Hens are freaked out

[hennanny]

long story short .. our flock got attacked by a hawk, Rooster went to protect them and got killed by the hawk..he was a fine Rooster...anyway Hens are freaked , wont eat wont do nothing they all just huddle in the corner of their hen house. They are Hyline Browns and very docile. ?

 

[Pentatonchix]

So sorry for your loss

 

[NatJ]

Hens are freaked , wont eat wont do nothing they all just huddle in the corner of their hen house. They are Hyline Browns and very docile. ?

Make sure they are safe, and that they have food and water in their hen house.
They will probably settle down over the next few days.

Staying in the hen house is actually a smart thing for them to do--no hawks in there!

You might want to put some kind of cover on their outdoor run to make sure it doesn't happen again.

 

[hennanny]

Make sure they are safe, and that they have food and water in their hen house.
They will probably settle down over the next few days.

Staying in the hen house is actually a smart thing for them to do--no hawks in there!

You might want to put some kind of cover on their outdoor run to make sure it doesn't happen again.

yea that's the plan. We did have a chicken wire cover but a year or so an ice storm weighted it down so much it collapsed the walls and when we rebuilt it we just neglected to put something else back up so they went through most of last winter and all of 2020 with no issues. I have a "Bird net" due to arrive this week.
wife likes to let them out to run the yard, we live out n the country, never had an issue doing that and that's where I expected something to happen like a yote, fox or cat snatching up one.

 

[hennanny]

we have also discovered a couple of wounds on a hen it was advised we need to wash her and treat the wound, local "feed store" has no Blue Kote nor Vetrocyn (?)..suggestions on what to treat the wounds with and to wash her with? Gonna be an interesting night for sure..we had used some Neosporin the first go around

 

[aart]

we had used some Neosporin the first go around

That'll do.
Rinse/wash with saline solution if needed.
Trim any feathers so they don't get stuck in the wound.

 

[Cindy in PA]

A hawk got in my netting Monday morning & killed one of my 22 week old hens. I fixed the netting problem & he was back Tuesday morning right as their door was opening. They have barely come out since then. I can coax them out for scratch, but they go right back in. I imagine it will take awhile.

 

[hennanny]

A hawk got in my netting Monday morning & killed one of my 22 week old hens. I fixed the netting problem & he was back Tuesday morning right as their door was opening. They have barely come out since then. I can coax them out for scratch, but they go right back in. I imagine it will take awhile.

netting? what kind of netting? How'd it get through?.. I'll carry my Turky gun with me now when I go out and check them for now on

 

[mowin]

Its amazing how different flocks react to a attack.
I've had a redtail hawk bounce off my run thinking he was getting a chicken dinner, and my hens sat there looking at the hawk, lol. I walk in the coop with something different, and they freak out.

 

[Cindy in PA]

netting? what kind of netting? How'd it get through?.. I'll carry my Turky gun with me now when I go out and check them for now on

It's heavy deer netting zipped tied together. I had redone my run last fall & failed to secure it properly in a few places. It's plausible he "fell" in one of these spots, but I have no idea how he was able to find his way out. Totally my fault & it's secure now.