We have dealt with red tail hawks here for the 11 years that we have had chickens. We have had friends suggest shooting them, but they are protected by federal laws, and have been for almost a hundred years, as are the other birds of prey. It used to be a 6 month jail term and $20,000 fine for shooting one, so not something that should be done. We have tried to fire guns to scare them and they just sit in their tree and look at us. We had the best luck with planting evergreen trees in our chicken yard, and the chickens love to congregate under them for shade, rest, while some like to roost on branches. Our rooster was very good at making the alarm call and gathering them under the tree. Our poor polish hen never seemed to get it, and she eventually was decapitated when 2 hawks ganged up on her. I don’t blame the hawks, as we have lost some others over the year to daytime predators. Recently we lost 3 old hens, including my favorite bantam pet, to a bobcat in midday. They always loved to free range in our fields, but when my last birds are gone, I may just raise a new flock in a fenced in and covered run. I love to see them free range, but we must understand that we may lose some if they free range.
He still has swelling around the eye, but it seems more bright today, if that makes sense. I am very excited with the way he's acting and eating today. I'm in central NC and wondering how he's going to do in the cold (cold for us) whenever he goes back outside. I need to get a picture of him but he lost A LOT of feathers. A bunch of feathers in your hand with it balled up doesn't seem like many, but I was unable to hold them all in one hand and I didn't collect the down. He really lost a lot of feathers. It won't be a problem to let him sleep indoors, if necessary. Our temps are really all over the place. Like today was around 54°F and tonight it's going to be 28°F. He's not going out tonight but I'm thinking ahead. I'll definitely get a picture tomorrow but that will just show that he lost all but 1 tail feather.
