I too would like to knowWe have had on chicken killed by a hawk and a second attack that wasn't too bad. I have been told that there is no way to stop this sort of attack but sitting on the back porch with a gun (you have to be a good shot) . SoI really would like to know
I have had four adorable and amazing chickens for almost 3 years now. I have never had any predator problems because we are in city limits so the amount of predators are minimal. My girls have always free-ranged in our backyard with no problems. The last few days for the first time, we are having a hawk (I think a red-tailed) visit and try to snatch one of them away. I was able to scare him off the first time, but the second time he was able to do some damage to Rhoda my RIR. Her injuries weren't too serious several feathers were pulled out and she had a few scrapes. I was able to wash out the cuts and am helping them heal. I was wondering how you guys keep your girls safe from hawks. Right now, they are cooped up in a shed that we turned into a chicken coop. It is small and doesn't get much light so it isn't ideal. I don't want to let them out in fear of the hawk coming again. Any tips are greatly appreciated!
We had several taken witin a weeks time last summer. Once hawks find a food source particularly in the spring while feeding their babies they can be relentless. I had to keep the hens in their enclosed run when we weren’t home to keep an eye out for the hawk. When we were home we’d let them free range and when the hawk came around we’d light off a few bottle rockets (of course not to harm the hawk but just up in the sky.) The noise was enough to make the hawk decide to move along to a different territory. We still keep watch and are prepared to repeat if they return this spring. A good alert to a hawk is to observe the wild birds, especially crows and blue jays, and squirrels. They all make quite a racket when a bird of prey is scoping things out. The hens pick up on this to and will high tail it for cover. Pretty cool how they all warn eachother of danger!