My chickens killed a hawk?!!! Or a falcon? or something! *grapic pics!

[HippieChickens]

First,

so sorry about Raven.

Second, it was a young Cooper's Hawk - note the long, broadly banded tail, short wings, and streaked breast. Young hawks grow to adult size before they can fly, so the bigger, more conspicuous hawk is probably a larger species such as Red-tailed or Northern Goshawk.

pride&joy and fancbrd4me02 raise the possibility that another hawk did the deed, and that's a reasonable explanation, especially if the other hawk happens to be a Northern Goshawk (they're closely related to Cooper's, also prey extensively on birds, and tend to eliminate the competition by taking out their smaller relatives).

I really hope it was your roos that did it, though in that case it's kind of a pity the hawk was killed. A hawk that's afraid of chickens would be a dream come true! It would still defend its hunting territory from other members of its species, including ones that might have or develop a taste for poultry, but would know better than to bother your birds. This hawk's death just leaves an empty territory for another to move into (assuming it wasn't killed by another Cooper's Hawk for for poaching in its territory).

 

[redhen]

another thing i was wondering was..could it have been a crow that killed it? Because today when we went outside crows were chasng away the bigger hawk..
and i'm still wondering if it could have choked while eating?

because it was not torn up at all...it looks to have just died VERY suddenly

...it had food in its mouth and still had chicken meat in its talons!!... its just so weird...
thats why i was thinking my roos..because they would have been on the ground with the hawk at the time of attack.... *sigh* i guess i'll never know..

 

[lighthawk]

Redhen Crows are scavangers. They will eat on the dead bird but they will not attack it themselves. They are a good line of defence against hawks as they will harass them to move off. To protect their own flock and nests.

 

[teach1rusl]

I don't know how oddly shaped your run is, but would this be possible...
With help, run sections of double strand fence wire across different sections of fence and tighten them up really well. That would give you a support to lay/stretch/tie netting onto???
Sorry to hear about your loss...

 

[HippieChickens]

0

 

[pringle]

I really dont think a rooster killed the hawk.And it looks like the head was bitten off to.My theory was while the young cooper hawk attacked your poor raven the large one swooped in bit off the head(I think hawks are territorial)and ate as much of the carcass it could.And it couldent happen in the night becouse hawks arnt nocurnal.Edited to add that now I see the head maybe becouse of all the feathers you cant see any puncture marks.I still think it was the large hawk though.

 

[Cloverleaf Farm]

I lost 2 Silkies a few months ago to a Cooper's hawk (he pecked their fluffy little heads THROUGH the fence) - I immediately went to the store and got an animatronic owl (it has motion sensors, and when it gets set off, it turns its head around and hoots very loudly). I put it up on top of the bantam house, and while I've seen the offending hawk in the vecinity of the coop, it has not come close enough to get another of my birds since then.

Good luck to you!!

 

[Guinea Goonie]

Yay Roos !!

 

[chicknmania]

I think more likely the hawk maybe choked, or had some other problem; probably choking down your bird, gulping in a hurry, under the circumstances, in the coop and everything. your chooks or something did the other damage. Guess the problem's eliminated though. Sorry for your loss.

 

[geebs]

A scenario that works and that I have seen is... Hawk flies down and nabs chicken and doesn't get off the ground quick enough and the roos and other hens nail it.... As far as the other hen being eaten... probably by the other chickens. My own roo used to knock the bird out of the air... He could jump over 3 feet and spin and knock them out of the air.... The hens would be undercover and at the corners of the coup... When the bird hit the ground the other roos would get in there.