Red tail hawks are toying with me and terrorizing my flock!

[chickietutu]

I’ve lost some chickens to hawks. The chickens are free range and there are lots of wild chickens around too. It’s amazing how they sense when hawks are around. Sometimes I’ll see them hiding and I’ll see hawks way, way up circling, hunting. I did shoot one once with a paint ball gun when it had one of my favorite Polish chickens pinned on the ground. It flew away but didn’t seem very impressed. . I thought my chicken was dead but she was OK.

 

[Miks]

I’ve lost some chickens to hawks. The chickens are free range and there are lots of wild chickens around too. It’s amazing how they sense when hawks are around. Sometimes I’ll see them hiding and I’ll see hawks way, way up circling, hunting. I did shoot one once with a paint ball gun when it had one of my favorite Polish chickens pinned on the ground. It flew away but didn’t seem very impressed. . I thought my chicken was dead but she was OK.

I’ve seen mine also looking up at the sky. They usually run closer to me but I have one that jumps under the trees. It seems they hunt around noon so we let them out to free range around us in the morning and have them up before noon. Another person posted they see them in the morning and wait until later in the day. I guess it depends on your location. I’m glad your polish hen was okay!

 

[Folly's place]

I think that varying the time of day when the flock goes out to free range helps deter predators, at least a bit. If possible, having a rigid schedule of daily free time is best avoided, to make predators have to work a little harder to get a chicken dinner.
Mary

 

[Miks]

QUOTE="Folly's place, post: 21947949, member: 106492"]I think that varying the time of day when the flock goes out to free range helps deter predators, at least a bit. If possible, having a rigid schedule of daily free time is best avoided, to make predators have to work a little harder to get a chicken dinner.
Mary[/QUOTE]
Ohhh! I really like that plan! As long as they aren’t circling above during the change in plans!

 

[Folly's place]

I look around a bit before releasing my flock, and if I actually see a hawk watching the coop, they stay inside. Nearly never does that actually happen...
Mary

 

[Miks]

So how are you all surviving predators during this time when most hens are molting? Do you still offer opportunities to free range, or do you keep them penned due to less foliage and decreased hours of sunlight?

 

[Chickassan]

Same as ever here, ranging on an acre out out sunrise and in bed at sunset.
Hens are molting, hawks are migrating and the roosters are doing their jobs magnificently as a team telling the ladies to seek cover and sounding the alarms to summon the cranky food woman outside to flail at the trees like an idiot.
We have a schedule.

So how are you all surviving predators during this time when most hens are molting? Do you still offer opportunities to free range, or do you keep them penned due to less foliage and decreased hours of sunlight?

 

[Miks]

So wonderful the hawks are migrating for you! Our foliage has fallen so there is much less foliage for them to hide. A clear determinant as to whether or not time out will happen. I had a bold hawk sitting on the fence eyeballing the chicken palace! Look on hawk, as they are safe from you!

 

[Chickassan]

Semi wonderful actually, they are migrating but that does not stop them from stopping by to hang out in the trees to scope out the buffet...aka my fat chickens.

So wonderful the hawks are migrating for you! Our foliage has fallen so there is much less foliage for them to hide. A clear determinant as to whether or not time out will happen. I had a bold hawk sitting on the fence eyeballing the chicken palace! Look on hawk, as they are safe from you!

 

[hugho]

I sympathize with your problems but I think it's highly unlikely those flocking hawks are redtails who tend to be solitary or occasionally a few. WE have big redtails here in wyoming as well as bald eagles and golden eagles and we have had them fly low over our rather large flock but those big raptors can't maneuver in small clearings with trees and bushes but The owls are different issue. They are dead silent and slow and take our ducks and chickens on occasion. We lost all our guineas a few years back to their night attacks. We have barn and great horned owls in the neighborhood. No one should be killing these valuable predators no matter what threat they cause to our flocks. Better to protect the chickens by the usual means. Chickens in big open clearings are toast. We have 2 alert roosters who keep a constant lookout and they do a superb job. Our real problem are raccoons. Last winter we lost 13 chickens in a single night which is the modus operandi of raccoons and wild dogs, Even foxes and coyotes only take one chicken at a time. Our flock includes a large number of rare and endangered Icelandic chickens and losing even one would be a tragedy but they are very hardy and fly like grouse and roost in trees. We have yet to lose an Icelandic to a raptor. Our fish and game folks would never issue permission to kill a raptor. Leave the raptors alone.