New Hawk a Threat?

cackleberryandco

Songster
Sep 15, 2021
167
416
146
near Chicago, IL
Hello! I live in Chicago. We have always had Red-tailed Hawks. They’re huge and very scary and we always know to keep the chickens in their run when one is around. But lately we’ve had a new guest. A Cooper’s Hawk, which I’ve never seen in my neighborhood since we moved in 9 years ago. I assume he comes for my neighbor's yard, they have lots of bird feeders so I guess he’s trying to hunt there. I should probably advise my neighbors to take the feeders down for a few weeks right? And also, is he a threat to my hens? He is a lot smaller than our usual guests. We have three large/standard-sized hens (Barred Rock, Wyandottes) two mid-sized hens that are a little smaller (Easter Egger, speckled Sussex), and two bantams (buff Brahma)

Thanks for the help!
 
Cooper's hawks if hungry enough will make a try at full size birds, and I have had them kill bantams and medium sized birds.
Would one be able to carry a smaller chicken away? I never let them out without me being out with them so I’m just worried about it trying to carry a chicken away. My bantams are little guys
 
Would one be able to carry a smaller chicken away? I never let them out without me being out with them so I’m just worried about it trying to carry a chicken away. My bantams are little guys
Perhaps if extremely small. I have had them carry off partially grown chicks. When killing my pigeons, they would strike the bird and then glide off to a safe place to eat. Upon occasion I was able to run them down and force them to drop the bird.
 
We have lost bantams and half grown standards to Cooper's hawks several times. When any hawk visits, we lock our chickens in their safe coop and run for at least ten days, until that hawk moves on elsewhere.
Hawks do live here, and occasionally are after our chickens. Usually they hunt songbirds and rodents though. I only am concerned if one has actually attacked one of our birds, or looks too interested in them.
Ground predators have been a much greater threat here!!!
Mary
 

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