Red tail hawks

[Reno]

I live in NWI....anyone else having problems with Red tail hawks ? I've had 2 hens killed in 6 mos. I no longer let them free roam unless I'm in the yard. Lots of hawks out here so be aware , they are very cunning. Coopers hawk comes around too .

 

[BirdLeaf]

We have a lot of hawks here in Colorado, they seem to be deterred by my African Geese though. If it’s an option for you I highly recommend the geese, they’re great flock protectors. Beautiful pictures, I love your yard!!

 

[Reno]

We have a lot of hawks here in Colorado, they seem to be deterred by my African Geese though. If it’s an option for you I highly recommend the geese, they’re great flock protectors. Beautiful pictures, I love your yard!!

I can't keep any geese here , I'm not even supposed to have chickens but I have a large yard and my neighbors are fine with it. But yes , geese make good watch dogs !

 

[StinkyAcres]

I'm popping in to let you know that the second hawk you photographed is actually an adult Red-shouldered Hawk (notice the black and white pattern on the wings plus the orange barring on the breast). You are correct that the first is a Red-tailed Hawk (the belly band is a good ID mark). I've never had a problem with hawks...and I'm not sure why. Have you watched one kill one of your hens? How do they do it?

 

[aggiemae]

I've never lost a hen to hawks. I find that building the coop and run under trees cuts down on chick loss as well.

 

[Kathy Golla]

Are there birds living in the birdhouses in the first pic? Are those birdhouses or art? Sorry I can’t tell. If there are birds in the birdhouses those may be attracting the hawks since their normal diet are small birds.

 

[mechanic57]

I live southern NJ where it's a mix of farm land and wood land. I have lost 4 or 5 birds to hawks over the last 3 years. I consider this to be minimal considering the amount of time I let them out and how many chickens I've had over this time frame. I have a couple acres of land and I built my coop and run on the part of my property that is wooded, not on the part cleared for the house. I did this to provide shade in the hot summers and it gives them a ton of stuff to scratch and peck at. The run is fenced over the top to keep hawks and owls out. The downfall to having the run in the woods is that strong storms knock down trees or branches that can damage the fenced run which will allow predators to get in if its not fixed immediately.

A guy down the road from me lost all his chickens within several weeks because his birds were free ranging in a field with cows and no tree cover or chicken run of any kind. He won't keep chickens anymore because he said he doesn't want to spend the time/resources to build and maintain a run that will protect them from hawks. He is instead focused on cows and goats.

Like I said, I consider my losses to hawks to be minimal considering I've had approximately 60 chickens over the few years time that the 4 to 5 losses occurred. I do frequently let mine out of the run. I am no chicken or hawk expert, but I will share what I learned about chickens and hawks that let me decide when is a time to let the chickens out where there is a much lesser chance of an attack. These are my observations from my environment, as well as things I've read and learned from talking to other people. It may not work for you so don't blame me if you let your birds out and a hawk attacks one. The only way to 100% eliminate an attack is to not let them out or not raise a natural hawk food source.

1. Roosters provide a layer of protection. Despite the problems they can bring such as noisy crowing at 2 in the morning (yep, had one crow all around the clock) fighting/aggressive behavior to other roosters, pets or people (I never kept any around that were aggressive toward people) injury to hens by repeatedly attempting to mate the same hens, an alert rooster will warn the flock when a threat presents itself. It will make a very distinct pattern of sounds when threat appears and it's amazing to watch how quickly the flock will seek cover when they hear the alarm. What else is amazing is how the roosters will stand their ground and stay in the open, exposed to the threat and will fight to the death with no fear. I had 2 roosters that I named General Tso and Kung Pao. They successful fought off hawks and had no losses on their watch. Watching a flock with roosters, you'll see all the hens spend 99% of their time scratching and pecking while the roosters are spend 85% of their time watching for threats. The warning sound will also draw your attention and if you go outside, you become an additional object to ward off a potential hawk attack.

2. Hawks are lazy. Watch them circle around in the sky. They glide without flapping their wings. There is no guarantee they will eat everyday so they must conserve energy. As the sun rises and heats the earth, warm air currents are created and the hawks glide on these currents as they look for food. Around here, they glide around all morning until noon to 2PM depending on the time of year (summer, longer days, winter shorter days and less heating of the earth). Once the thermal currents stop, they will land on a tree or pole or sit there and watch over an open field and look for prey. From their perch, they can attack. Someone asked how they attack or if anyone has witnessed an attack. Hawks attack with a dive down onto the target and use their claws to pin and quickly kill with their sharp beak. They want an easy, safe kill. If they dive and miss, they won't stay on the ground and chase a target. This leads to the next point.

