My chicken got attacked by a hawk

[Ch8ckenhelp]

check and see you ordinances if you can shoot a bird of prey

I already know I can't

 

[microchick]

I would go with this in a pinch:

It's called:
DeerBlock Deer Netting and Fencing

and you can find it pretty reasonably on line at Amazon, Ebay or at a local garden shop. It comes in various sizes and you can drape it over your run using s hooks. I make my own using whatever wire I can find. Lots cheaper that way, LOL

 

[Ch8ckenhelp]

I can't shoot at the birds but I do fire my gun just to scare them off

 

[Ch8ckenhelp]

So glad she isn't injured worse.

The only thing I would add is to give her some nutri-drench, Chick Saver or Rooster Booster Pro Biotics and vitamins to stave off shock. She may look fine but she underwent a horribly stressful experience for such a small creature.

The honey @CarolinaSunshineFlock mentioned is highly recommended and did a great job healing up her critically injured rooster. That and a lot of TLC.

And X2 with @penny1960. Mr Hawk will be back. I would definitely pen my birds if that happened to my flock and cover the pen with netting. We have a flourishing hawk population around us along with Great Horned Owls and Eagles. My run is netted and I will still have Birds of Prey circling overhead checking out the buffet table. That is when I get my husband to come outside with one of his large RC planes and chase off the intruder. They hate having a 'larger' bird over them when they are flying and take off the moment he gets a plane over them.

















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Thanks for the help!

 

[Sunshine Flock]

View attachment 1189242 View attachment 1189243 View attachment 1189242 View attachment 1189243 I have free range chickens before then I lost 2 to hawks and 4 to bobcats. We saved a rooster from the bobcat but eventually the vet had to put him down. We don't free range anymore. They now live in a very large run between 2 coops. It's just too sad to lose them. I'm attaching 2 photos both from the backyard. One we scare the hawk away and he takes off from the wall. The other is the bobcat watching the chickens from the patio but can't get to them because they are in the run.

Oh, my goodness. What great photos and beautiful animals!

But also very scary for your flock. We've seen a bobcat on our property before. It's been a few years, but I know they're still there. And we have lots of hawks.

 

[chickencheeper]

I would go with this in a pinch:

It's called:
DeerBlock Deer Netting and Fencing

and you can find it pretty reasonably on line at Amazon, Ebay or at a local garden shop. It comes in various sizes and you can drape it over your run using s hooks. I make my own using whatever wire I can find. Lots cheaper that way, LOL

We’ve used that in our garden and small birds got their heads stuck in it and died. It pulls apart really easily and I wouldn’t fell comfortably stretching it over my run, hawks might get their talons stuck in it

 

[lazy gardener]

I use bird netting over my run with good success. It keeps the hawks out. It is certainly not pred proof as far as coons and such, but it suffices during the day time. if a hawk chooses to get his talons stuck in my netting, that's his problem, not mine. And the flock owner is certainly within his rights to use loud noises to scare off hawks.

 

[microchick]

Sorry to hear that you have had problems with this. I've used it for years with no lost birds, wild or domestic. You asked for ideas of something to use because hardware cloth wasn't going to happen for you right now.

This is deer netting, not bird netting. It is heavier duty and the squares are slightly larger than the bird netting that you put over trees. This weight is used as fencing around gardens and orchards to keep deer out of them.

This may sound harsh, but if a hawk get its' talons caught in it then the net is doing its job and your chickens are safe. They could get their talons caught in hardware cloth also. That is why God made conservation officers that you call and have them come out and rescue the hawk that is trying to kill your chickens. The important thing is that your chickens will be safe from airborne predators.

I've read where hawks on occasion have blown right through this netting and become entangled in it. Usually the hawk is old, injured or ill and unable to hunt normally. We have large Red Tailed Hawks here. Many times I have seen them circling my runs, covered in net and not once has one tried to breach the parameter, shall we say.

I really don't have any more suggestions to offer when it comes to cost effective run netting. There are always going to be some negative response to positive actions. You are going to have to make the decision as to what actions you are willing to take in order to secure the safety of your chickens. One thing is almost certain. Without intervention the hawk will probably be back for seconds and the next hen may not be so lucky.

Good luck. I sincerely hope your hen heals well with out complications.

 

[Farmer teddy]

My Rhode island red got attacked by a hawk today and she survived but I can see her bone in her wing. It’s about an inch and a half square wound where bone is showing. What do you recommend I do to help her and do hawks carry any diseases that my chicken can catch, or that I could catch by touching her wound?