Yesterday I opened up the coops to let the girls and boys free range.
They all scattered around the yard happy to be out as usual.
My husband was in the driveway and I went in the house to get a sweater.
A minute later my husband starts yelling for me to come out front.
He sees a hawk flying from tree to tree in the yard next door.
It was quite large and no question at all, a hawk.
So we run to the back yard and there are no chickens anywhere, I find one group in their coop all huddling in a corner together.
I do a head count and all are accounted for.
So I run to the next coop and I find that group huddling in a corner as well but and I am missing three.
I didn't think a hawk could grab 3 hens that quickly so I started looking for them in the yard.
I found then hiding under a wheelbarrow.
Here is what I am wondering what they were doing.
As we carried them back to the coop each one did this same thing with her head.
She bobbed her head back and forth from side to side.
They weren't trying to squirm out of our arms or anything but they kept bobbing their heads like that sort of urgently.
It was from side to side like when people on talk shows do when they are mad and they say "oh no you didn't".
Sorry, thats the only way I know how to describe it.
It looked like the hens were saying "Oh I know you didn't just swoop down here like that, oh no you didn't. You get your sorry butt outta here right now"
Or maybe I am reading too much into this?!
Yeah they were all tough after I got them out from hiding under the wheelbarrow and as I carried them to saftey.
Is it some sort of code, warning, language to the others, or just a response, etc.
Anyway, I know I have never seen them do this before and all three did it as we carried them to the coop so we are curious if anyone knows what it means, if anything.
They all scattered around the yard happy to be out as usual.
My husband was in the driveway and I went in the house to get a sweater.
A minute later my husband starts yelling for me to come out front.
He sees a hawk flying from tree to tree in the yard next door.
It was quite large and no question at all, a hawk.
So we run to the back yard and there are no chickens anywhere, I find one group in their coop all huddling in a corner together.
I do a head count and all are accounted for.
So I run to the next coop and I find that group huddling in a corner as well but and I am missing three.
I didn't think a hawk could grab 3 hens that quickly so I started looking for them in the yard.
I found then hiding under a wheelbarrow.
Here is what I am wondering what they were doing.
As we carried them back to the coop each one did this same thing with her head.
She bobbed her head back and forth from side to side.
They weren't trying to squirm out of our arms or anything but they kept bobbing their heads like that sort of urgently.
It was from side to side like when people on talk shows do when they are mad and they say "oh no you didn't".
Sorry, thats the only way I know how to describe it.
It looked like the hens were saying "Oh I know you didn't just swoop down here like that, oh no you didn't. You get your sorry butt outta here right now"
Or maybe I am reading too much into this?!
Yeah they were all tough after I got them out from hiding under the wheelbarrow and as I carried them to saftey.
Is it some sort of code, warning, language to the others, or just a response, etc.
Anyway, I know I have never seen them do this before and all three did it as we carried them to the coop so we are curious if anyone knows what it means, if anything.
