shotguns. I've heard they have also been used to keep egrets from nesting in neighborhoods.

 

[Davaroo]

Would a hawk kill a full grown chicken?

Will the Pope drink wine, tomorrow?

 

[Coopershawk]

Caught this one (with camera only, duh) this morning harassing my flock. I don't think he managed to get any of them but he was scaring the heck out of them, that's for sure.. I just yelled and waved my arms and it flew off, but I'll probably leave the chooks on lockdown tomorrow just in case. The roo had them all hidden pretty well.

that is a immature coopers hawk notice the sudden fast hook to the beak


this is a Goshawk notice the more flat plain to the beak if you got one of these then your chickens are in real danger
where as a coopers gonna think twice as it can be killed by a roo or even a large hen