!#*% ! Red Tailed Hawk

[Whimsy]

Yesterday my husband walked out of the garage the same instant he heard a hawk scream. He looked quickly to the yard and to his amazement Peony one of our Bantam was flying through the air at about 30 feet!!!! She hit the ground and scurried under a cedar tree with the other chickens. All we can think is that the hawk had her, but lost his grip????? I checked her and there was not one feather out of place. She did have a shell less egg this morning though.

 

[Frannabelle]

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That poor hen!
Tomorrow I am going to have to do some hawk deterring....I have an open yard and my chicken run is just too big to net. I'm thinking I'll string some fishing line back and forth and hang cd's up to create a (hopefully) scary flashy type thing. My cousin suggested maybe some kind of scarecrow....maybe I'll try it.
I'm so worried this darn hawk will keep coming, why not right? It's a pretty easy meal....
I've known a hawk has been around, but up until today, the blue jays and crows have always alerted me. I guess this sly raptor came in under everyone's radar....

 

[tomingreeneco]

You hit the nail on the head with blue jays. Put out some shelled unsalted peanuts for them in the morning and early evening to keep them around the yard. They are great birds for warning others about a hawk. The ones in our yard squawk every morning until my wife brings out the peanuts for them. LOL She has them trained pretty well.

 

[Chic-Zebo Girl]

So very sorry for your loss. Just dreadful and wrong! She was so very cute in that pic. you must miss her horribly.

I encountered the same Hawk here in Michigan, except it was morning. I was out in the yard doing some work when all of a sudden I saw the hawk on the ground in the run. Stupid me - never covered the run. I was a raving maniac yelling "run chickens run" and screaming at the hawk to "get out of here" !

Girls and roo escaped by diving under the coop and one under a small pine - So Thankful! I stood guard and escourted the hen under the tree to the coop. The darn hawk stayed in a tree for what seemed like an eternity and finally flew off. Wow did my protective instincts come out!!

Needless to say, the run is covered in netting now; hopefully that will be sufficient.

 

[LyonFuzz]

Perchville, maybe try putting some old CDs with shiny side up on your fencing, coop, and even hang them from the trees. Since I've done this, I haven't had any hawk scares....knock on wood. They don't like the light reflection they give off. Sorry about the loss of your pretty hen

 

[Tdub4chiks]

I'm so sorry for your loss. That is such an adorable picture. She will never be forgotten.

 

[Liamm_1]

Pretty Hen, sorry for your loss!
We have Red Tails around here also, and I see them in the air occassionally. My 6 chickens are usually pretty good at spotting larger birds in the air and running for cover. I had assumed that since mine were no longer little chicks, they were safe from hawks. They are 2 months old now, and I see that I was mistaken in that belief. Now I'll be even more worried

 

[Frannabelle]

Thank you all so much for the kind words....

Today I am stringing up old cd's as suggested. I don't know how else to deter hawks. My coop run is just too big for netting. As I previously posted, the crows and jays usually tell me. I'm going to have to have a talk with them about being more vigilant!

My poor flock would not come out of there coop house this morning. My Roo came out about 1/2 hour ago, and the girls followed him. My hen's babies have been accepted by broody hen, she's a buff bantam cochin. I am so happy she took them in. Even though the chicks are 5 weeks, they were cheeping so loud for their Mama, so that's why I tried to give them to a new Mama.

I'll take a pic of them this afternoon and post.

You are all so nice out there!

 

[Frannabelle]

**UPDATE**
My Buff Cochin bantam hen took over the Mama job so completely, she just took them like she hatched them out herself. The babies were a bit confused the first day or so, still looking for their original mother, but now, they follow her around and let her do all the mothering.
I also got a hold of about 200 yards of netting and covered my run, so no more hawks!

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[MMPoultryFarms]

Wonderful news.