Illinois...

[Molpet]

my crt monitor is old and fuzzy, with that said it looks like a red tail to me.. for sure not an eagle lol

 

[Molpet]

Giant hawk is still watching the run & waiting for a chicken to come out. It seems to know that the chickens come out between 8-9am. I kept the door closed & grabbed my camera so I could watch it instead. About the only good thing is that while I was stalking it, the big hawk flew & scared a smaller hawk away. The smaller hawks are very bold & will sit on our fence or swingset while hunting. The smaller ones also do not give up as easily. They wait around for days. The big one seems to fly by 1-2xs per day or sticks around in a tree for about an hour then moves on. I'm nervous to see that our yard has become part of its morning routine, and I pray my roos continue to spot the hawk long before it does a fly-by.

Does this look like a red-tail?

I like this site because you can see similar birds https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Red-tailed_Hawk/id

 

[Faraday40]

I like this site because you can see similar birds https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Red-tailed_Hawk/id

Well this particular red-tailed hawk didn't read its own bio! Under food, the website wrote:
"Mammals make up the bulk of most Red-tailed Hawk meals. Frequent victims include voles, mice, wood rats, rabbits, snowshoe hares, jackrabbits, and ground squirrels. The hawks also eat birds, including pheasants, bobwhite, starlings, and blackbirds; as well as snakes and carrion. Individual prey items can weigh anywhere from less than an ounce to more than 5 pounds."

I wish I could educate it to leave mt flock alone & teach it to eat all the stray mice. Or even better, send it up to WI to eat @chickendreams24 's rat!

 

[Molpet]

Well this particular red-tailed hawk didn't read its own bio! Under food, the website wrote:
"Mammals make up the bulk of most Red-tailed Hawk meals. Frequent victims include voles, mice, wood rats, rabbits, snowshoe hares, jackrabbits, and ground squirrels. The hawks also eat birds, including pheasants, bobwhite, starlings, and blackbirds; as well as snakes and carrion. Individual prey items can weigh anywhere from less than an ounce to more than 5 pounds."

I wish I could educate it to leave mt flock alone & teach it to eat all the stray mice. Or even better, send it up to WI to eat @chickendreams24 's rat!

Ha yes send it to WI or import the rats

I have a pair that live year around and SO FAR pay no attention to my chickens when there is open grass.. did have something try when the ground was snow covered, but outside of terrified hens/chciks and turkeys missing some feathers it was not successful and hasn't tried again .. YET.. something did get a mink next to the poultry yard... so mine seem to have enough mammals to hunt most of the time.

 

[cavemanrich]

@Molpet ... Did the mink die of lead poisoning.

@Faraday40 Yes indeed it looks like a Redtail Hawk. They are the largest in the hawk family with equal appetites. Observing them by my house, I noticed that they have a route or pattern of travel daily. They always arrive from same direction , and when they leave , they go into their usual direction.
On a sad note. My last white pigeon checked out overnight due to ??? but not predator causes. Maybe loneliness. He was with my blind Delilah for company. She could not hurt him even if she wanted to. The pigeons got along with the chickens with no issues always. Now she is in that separated compartment by herself until spring when all chickens go to outdoor coop. The other chickens pick on her since she cant fight back. The only ones that got along with her were my older OEGH. Both of those are gone now, and the younger 2 are kind of less than friendly to her.

 

[Faraday40]

Since I already had the camera out, I took it in the coop with me.

Princess & Bubbles looked downright angry about being stuck inside the run.


Oopsie & CCL looked beautiful - as always.








Trouble just gave me her typical "I'm cold & pathetic" looks.


Got treats?


Cookie was all fluffed up. She looked cold or perhaps going broody soon.
(She's a bantam English Orp which I think looks like a Cochin without the feathered legs.)

 

[carolbiggs1965]

Hello. I'm a new. I just bought 14 pullets. A variety of breeds. We bought a antique metal buckboard which we are turning into a coop. I'll post pics after completed.

 

[Faraday40]

Hello. I'm a new. I just bought 14 pullets. A variety of breeds. We bought a antique metal buckboard which we are turning into a coop. I'll post pics after completed.

That sounds interesting! Can't wait to see the pics

and

 

[Molpet]

Hello. I'm a new. I just bought 14 pullets. A variety of breeds. We bought a antique metal buckboard which we are turning into a coop. I'll post pics after completed.

please do.. sounds great and since you are doing it you can make sure it has plenty of ventilation and hardware cloth

 

[ChicagoClucker]

Hello. I'm a new. I just bought 14 pullets. A variety of breeds. We bought a antique metal buckboard which we are turning into a coop. I'll post pics after completed.

Welcome to the Illinois thread. Can't wait to see the pics!

Kind of bummed I have to plug in the heated water dishes again. I am ready for spring already. Still getting a decent amount of egg, but not as many as I did with that warm up a couple of weeks ago. The chickens have been on edge not because of the hawk, but because of a stray female cat in heat. She has been calling every tom cat in town to choose from. My son went out to his car the other morning, and 4 large boys came out from under the car. Between her calls and the boys fighting, my guys are a bit nervous. Hope her cycle ends soon so my guys can relax and not make such a ruckus.

Sorry @cavemanrich , Hopefully, spring will bring you some lovely new pigeons that can avoid those hawks.

@Faraday40 cute pics of the ladies!