Scared to DEATH!!

[chickens4jojo]

I am so sorry about your loss~~I had no idea that fear alone could kill an animal like that....

The only experience I have had with a hawk was when I was outside working in the yard with my full-grown Ameraucanas wandering near me.

A hawk flew down to try to grab one, but it was able to get away on its own thankfully. The hawk flew up to the wires behind our house. It just sat there looking down on us for quite a while.

I flapped "my wings!!" to try to scare it off & it flew away. It has not returned so far that I know about.....

I couldn't believe it would even try with a full grown chicken & with me outside nearby!!

 

[Their Other Mother]

Quote:
My son watched the whole terrible mess. The goose was only 5 or 6 weeks old and didn't even have all his feathers. The hawk had about a 4 foot wing span. I had just fed all the chickens about 2 hours earlier and everyone was fine.

 

[rooster-red]

Sorry for your loss.

 

[doodledoo]

Sorry about your loss. My hubby picked up one of our quail one day and held it a few minutes - when he put it back it fell over dead (I guess from fear). Strangest thing I had ever seen with them.

 

[DDRanch]

I am so sorry for your loss. Such an awful thing for your child to have witnessed.

Anne

 

[Wolf-Kim]

Oh, that's aweful. I'm sorry the goose is dead.

Maybe you can get one of those plastic owls and sit it on the cage inside the barn. That way the next time the hawk swoops into the barn and lands on the cage, you'll give the hawk a fright!

-Kim

 

[ivan3]

Sorry about your loss.

Yes, the turkeys dropping dead during an earthquake was probably accurate. Chooks will usually go into what is called tonic immobility (literally, paralyzed by `fear') and if the stress is intense enough/sustained will die of cardiac arrest. We had a Gold Sex Link pullet grabbed up by a fox while we were nearby. I chased it into a tangle of multifloral rose and it dropped the girl. She ran up the hillside and dropped over as if struck by lightning. Thinking the pullet was dead I dealt with the fox. When I returned to gather up the remains, she was no where to be found! After a more thorough search, she was discovered with the rest of the flock (needed four stitches but otherwise O.K.). Had the fox held on for just a moment longer I expect she would have been dead of fear instead of merely paralyzed.

The same thing, moderated by the same hormones, can, and does, occur in humans.

 

[Their Other Mother]

Quote:
That's what My DH recomended we do. Another item added to his Honey-do list! We have real owls around here too but never see them in the daylight.

I still can't believe how attached we were to that silly little guy. DH & I sat by the coop this morning with our coffee for about an hour just watching the rest of the chickens peck & the duckling splash around in his pool. A perfect way to start the day!

 

[Their Other Mother]

Quote:
People think I'm nuts when I relay this story. Thanks for confirming it. There is just no other possibility.

 

[Daisymay]

I am so sorry for your loss. You might try hanging a row of CDs dangling from fishing line just inside your bard door above head bonking level. They make this mylar fringe that comes in adifferent lengths for parties. Its shiney and waves with the wind. A row of this on the entrance may deter a hawk. Plus, it comes in different colors so you could mach it to your barn to decrease the tacky factor.

You might also extend the posts on your pen and hang shiney streamers from them around the top. Things like these are a least proactive and will make you feel better and hopefully they will work. I bet your kid could help come up with ideas too and help set something up.

I have noticed that the raptors around here seem to patrol around the same time a day. We are keeping a log and trying to be a presence when they are most likely around.

Best of luck!