Hawks....

[Vamvakas]

Get a .22 rifle if you dont have one already

 

[hoofservant]

I lost a full-grown hen to a red-tail last autumn. I had a pen full of chicks out in the yard and the hen was killed right next to the pen. I suspect that the hen being killed was the hawk aiming for a chick next to the hen on the inside of the pen. We've never had a full-grown hen hit by a hawk, only juveniles, usually an adult bird is lost to racoons or coyotes or owls.

I heard the hens kicking up a fuss while I was doing homework and came outside to see the hawk eating the hen next to the chick pen. Feathers all over the place. Poor chicks were plastered against the wire on the opposite side of the pen. The dogs didn't start barking until I went out. And even then, the hawk wasn't that interested in leaving until I got about 50' from it.

Said hawk, pretty sure it was the same one, was in the yard the next day when I got home from classes, took off when I pulled in the yard. And then was back about 3 days later, on TOP of the pen, harassing the chicks through the wire. They spent a couple of days in after that, much to their little fluffy dismay.

Lost half of the Buff Orpington pair to an owl, her head was gone, but the rest of her left.

Late in the autumn, I had to pop my youngsters hens in the coop when the hawk was back, stalking them. I pulled in the driveway on my way home from classes and saw the hawk eyeballing one of my Americauna hens and the other Buff and yelled at him as he was starting to take off from the electric pole. It circled and then went into the woods. I had a fine time scolding the hawk where it was sitting in the trees watching me as I got those two hens popped into the coop. The other two young birds were already inside.

My birds are pastured and roam all over the property, I know I am going to lose some to predation.

 

[NYChicks345]

We had a bad hawk attack Easter Morning. Lost four hens and a rooster and three more hens are in the basement recovering from bad wounds on there backs. I love free ranging our chickens and have not had problems with any other predators, but after the hawk attack last fall and the on yesterday I am beginning to think that we might have to keep the chickens in a run. I expect to loose a chicken here and there since we free range but it is hard to handle 5 to 8 every time these hawks attack.

 

[hondo58]

We had a bad hawk attack Easter Morning. Lost four hens and a rooster and three more hens are in the basement recovering from bad wounds on there backs. I love free ranging our chickens and have not had problems with any other predators, but after the hawk attack last fall and the on yesterday I am beginning to think that we might have to keep the chickens in a run. I expect to loose a chicken here and there since we free range but it is hard to handle 5 to 8 every time these hawks attack.

Sorry to hear that. It takes so long to replace a good egg laying hen. I'm surprised the hawk took out your rooster too. Must have been a female hawk.

Here's the one that terrorizes our chickens although they have been off limits since they are in lock down except for supervised free range about an hour before dusk.

This is a male red-shouldered hawk. I took this shot just as he took off from a dead oak tree overlooking our horse paddock.

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[centrarchid]

We had a bad hawk attack Easter Morning. Lost four hens and a rooster and three more hens are in the basement recovering from bad wounds on there backs. I love free ranging our chickens and have not had problems with any other predators, but after the hawk attack last fall and the on yesterday I am beginning to think that we might have to keep the chickens in a run. I expect to loose a chicken here and there since we free range but it is hard to handle 5 to 8 every time these hawks attack.

NYChicks345, going after several chickens at one time is very unlikey especially where multiple birds are injured but not killed. Somebody else went after your chickens.

Hondo, very good photographs of your red-shouldered hawk. My male displays but I can never get camera ready fast enough.

 

[abobwhat]

 

[hondo58]

Hondo, very good photographs of your red-shouldered hawk. My male displays but I can never get camera ready fast enough.

Thanks. Since he's ALWAYS around it isn't that hard. The other day he was circling about 20' above my head for at least ten minutes. He is a beautiful bird. I can't understand why they didn't make their nest closer to the pond or the hundreds of acres in the back rather than up close to the road and the house. Maybe the coop and chickens had something to do with it....

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[TonySorrento]

Quote:
Hahaha, Well put! However, there is a difference between shooting something and shooting at something. It is a federal offense to kill a hawk...but it is not a federal offense to discharge a shotgun in it's general direction to scare it away.

OOPS!¡!!! Sent from my DROID X2 using Tapatalk 2

 

[centrarchid]

Hawks in general do not try to nest near a premium food supply, especially when they are not at the top of the food chain. Your red-shouldered hawks will be driven off prime hunting sites by red-tails and they will be prime targets by greathorned owls at night. In my neck of woods red-shoulders tend to nest close to clusters of American or fish crows, bird that owns my patch nests close to American crows about 200 yards to east. The red-shouldered hawks and crows can then mount a group defense against the larger red-shouldered hawk and numbers may provide some protection against the owl. Even the red-tailed hawk does not hunt in the immediate vicinity of nest and this may be true of hawks in general. The prey species nesting close to such locations enjoy a level of protection until hawk juveniles fledge.

 

[hondo58]

Here's what our chickens see (and hear) ALL day long.