Hello BYCers. I had a problem today with a hawk. I've never had hawk problems with the three years I've had my chickens. Or so I believe it's a hawk. I was out all morning until around maybe 3PM or 4PM, but my parents and little brother were home. My father checked for eggs before coming to meet me and a friend for lunch and he saw our hen Sienna (Was a beautiful Partridge Cochin hen...) but when we returned I went out to check on my chickens (Our rooster is handicapped so I help him around the yard on nice days) and there was a huge pile of feathers, which were my Enna's silky soft, shimmery, iridescent feathers.. those were the only trace left of her. There wasn't any skin or meat on the feathers and no carcass laying around. I know when hawks attack they pretty much swoop and dive bomb it's pray, and with birds the feathers practically explode off of the bird, so we assumed it was a hawk. Although Enna was on the smaller side, would a hawk be able to carry her away? This is what's making us question if it's a hawk or something else that got her, as we have a black coyote roaming our woods now. But if it were a hawk, OR, the coyote wouldn't there be some sort of carcass or meat left somewhere?
Another question I have is about building a run. (I have our remaining girls and Roo in their coop until I can put up a temporary covered run) I want to maybe have a mobile run so I can move it around, that way they'll always have a place to forage. The thing is, I have 19 chickens... so that's a lot to make a mobile run for. Does anyone have any tips or ideas for a run, or something else we can do? We are going to move our coop to a different place in our yard so that our dogs can get to it to protect the chickens a little more, all three of our dogs get along with everybody at my farm (Two German Shepherds and a Dogue De Bordeax, which is a type of french mastiff, so they can protect them without a problem) I live on 27 acres, and most of it is forest, but we have a lot of cleared yard space. So as far as room for a run isn't a problem, but structural is where we're a little stumped, stuff can be expensive and add up quickly with a project like this.
Thanks for all the help you guys have given me!
~Emily
Another question I have is about building a run. (I have our remaining girls and Roo in their coop until I can put up a temporary covered run) I want to maybe have a mobile run so I can move it around, that way they'll always have a place to forage. The thing is, I have 19 chickens... so that's a lot to make a mobile run for. Does anyone have any tips or ideas for a run, or something else we can do? We are going to move our coop to a different place in our yard so that our dogs can get to it to protect the chickens a little more, all three of our dogs get along with everybody at my farm (Two German Shepherds and a Dogue De Bordeax, which is a type of french mastiff, so they can protect them without a problem) I live on 27 acres, and most of it is forest, but we have a lot of cleared yard space. So as far as room for a run isn't a problem, but structural is where we're a little stumped, stuff can be expensive and add up quickly with a project like this.
Thanks for all the help you guys have given me!
~Emily
I know how devastating and heartbreaking it is to see this kind of thing. 
) so the hawks would fill themselves up on tweedys then leave and go about their own business and sit in a tree, Sienna was a full grown hen, and was laying too 