3. Hawks are vulnerable on the ground. It's much harder for them to kill something by chasing it down on foot. They can't run fast like other animals and they can't fight on the ground so they are much more vulnerable to counter attack by roosters, dogs, etc. They won't stay on the ground if a human presents themselves. If they do make a kill, depending on the size of a chicken, they may carry it off, but typically they won't go too far with a full grown chicken. They usually will pull the feathers and eat the meat right there. You'll find the remains of a hawk victim are usually head, feet, back with insides removed, all in a pile of feathers. There will be a single victim, unlike an attack from a fox or other ground based predator that produces multiple kills in one visit. Pay attention to your environment and let the chickens out during times of the day when there is less active hawk activity to reduce chance of an attack. As a side note, of the losses I did have, most were white leghorns. It is a just a theory of mine that a pure snow white chicken is way easier to see from the sky versus the brown, black or more subdued colors of other breeds of chickens.

4. Hawks return to the scene of the crime. If you lose a chicken to a hawk, it will most likely come back the next day for another meal. Nearly all predators do this. When I lost a bird, I would not let the rest of the flock out of the run for 2 weeks or so. Sometimes I would go outside and find the hawk perched in a tree waiting. As I walked around the yard, I'd watch it fly to another tree just a bit further away as I walked around the property, but it was staying close enough to stalk the area where my chickens roam. As with most predators, hawks will stalk grounds where they've had kills. Keep the chickens in until the hawk is convinced to look elsewhere for food.

5. Hawks avoid getting close to human activity. Hawks know they are vulnerable on the ground. They have to eat a chicken on the ground since most hawks are not big enough to fly off with a full grown chicken. If you are outside doing yard work, kids are actively playing, dogs are actively moving about, etc., hawks will stay away from chickens that are roaming that area. The key word is activity. If you are sitting in a lounge chair reading a book, you're not moving and its possible a hawk will swoop onto a bird 30 feet away from you. If you want your presence to deter hawks, you have to be actively doing things. Sun-tanning or reading a book in a deck chair does not count. Movement lets them see you and they won't waste the energy to make a kill if something is close by that can take their kill before they had a chance to eat it themselves.

6. Cover. Chickens will see hawks coming in from above. Roosters are much more alert to them, but a flock of all hens will see them too. Hens can make a noise to alert others of danger, but it is nothing close to the sound a rooster makes. The flock response will be the same if a hen makes a danger call. The flock will scatter to the first available cover. If you will let the chickens roam while nobody is outside (at some point you will most likely as we can't be outside with them every minute) consider what is available to them for cover where you let your flock roam. They will get under bushes, decks, trampolines, trucks/SUVs, and utility trailers.

I think that by understanding the behavior patterns of hawks, how they hunt and what deters them, as well as remembering that chickens are not near the top of the food chain, we can effectively provide protections for the ones we are raising to increase their chance of survival and minimize the losses to predators.

 

[Kathy Golla]

This post is really great. I’ve unfortunately had to become a bit of a hawk expert too. My flock has supervised freeranging. I’m interested in more clarification about your #2. What times of the day do you feel are safer? I’ve heard after 5 pm but we see hawks circling in the air in CA at 5 still.

 

[Reno]

I'm popping in to let you know that the second hawk you photographed is actually an adult Red-shouldered Hawk (notice the black and white pattern on the wings plus the orange barring on the breast). You are correct that the first is a Red-tailed Hawk (the belly band is a good ID mark). I've never had a problem with hawks...and I'm not sure why. Have you watched one kill one of your hens? How do they do it?

The 1st chicken was killed by a large Red tail hawk , she just swooped down and landed on the hens back , by the time I heard the commotion the hawk took her up to a tree branch , laid the hen on it's back and proceeded to rip her apart. The 2nd hawk attack was from a slightly smaller red-tail , probably a male since they are smaller than the females , it landed on the back of my big Brahma hen and clamped on until it was dead. When I saw it on the hens back it was too late ,she was already dead and her back was stripped of meat. She was too big for the hawk to carry away.

 

[Reno]

This post is really great. I’ve unfortunately had to become a bit of a hawk expert too. My flock has supervised freeranging. I’m interested in more clarification about your #2. What times of the day do you feel are safer? I’ve heard after 5 pm but we see hawks circling in the air in CA at 5 still.

All I know is most of the attacks happened in the early evening , about 5 to 7 pm. But I've seen them hanging around mid day as well.