Hen Lost in Daytime - Do Hawks Do This?

[chickened]

Hazing seems to work on hawks for me at least.

 

[BrattishTaz]

Quote:
Hazing? Please share.

 

[chickened]

When I see a hawk circling my farm I shoot my shotgun with small birdshot in the general direction with the hawk well out of range and they leave. They are smart birds and figure it out pretty quick.

 

[BrattishTaz]

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Shhh...don't tell anyone but I have been doing that with airsoft pellets. I'm not sure if they have even noticed. (Before someone gives me a verbal "spanking", I'm just trying to discourage them from hanging around my yard. I would never hurt one!)

 

[endermom]

Hawk trouble nonstop here with my free-range hens. Lost a couple little ones a few months back in broad daylight. After that, all was quiet until a mother duck showed up on our pond with 14 babies in tow. Within a week, all 14 had been taken in the middle of the day, with only 1 dropped lifeless in the middle of the driveway to give any indication what had happened. We lost one more young chicken last week, but the worst horror came yesterday afternoon when a hawk swooped down on one of my "adolescent" chickens right in the coop. I came out to find my husband yelling and flailing in the coop trying to chase it off. My poor baby was lying there twitching, and I was sure that she was a goner right then and there. However, I was able to wrap her up and hold her and she remarkably made it through the night and has perked up considerably. Unfortunately, though I can't see any visible wounds, she seems to have a spinal injury of some sort and I'm not sure she'll ever walk again. It may have been better if we had just let the hawk take her, but only time will tell.

I'll be busy ordering owls and creating CD and pie plate hangers for the next few days. My little ones are staying locked away for now, but my full-grown chickens are out and I'm hoping that the hawk doesn't decide to graduate to anything bigger.

 

[BrattishTaz]

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I've had two full grown roosters attacked a few months apart. These things are carrying them away. I ran to stop them from taking the first one but it was too late. The only thing left was his tail. My BO roo was taken, leaving alot of feathers behind but found three days later at the end of the street under the hawks' nest. He is okay now. I went into the dollar store (Dollar Tree) and saw they have a ton of different tree hangers that spin and shine. They also have reflective pinwheels that go in the ground. For $1 each, I think I will try them. For now, my birds only freerange when I am with them.

Are the "hawks" in your area huge and mostly black? Do they fly in large groups? I would love to compare note with you to get a positive ID. We also have Cooper's Hawks here.

 

[princessmama]

Was looking up pictures of hawks trying to figure out which it was. Figured red-tail since that's what we see the most around here. But, when then hawk flew away I was almost certain I saw a red chest, so I was thinking cooper's hawk, but not sure if one would grab a chicken, even a bantam?

 

[Chihuahuamom444]

The hawk I had never took my chickens away, he killed 3 in one day and didnt even eat them, just killed them for sport, hawks can and are a nightmare.

 

[bairo]

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Depends on where you live. If you have seen a lot of Red Tails then you would not mistake a Coopers as they are nearly half the size. From your description; I figure either an adolescent Red Tail “Rufous-phase” or possibly a Red Shouldered Hawk. If it had white banding through out it's wings and some on chest and had a rust red chest overall...then it was probably a mature Red Shouldered.

 

[buckaroo's wife]

I'm sorry for your loss - I lost one on Friday to what I believe was a hawk attack. Between the hawks, neighborhood dogs, and local skunks....its a wonder I've been able to keep the ones I have!