Poor Ginger

[Zigmont]

Today I went to snack the girls and saw what I thought was a grey bird struggling to get through the aviary netting. The girls were in the coop hiding and checked and only had seven of eight. I knew then that I had a dead chicken.

I checked the coop and found that a rail had become loose and a hole of about six inches across was exposed, but there were small branches all around, hiding it from my view, until I looked for it.

will a falcon really fly into such a small hole to kill a chicken, or should I be looking for another breach? I looked everywhere, but found nothing else. I’m afraid to let them out, even though we fixed the hole.

 

[Geena]

 

[Weeg]

You said you saw a grey bird? What bird was that? Was it a chicken, or bird of prey? Or did it fly away before you got to see it? Birds of prey will take any chance they can get to eat a chicken. If they can fit through the opening, they'll go for it.

 

[Chickeria]

I'm so sorry for your little Ginger and for you to have lost her
My friend recently lost a young rooster exactly the same way. The netting made a little u-shape at one spot directly at the outer wall of his coop (big like a hut) were it normally was attached to and he hadn't seen it because it was a small spot and there were branches. In his case it was a hawk. The video Geena posted shows very well that and how it is possible for those birds to find their way in.

 

[Weeg]

You can out up bird scares. But closing all the openings, not letting birds out for a while is your best bet.

 

[theoldchick]

 

[bhawk-23]

I'm so sorry

 

[cmom]

I had a Red Tail squeeze through an opening in my netting that covers my pens. I had the sections fasten together with zip ties and eventually they deteriorated and left a rather small gap and the hawk went in and went on a killing spree. I was away on an appointment and errands and when I got home discovered the carnage. I got the hawk out and retrieved the bodies. I did replace all of the zip ties with metal hog rings. Live and learn. I also have several game cameras up on my property. I was surprised at the predators that roam around here especially at night. Good luck.

 

[Zigmont]

You said you saw a grey bird? What bird was that? Was it a chicken, or bird of prey? Or did it fly away before you got to see it? Birds of prey will take any chance they can get to eat a chicken. If they can fit through the opening, they'll go for it.

After doing some research, I think it was a make Cooper’s hawk or a Sharpie. They are both small enough to fit through the small opening I saw, and both have gray feathers on their backs and tail. I saw a gray bird struggling to get through the top of the netting, but thought it was a dove. I’m just the few seconds, it took for me to realize the girls were hiding in the coop, it was gone, and my girl was dead.

 

[Offshoreorca]

I'm sorry to hear about Ginger Hawks don't typically go through these small holes, but they will if they are hungry and desperate. This year has been a particularly bad year for prey in eastern Canada so the risk is much higher for desperate hawks (especially juveniles who don't always have the skill of the adults) to be looking for easy pickings. Hang some CDs around (hawks don't like the flashing) and fix up the hole. If it comes back, it isn't too hard to scare them off without anybody getting hurt.