Hey everyone just wanted to let you know that Paisley was in the coop at night check tonight. Idk where she was but I'm very very glad she's home. I will be keeping a close on the girls for a few days. Thank you all for your well wishes and your prayers. I feel like I won't really believe it until I see her again tomorrow.
Hey everyone just wanted to let you know that Paisley was in the coop at night check tonight. Idk where she was but I'm very very glad she's home. I will be keeping a close on the girls for a few days. Thank you all for your well wishes and your prayers. I feel like I won't really believe it until I see her again tomorrow.
I'm glad you found her. The reality is that sometimes chickens in an escape mode can lodge themselves in such a way that they are not able to get back out on their own. They perish on their own.
A long time ago, I had one of my hens fall into a wedge shaped crevice inside my garage. If I did not find her in time, she would have been gone by morning.
Yeah I was worried that if she wasn't taken by the hawk she may be lost, stuck, or in shock somewhere. I do understand that animals do that though. We had a cat get stuck behind our couch once for hours before we found him. He was a huge cat and it just so happened he could walk behind the couch but it got narrower as it went and he couldn't get out. We searched the whole house opened every door assuming he'd gotten stuck in a closet or something. Animals do get themselves into the oddest situations. Lol I'm just grateful she's home. A preliminary exam by flashlight didn't show any injuries she'll be thoroughly looked over tomorrow though. The incredible thing was that somehow I miscounted twice at first and didn't see her and was ready to go look more with a flashlight when my mom recounted. I'm over the moon that she's safe tomorrow that hawk will have an angry Momma to contend with if it comes back. No one messes with a mom's babies. All my chickens alive and in the coop is a better feeling even than the first egg
So glad to hear she is ok. I was not so lucky 2 weeks ago when a hawk killed one of my barred rocks. I haven't been able to let them out of their run since because 2 large hawks have been coming back every day surveying the yard. I covered the veggie garden with chicken wire today so they could have somewhere else to go. They sure looked happy.
chickendreams24
Glad to hear all your birds are safe. Hawks are the scariest predator we have in the suburbs. There's not much you can do except hawk deterrents:
Invite LOUD kids to play in the yard
Chicken saddles with predator eyes
Barking, running dogs
CDs hanging in trees
Crinkle tape in trees (never tried this one yet)
Roosters, geese, turkeys, & guineas (if allowed)
Owl statues
When a hawk just sits in a tree staring at the coop, I keep everyone locked up or only let them out for an hour while I'm outside with them. However I've discovered that a human is NOT a strong hawk deterrent. I now have a toy cap gun in my pocket, so when a hawk does a fly-by in my presence, I can make more noise than simply yelling at it. It amazes me how close I can get to a hawk before scaring it off. Coopers hawks are small but very determined.
The only sure way to protect against hawks is to install aviary netting, but that doesn't work if you want them to free range on your property.
Here's the one that camped out in our yard for 6 weeks last winter. It only moved when I threw stones at it. (Of course it came back as soon as I went inside.)
So glad to hear she is ok. I was not so lucky 2 weeks ago when a hawk killed one of my barred rocks. I haven't been able to let them out of their run since because 2 large hawks have been coming back every day surveying the yard. I covered the veggie garden with chicken wire today so they could have somewhere else to go. They sure looked happy.
So glad to hear she is ok. I was not so lucky 2 weeks ago when a hawk killed one of my barred rocks. I haven't been able to let them out of their run since because 2 large hawks have been coming back every day surveying the yard. I covered the veggie garden with chicken wire today so they could have somewhere else to go. They sure looked happy.
Thanks Faraway40 and ChicagoClucker. That is a good idea Pixie. I have decided I will keep them in their run and the covered veggie garden for the rest of the year but maybe I'll give that a try next year when the leaves are back on the trees again. I had not initially intended on letting them free range at all, so at least their run is a decent size, about 30 x 14 for the 5 remaining girls. I love watching them run around the yard, but I don't know if I can stomach chancing it again, we'll see how I feel in the spring.
