I lost my first chicken today *Update*

[juliechick]

Yay! I'm so glad she is alive. I have had a hawk try to take a hen before and fail. My heart sank when I saw the yard full of feathers, but then the hen came running out from under something, looking for treats as usual. I think she was too big for the hawk to get ahold of. Maybe this is what happened to your girl.

 

[Marcymom3]

Maybe Esther's last name could be Lazarus! Or rename her Tabitha.

 

[aoxa]

What a wonderful ending!

 

[Shayna]

I

happy endings!

 

[Bizzybirdy]

So happy Esther is ok!!

A hawk will take/kill a grown chicken so please do not let down your guard...and it, like other predators, will almost always return. One killed my WR rooster a couple days ago..almost in front of me!

 

[Johnn]

ive had 2 of my hens killed latley, there isnt hawks were i live so i dont know what got myne, on the first one the head was taken and the rest of the body untouched on the second that hen really put up a struggle there was a trail of feathers half way down the feild until i came across her body and al that was done was a chunk taken out her back, both must ahve been done through the day because my hens would not be that far away from the shed in the dark

 

[FiFiFeather]

Yikes! I'm counting myself very lucky right now. We regularly have cooper's hawks flying around our yard but they haven't spotted the hens yet (it's only been a few months, though), knock on wood! They usually don't hunt in the yard since I stopped feeding wild birds 4 years ago.

I am so happy Esther is safe! I'd be heart broken to lose a hen to a predator...

 

[dfriloux]

I'm soooo happy for your sweet Esther! I lost two of my girls recently to hawks and I kept hoping and praying that they'd be hiding in the trees or come running around the corner and all would be well. Alas, they did not

It broke my heart to lose Amy Rose and Gertrude and since I've grown quite attached to all them, I just couldn't bear to lose any of the other three. We were pretty sure it was a hawk or an owl because there were only feathers (no bones, nor blood nor body parts). That was confirmed when we saw the whitewash of poo sprayed all over the sago palm next to Gertrude's feathers. And you know what seemed really odd to me? We only found their soft little feathers from underneath their wings and their backside. Only two or three of their big feathers were found. To be honest, I'm rather glad it happened that way--it was quick for my poor girls and I'd have been devastated if I'd seen their poor little headless bodies laying there!

To end on a happy note, my DH improved their yard tremendously by adding a net over the top and raising the sides of their fence about three feet so they can't fly over it. It's a good sized yard, but not nearly as big as what they had when I was letting them free range. They fuss at me every time I go out there to let me know they are not one bit happy about it, but, I've not lost any more.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Quote:
You need to get BlueKote and spray that bare spot on Esther tail, if they keep pecking and it gets bloody they could kill her, chickens are drawn to blood, so spray her with Blue kote it will disguise the bare spot and help any raw skin to heal. Happy to hear she is safe.