Illinois...

[ChicagoClucker]

Was out of town for a week. Finally caught up at home. Had a great time in the desert sun but a rough day returning. My chicken sitter did a great job, but unfortunately I have a very, very determined hawk. It killed one of my 3 Amigos. My neighbor sent our dogs out after it and called my chicken sitter (another neighbor). She cleaned up the pullet carcass to prevent the hawk from getting rewarded. This is the 1st time we ever lost a chicken of any age. I knew it would likely happen at some point, but the dogs, kids, tree cover & rooster usually deter most hawks. Because my chickens have kind of become a neighborhood project, many are saddened by the loss.

RIP Miracle. (She required assistance hatching, so we say it's a miracle she lived.) Miracle was the golden pullet. The 3 Amigos did everything together & haven't yet bonded with the flock. Perhaps that's why the hawk 1st targeted them.



Here's Miracle trying to go for a dog ride.




I've been keeping the chickens locked up for the past 3 days. Today I let them out while I cleaned. After 5 min, I called the chickens back & was handing out treats before locking them back up. All of a sudden SQUAWKING & FLAPPING! Less than 15 ft from where I stood a hawk made a grab for Princess then it flew right past me! Some ran to the coop, some needed my personal escort to walk from the bushes back to the coop, & some frozen in fear just needed to be carried.

Not sure how to get this particular hawk to leave. I've been looking at online pics & think it's a Cooper's Hawk. It's probably the same one I caught INSIDE the run over the summer. It flew in through the open human door & was sitting on the roost waiting for a chicken to walk out of the coop. Before that I've seen it here many times terrorizing the young chicks in the tractor. When approached it simply flies just a little out of reach. Not afraid of people at all, so I just start throwing rocks until it flies off the property. My dogs can do a better job chasing it off, but they're not out 24/7. Today it attacked even with the dogs outside - but not nearby.

The hawk has definitely been getting more comfortable here over the past 6 months. Anyone have advise or ideas?

So sorry to hear about Miracle. If I come across any info I will forward it to you.

 

[Faraday40]

I've been using the new horiz chicken nipples for a week now. So far so good. My chickens previously used vertical nipples, so as soon as I hung the new bucket, they started drinking. Because the old vert nipples dripped a little water as the chickens drank, I placed a pan below the waterer to keep the ice from building up. Every couple days, I'd knock the ice out of the pan.

You can see the pan below with hardly any moisture after a week. Of course we're not into the cold hard winter yet, so I'll report more when the temps drop. I attached my waterer with a chain so I may adjust the height as needed. I have one bantam orp, so she must be able to drink too.



My flock has been cooped up all week b/c of the hawk, so I'm very glad we have the addition this year. The plastic windows are keeping the cold & wet out. Only 3 of my hens are laying, so we're getting a few eggs per week. In a couple weeks the days will star getting longer, so I'm going to skip adding the supplemental light.

Here are my 2 Legbars. They decided to both start & stop laying in September.





I gave the flock a few min of grass time but stayed out with them the whole time. Here's Cuddles & Tank.


...and here's Precious - my jealous camera hog. Why would I want to take pics of any other chicken?


Precious just finished her molt & is looking good. She even started laying again.
Molting


Molting


Done! I honestly didn't think she'd ever be pretty again. Those pin feathers must have hurt!

 

[NotAFarm]

Love the Precious photo bomb!! What a ham!

I have some vertical nipples given to me by a friend but never used them. Did you use them through a winter? If so, did they freeze up?

 

[Faraday40]

The vertical nipples worked great in the summers. I have a simple 5 gal bucket with a heater inside. Last winter, the vertical ones worked until we got down to the single digits. Although the water in the bucket didn't freeze, the little bit of water down in the nipple did freeze. I had to work them free each morning. (Below zero & I just stopped tying...) The horiz nipples have less exterior with most of the device inside the heated bucket. Less water dripping is already a positive, but they may still have the freezing issues. I'll have to wait & see on that one.

 

[NotAFarm]

The vertical nipples worked great in the summers. I have a simple 5 gal bucket with a heater inside. Last winter, the vertical ones worked until we got down to the single digits. Although the water in the bucket didn't freeze, the little bit of water down in the nipple did freeze. I had to work them free each morning. (Below zero & I just stopped tying...) The horiz nipples have less exterior with most of the device inside the heated bucket. Less water dripping is already a positive, but they may still have the freezing issues. I'll have to wait & see on that one.

Hopefully, it will be a looooong time before you know if they freeze at zero!

 

[Nwchickma]

Today makes 2 weeks til the winter solstice! Days will begin getting longer! e. The sun makes me HAPPY!!

 

[NotAFarm]

Today makes 2 weeks til the winter solstice! Days will begin getting longer!

. The sun makes me HAPPY!!

WooHoo!! Longer Days!!

 

[JustHenny]

As to the hawk problem. Please don't judge too harshly, but we have an air-soft gun we use. It isn't as hard as a BB gun but it sure scares the hell out the raptors! I don't even think the thing penetrates the feathers. We had an interested hawk for a couple weeks. Three or four rounds of pellets a couple times and it hasn't been seen again. We also upped the low lying hiding areas. I have two old wide picnic benches pushed together and an old card table with the legs cut shorter added. I put my potted plants on top so it isn't too tacky. lol.

 

[ChicagoClucker]

I don't know what is going on over at my coop, but ever since I moved my pullets into the coop, my 3 hens have been laying an egg every day! I have been so happy going out to the box this last week. Maybe they can sense the longer days coming and are eggsited.

 

[Nwchickma]

I put the chickens out this morning at 7 and about 30 mins later went to check on them and they were hiding in the garage. The dog was staring at the tree, which she does to watch squirrels. I followed her sight line and a big fat squirrel sat frozen about 2 feet behind it sat a HUGE red-tailed hawk! That sucker was big and about 50ft from the garage. The girls must have seen him swoop in for the squirrel and took cover.

I live about a mile from Faraday, these raptors must be hungry!