Sharp Shinned Hawk is Lurking...

[KerriChick]

I haven't seen any since that incident, I do believe most are moving through the area and not permanent residents. We have had a lot of smoke from the fires so I think that may be messing up normal behavior for all raptors in the area. The red tails and kites that live here tend to nest in our neighborhood and move out to more open areas near us the rest of the year. Keeping the tarp on the enclosure and also keeping a close eye on the chooks, but so far everything looks better. Our area is pretty heavily populated and suburban, our property is about 7500 sq. ft. with 6+ ft wood panel fencing and lots of hiding spots. I will keep a close eye on the skies this week(I am always home) and keep them penned if I notice any activity.

 

[KerriChick]

Saw the culprit this morning! It was sitting in the very top of our tall redwood in the front yard, watching the chickens in the back yard. I penned them and it flew off. Seems to come at the same time of day so I will be extra vigilant during these morning hours, Chickens are staying in their pen/coop longer anyway now because of the cool morning weather and all are laying age and in and out of the coop, so I will just make sure morning yard time is supervised.

 

[Fcarter]

Yesterday we had what I think is a Sharp Shinned hawk dive for our Brahma! There was a huge racket and they all ran and hid(they have a covered run that is more like a pen with a tarp over the top that is not completely enclosed, but I cover the gaps and it is pretty highly hawk resistant-the hawk would have to sneak in through a tiny hole). The pullet got away ok and no chickens were harmed(just deeply rattled), but now I'm worried that the hawk will return. Hopefully it is just moving through the area. The red tails and bigger hawks we have seem to not be brave enough to come into our yard, as it is tough to navigate-we have string lights and shade sails over part of the yard, and lots of places for hiding chickens. We also have Kites but they are generally not a threat to grown chickens.

Our pullets are 26 weeks and none of them are small breeds-guessing they are all at least 5-6 pounds and still growing, so they could be killed on the ground by a small hawk but not likely carried away. I am always home and hear everything so hoping we can avoid any mishaps with supervision during free ranging.

They get very loud when I don't let them free range for at least part of the day on our grass patch-do any of you have any deterrent suggestions beyond the shiny ribbons/cds?

I use predator tape around my area. It's shiny like a CD and flaps in a breeze. Have had no problems using it. Predators fly right by. Get it from Amazon.