Relentless Hawk...Help!!

[themadchicken]

Maybe get a airsoft gun. It shouldn't kill it but it should learn from pain.

 

[centrarchid]

I'm sorry about the silkie! I hope she gets better. I know what you mean, when things kill your animals the guns come out. My Khaki Campbell ducks were killed a month ago by something and we stayed out all night with a shotgun waiting for the dang thing. It didn't come but it doesn't matter... when it does it won't be here for long...

Something learned from experience is that your time has value. Consider how long it takes to upgrade your coop / run system and compare that to time spent waiting outside for predator. In many intances a single partial night of stalking cost more than hour or two required to do a modest amount of construction work required to keep predator away from your birds. Even though you may bag predator everytime you setup for night time wait, you are more likely than not going to loose a bird or two before figuring it is time to waite out again for the replacement predator. If you waite outside to figure out how predator is causing losses then that can be time well spent. Otherwise you are simply being a little trigger happy and still loosing birds in process.

 

[centrarchid]

Some breeds of chickens simply are not suited for free-range keeping. Silkies are at top of that list. Keeping such as you are, you might as well be tying the little buggers to a string on a post in the middle of a large feild and then getting mad when hawk or even large grasshopper comes through and gets a very easy meal.

 

[Blarneyeggs]

Gardenin, Oh NO! I know how much ou love that Silkie! I'm so sorry.

I have been free ranging while preparing for the storm as well, I actually thought the storm had scared the hawks away as I haven't seen any in days. Now I know I'm wrong!

My personal opinion is that I'd rather not have chooks than not free range, I support your decision to free range when you can.

 

[Gardeningmama]

Centrarchid: Thanks so much for your input. I knew the Silkies shouldn't be out, but I was hoping to sneak them by that hawk. Lesson learned, I guess.
Blarney: Thank you, and Here's Hoping all of our babies are safe from Frankenstorm!! God help us all, and the Chooks Too!!!.

 

[Gardeningmama]

Update: It's been a long Stinky, Messy Week, but I think Clarabell is out of the woods. This morning she was up, spirited, and ravenous. I don't know what got into her, but it's like she just decided today that she was all better. Still treating the eye, and not sure it's even there, but treating the infection none the less. YAY, she made it!!!

I will still continue to let them out with supervision and a gun, but not Clarabell & Valentine. They're gonna have to live happily ever after in the run.....

 

[Blarneyeggs]

This is great news Gardenin!

 

[Gardeningmama]

Today Clarabell opened her eye, just a bit, and it's there. I think it's light sensitive because she kept shutting it again, but light sensitive means she can see!!!

. The eye is normal color, and perfectly smooth. Nothing of what I had braced myself for. Can I say that God is Good? Even the little chickens matter to him, (we do still have to have a talk about that hawk, though).

 

[aoxa]

Today Clarabell opened her eye, just a bit, and it's there. I think it's light sensitive because she kept shutting it again, but light sensitive means she can see!!! . The eye is normal color, and perfectly smooth. Nothing of what I had braced myself for. Can I say that God is Good? Even the little chickens matter to him, (we do still have to have a talk about that hawk, though).

 

So glad to hear this

A goshawk got a hold of my sizzle last week, picked him up.. dropped him and was scared off by my FIL. Rooster is remarkably unscathed. We call him Lucky now, and he is not visually missing any feathers, though there were a lot of them where it happened.

My silkies are all penned up since. They can't see above them, making them easy targets. Silkies don't care for free ranging anyway. They don't go more than 10-20 feet from the barn. I'd rather them be penned and safe than dead. However, all my other birds free range with no issues. They can see the predators coming, and find cover before it happens.

 

[Gardeningmama]

So glad to hear this

A goshawk got a hold of my sizzle last week, picked him up.. dropped him and was scared off by my FIL. Rooster is remarkably unscathed. We call him Lucky now, and he is not visually missing any feathers, though there were a lot of them where it happened.
My silkies are all penned up since. They can't see above them, making them easy targets. Silkies don't care for free ranging anyway. They don't go more than 10-20 feet from the barn. I'd rather them be penned and safe than dead. However, all my other birds free range with no issues. They can see the predators coming, and find cover before it happens.

Yeah, this is what I've been doing now too, which is causing a little trouble as I have to keep the run shut now, and so daytime access to the coop for everyone else. Gonna have to devise a plan B soon.