My first hawk attack today and dealing with the guilt....

[LittleRedCoop53]

So sorry! Cover your pen with netting or chicken wire or something immediately; the hawk will return until it no longer pays off. They may only hunt every three or four days, so keep the birds out of harm's way for at least ten to fourteen days. Mary

Netting...of course...i've been trying to figure something out ...the way my set up is....chicken wire is not going to work...? maybe? I'm freaking out here and can't think straight...thank you. I have them locked up

 

[leithsloft]

~I JUST LOST ONE OF MY 2 MONTH OLD SILKIE CHICKS 20 MINUTES AGO TO A HAWK UNDER THE HUGE TREE IN THEIR PEN AREA!!!~
I had a weird feeling yesterday when i wrote in asking about hawks....and i hadn't even seen a hawk for months....i was just thinking with the trees losing their leaves my chicken were a little more exposed.... I just happened to look out the window, and felt something was wrong...and i saw it on the ground in their pen... i ran out and it flew up into the tree and waited...it left the body on the ground(it was not going to get this meal back from me), so i cover the little body with a bucket , got all the other chicks locked up....and there the hawk was still watching me sitting up in the tree... it wouldn't fly away... i ran and got a stick and waved it and it took off...the chickens are still all locked up. Looking out side just now it's back and up in the tree again...great! I just chased it off again. ...i think i now have a hawk problem! I was thinking of stringing fishing line with CD's over the tree and fence....weaving it to keep the hawk out, before this happened... but now i don't think this will work... it was a small hawk and seemed able to fly between the branches ... wow..i can't believe this happened

I'm sorry this happened. Your intuition was spot on. Mine are staying locked up probably till Spring now. My hawk has been back looking for them and flying over their enclosed run. He cant get to them, but wants to. So sorry for your loss!

 

[leithsloft]

WOW, love your camera!!! What model number is it? I want to order one as well!

I can't believe she laid an egg today! She must be a very very strong healthy well taken care of hen..Kudos to you!

Thank you. She is doing very well and laid again this morning. The cam is a Foscam F18918W I bought it on Amazon.

 

[Pip4Chirp]

Strange thing is that the attack was at 4 in the afternoon and there was no fly over or sight of the hawk till the attack, it came out of no where. I have seen hawks flying high and the hens and guineas always get real still and tuck into the brush or dense woods and all is well. This time, it was just a sudden, fast attack with no warning. I watch their reactions to sounds from birds, blue jays, crows, etc. They are smarter than people give them credit for. They know the different sounds and really pay attention. This attack was very sneaky and quiet.

This happened to us today, also at 4 in the afternoon! A cooper's hawk just came out of nowhere and settled down in a tree maybe 6 feet away from where the wyandottes were pecking in the leaves. They didn't hear anything!! My daughter was outside and started screaming and waving her arms but it took a few seconds before the hawk would leave. Is fall a more dangerous season because the leaves are off the trees? I'm keeping my girls safe inside their run for awhile.

 

[LittleRedCoop53]

Quote:

Quote: DO COOPER HAWKS ATTACK LARGER BREED CHICKENS???
I think it was a cooper's hawk that killed my 2 month old frizzle silkie yesterday. The hawk was long and slim, about the size of a large crow...smaller than a red tail hawk! I didn't think the cooper hawk was big enough to mess with the larger breed birds like wyandottes...???? i thought i only had to worry about the are red tail hawks with the larger breeds. I'm thinking that fall and winter is going to be dangerous not only because there is less cover, but less food ...i think i know the answer...the cooper hawk will attack large breed birds,,,

 

[Pip4Chirp]

Little Red Coop, I didn't think Cooper's hawks would attack my hens either (my girls are big!) but I found this website (sponsored by Cornell Univ) and it specifically lists chickens as prey for the cooper's. It's also got a good photo. http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Coopers_Hawk/lifehistory

I am so sorry about your silkie!! Hopefully your hawk (and mine) will move on in a week or two. You're right - most of our robins and mourning doves have left by now and it's probably slim pickins for the hawks.

 

[keesmom]

DO COOPER HAWKS ATTACK LARGER BREED CHICKENS???
I think it was a cooper's hawk that killed my 2 month old frizzle silkie yesterday. The hawk was long and slim, about the size of a large crow...smaller than a red tail hawk! I didn't think the cooper hawk was big enough to mess with the larger breed birds like wyandottes...???? i thought i only had to worry about the are red tail hawks with the larger breeds. I'm thinking that fall and winter is going to be dangerous not only because there is less cover, but less food ...i think i know the answer...the cooper hawk will attack large breed birds,,,

They will if they are hungry enough. I have lost adult LF birds to Cooper's hawks before. They have no problem hunting through trees and brush. I've seen them dive into the snowcovered yews we have out in front of our house to get at the small birds hiding in there, popping though the snow on their way out.

Current aerial menace is a goshawk. Got a clump of feathers off one of my cockerels yesterday afternoon,

 

[leithsloft]

This happened to us today, also at 4 in the afternoon! A cooper's hawk just came out of nowhere and settled down in a tree maybe 6 feet away from where the wyandottes were pecking in the leaves. They didn't hear anything!! My daughter was outside and started screaming and waving her arms but it took a few seconds before the hawk would leave. Is fall a more dangerous season because the leaves are off the trees? I'm keeping my girls safe inside their run for awhile.

I do think fall is a more active time for all species due to the up coming cold and lack of food that comes with it. I am keeping mine locked up as I see hardly any other food sources around this time of year for the hawks..like birds in nest and small critters running around. They are all starting to go underground and migrate to warmer climate. Just my opinion though!

 

[LittleRedCoop53]

Little Red Coop, I didn't think Cooper's hawks would attack my hens either (my girls are big!) but I found this website (sponsored by Cornell Univ) and it specifically lists chickens as prey for the cooper's. It's also got a good photo. http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Coopers_Hawk/lifehistory

I am so sorry about your silkie!! Hopefully your hawk (and mine) will move on in a week or two. You're right - most of our robins and mourning doves have left by now and it's probably slim pickins for the hawks.

Wow....my large hens are twice their size! I guess i was thinking they needed to be able to carry the kill off. I have had my chickens for over two years.... no problems.... Monday, i had a weird feeling about hawks...the trees looked bare? i don't know....i got on line BYC for some information....decided i better do something...put it off.... next day....a hawk is sitting on the ground inside the pen plucking the feathers off my dead chick, as the other chickens are huddled in a corner. He didn't get the body...i got out there in time...so no pay off.... kinda. I'm getting netting today after work. No more freedom unless i'm right there on top of them Thanks for getting back to me so fast!

 

[deacons]

Yeah, not to be too graphic, but when I lost a Barred Rock to a hawk a few years ago, she was clearly bigger than the hawk was. I wasn't there at the time of the attack, but you could clearly see where he "divebombed" her from a tree, dragged her down the hill, and had his meal. It was snowy out, so you could see the drag marks through the snow between where he attacked and where he ate. Sad to see, for sure. I guess my only solace was that it was an extremely hard winter that year, and there really probably wasn't much else to eat. I've lost other chickens to stupid things like being hit by a car, and that just feels senseless to me...

That winter, having simple bird netting over the run was enough to keep the hawks out. That spring, I replaced the run with a hardware cloth roof.