Back to the hawks...
I don't think ALL hawk breeds are as agile as the breed in that video.
My first thought when I saw it was that all our chickens are doomed. But I've kept chickens here for a year and a half with no hawk incidents until this fall. During that whole time I saw hawks hunting in the area almost daily throughout the spring, summer and fall and still had no incident.
That is why I asked the question about whether hawks hunt in the woods as I had always been told to give them brush/woods or other places they could go to hide under when hawks are present.
The bird I lost this Fall was just at the edge of the woods. I imagine heading for cover. But that particular bird had 2 things going against her just naturally.
1. She was the bottom of the pecking order and she often stayed to herself on the outskirts of the flock. Rather than "pecking back" and holding her own, she was a "runner" who would run away at the slightest provocation. Kind of like that one kid on the playground that just can't take the harassment rather than the ones that dish it right back out.
2. She was the ONLY light colored bird in a flock of "reds", BRs, and EEs that are brown with the lacing on the feathers. She was light gray (blue) with a bit of mottling. From a distance pretty much a white blob on the horizon. Add that to her tendency to isolation.
Because I have 9 week olds right now with a broody mamma that are part of the flock, I have kept them mostly penned since I had the attack unless I'm physically outside with them.
But if I didn't have the little ones I would have only penned them a few days to a week or so just to discourage the hawk by changing dynamics and teach that bird that this isn't a place to go for a free dinner or to build a nest nearby. But then I think I would have let them out again. However, if I had seen this hawk perching (like Sally did) daily, I would not have put them back out until something changed with the hawk pattern.
I think that, for the most part, they are able to hide themselves if there is adequate cover.
For the open areas I'm all for devising whatever kinds of creative ideas to deter them...like the fish line, providing things like dog houses, little huts or covers like an over-turned chair, an old foot stool....get creative.... whatever kinds of things for them to run to for cover.
Maybe someday we will have one close to us. We really like going there when we are out of town.
