Stupid Hawks

[natsimms]

I have lost another chicken to a hawk. This time it was our Olive Egger, Kristoff. Interesting thing is that shortly after the attack I couldn't find any of the other chickens. They had all hidden themselves, mostly digging themselves up under a fallen tree. Once I did find them, I had to pull them out of their hiding spots by hand. Even then they were so scared they wouldn't wander back to the coop, so I had to carry each one (except the rooster) back to the coop by hand. Is this normal? If I hadn't carried them would they have eventually gotten over it and went back to the coop for the night?

Also, I hate hawks. I would feel a little better if they would at least eat the chicken. They just keep ripping the heads off and flying away. What a waste!!! Other than shooting the hawk, are there any strategies for trapping or eliminating him?

 

[natsimms]

I have lost another chicken to a hawk. This time it was our Olive Egger, Kristoff. Interesting thing is that shortly after the attack I couldn't find any of the other chickens. They had all hidden themselves, mostly digging themselves up under a fallen tree. Once I did find them, I had to pull them out of their hiding spots by hand. Even then they were so scared they wouldn't wander back to the coop, so I had to carry each one (except the rooster) back to the coop by hand. Is this normal? If I hadn't carried them would they have eventually gotten over it and went back to the coop for the night?

Also, I hate hawks. I would feel a little better if they would at least eat the chicken. They just keep ripping the heads off and flying away. What a waste!!! Other than shooting the hawk, are there any strategies for trapping or eliminating him?
View attachment 1202449

 

[ChellesChicks]

I have lost another chicken to a hawk. This time it was our Olive Egger, Kristoff. Interesting thing is that shortly after the attack I couldn't find any of the other chickens. They had all hidden themselves, mostly digging themselves up under a fallen tree. Once I did find them, I had to pull them out of their hiding spots by hand. Even then they were so scared they wouldn't wander back to the coop, so I had to carry each one (except the rooster) back to the coop by hand. Is this normal? If I hadn't carried them would they have eventually gotten over it and went back to the coop for the night?

Also, I hate hawks. I would feel a little better if they would at least eat the chicken. They just keep ripping the heads off and flying away. What a waste!!! Other than shooting the hawk, are there any strategies for trapping or eliminating him?

I'm so sorry to hear about the loss of your chicken. I live in an area with hawks as well. I'm planning to cover the entire run with a shade cloth so my hens aren't visible from the sky. So scary!

 

[Star and eclipsa]

Tie string over the area they are in, make sure it is easily visible to the hawk (dont pick a color of string that is the same color as the ground in that area) make sure that there are no spaces more than about 1 and 1/2 feet wide and the hawk won't want to try and fly down and risk getting tangled up in string. That is what a friend of mine did because her chicken run doesn't have a roof. So far it has worked great. She hasn't lost a chicken to a hawk since she did that. I dont need to do it because my run has a top part to keep sky predators away.

 

[natsimms]

Tie string over the area they are in, make sure it is easily visible to the hawk (dont pick a color of string that is the same color as the ground in that area) make sure that there are no spaces more than about 1 and 1/2 feet wide and the hawk won't want to try and fly down and risk getting tangled up in string. That is what a friend of mine did because her chicken run doesn't have a roof. So far it has worked great. She hasn't lost a chicken to a hawk since she did that. I dont need to do it because my run has a top part to keep sky predators away.

Thanks, that's not a bad suggestion. I have been letting them free range during the day, but I am going to stop that for a while. I have an old dog kennel that is pretty large, but doesn't have a roof. I was thinking of getting some replacement chickens but didn't want to add them straight to the coop to protect against illness. This may let me keep them in the dog pen without having to find a roof.

 

[Tre Farms]

Hi-
We just had a chicken attacked by a hawk. She lost an eye and was in pretty bad shape for about 24 hours, but she seemed to be recovering. We can't get her to eat or drink though, and I don't know how long she can go without food/water. Any ideas on how to help her?

 

[Star and eclipsa]

This is the first time that i have actually been able to help someone, instead of other people helping me. I hope you don't lose anymore chickens to those hawks.

 

[Star and eclipsa]

Hi-
We just had a chicken attacked by a hawk. She lost an eye and was in pretty bad shape for about 24 hours, but she seemed to be recovering. We can't get her to eat or drink though, and I don't know how long she can go without food/water. Any ideas on how to help her?

Take her to a vet

 

[Elizabeth Hasse]

I have lost another chicken to a hawk. This time it was our Olive Egger, Kristoff. Interesting thing is that shortly after the attack I couldn't find any of the other chickens. They had all hidden themselves, mostly digging themselves up under a fallen tree. Once I did find them, I had to pull them out of their hiding spots by hand. Even then they were so scared they wouldn't wander back to the coop, so I had to carry each one (except the rooster) back to the coop by hand. Is this normal? If I hadn't carried them would they have eventually gotten over it and went back to the coop for the night?

Also, I hate hawks. I would feel a little better if they would at least eat the chicken. They just keep ripping the heads off and flying away. What a waste!!! Other than shooting the hawk, are there any strategies for trapping or eliminating him?
View attachment 1202449

Yes, it's very normal for chickens to hide, even up to a couple hours, after a hawk attack. we found that using scarecrows (even very crude ones ) or pinwheels deter hawks from your coop.
I have never met a hawk that ate a chicken on spot. but our nest of resident hawks (very considerate in eating all our rabbits, groundhogs, and squirrels) kill their food and come back for it when the coast is clear.

 

[orrpeople]

First, I am so sorry for your loss!! Losing a chicken is no fun!
The problem with hawks is that they are a protected species. It is illegal to shoot them. We have problems with hawks here, as well, so all I can do is give you my two cents worth and wish you the very best of luck with your chooks. The first thing is to have a lot of hiding places - shrubs, low trees, etc. If you don't have natural protection, you may have to construct some. Folks use pallets or other structures to create hiding spots.
Depending upon the size of the lot, some have successfully used orchard netting overhead. I have one run with very little cover, so I have netted it. So far, so good.
I also went through a phase of stringing fishing line all across the more exposed areas on our land. The jury is out on how effective that really was.
The best protection, besides good cover for them, is having a good rooster. It sounds like you had one, because he got his girls to cover and then sacrificed himself for them. We had a lot of hawk activity here, today. Every time I heard a ruckus outside, I would go see what was what. Every time, the girls were all hidden and the boys (with one exception - he's a scaredy roo) were standing on the edge of the shrubs and trees crowing for all their worth. I don't know how many hens you have, but if you have 10 or more, you might want to have more than one rooster - they really do help.