My rooster killed a hawk!

[rancher hicks]

Now I'm not a morbid person but I didn't get the picture of this hawk. Considering all the chickens taken by hawks it gets no sympathy from me.

 

[jldyer]

Well, let me show you what I found a few days ago. One of my chickens broke its right wing. It's a Merlin...a type of falcon. I rescued it and turned it over to a wildlife rehab group. I think its eyes were far too big for its stomach...and size. I have a Silver Phoenix Rooster that knows Kung Fu...and a Black Jersey Giant hen that's his sidekick. This Merlin didn't have a chance.

 

[walbarbsa]

So it's possums or raccoons that just eat heads off? It's been six nights in a row where I've gone down to check on coops and found one dead hen/rooster, headless! Last night I put a trap out but caught nothing, so tonight I'm going to try the mini-marshmallows trick. While I was checking last night, I huge owl flew off. I caught it in my flashlight beam and watched it for about 5 minutes. Don't know exactly what type of owl it was, but it was quite large. I've seen GHOs and it wasn't one of them. ...... I'm losing all of my laying hens....dang!

 

[Toril]

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We just named him Rambo.

 

[CMV]

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Actually owls are known for taking heads off, too. Raccoons and possums will yank off any piece they can pull through the fence, and a head is a pretty convenient small package to pull off.

 

[Uzuri]

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I think that's coons that do that, not hawks. Once a hawk is on the ground it's kinda awkward.

 

[rancher hicks]

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Way cooooollllll!

 

[PortugalBreeder]

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Do you have pictures of it?
What was the species?

 

[ErinG]

I recount these stories to my boyfriend so that I have a better chance of getting a rooster in the spring...See we NEED a rooster!

 

[midget_farms]

A buddy showed me a picture of a red tail hawk INSIDE his coop! What a mess.

Its been my experience (unfortunately) that coons will take the head off. I had a coon get in the coop one night - killed all the hens & left the headless bodies all over the place.

Set your trap - If its the owl - just close up the coop & they should be safe - If its a coon it may take a couple of days to catch - I use dog food as bait - it works well - though I've caught my dog & a neighbor cat too!

Oh - & if you catch the coon - in my opinion dont relocate - a coon thats been caught in a trap will never be caught again! if you relocate him - he is someone elses problem & hes a lot smarter than when you caught him