We lost our first chicken to a Hawk

[Tia Z.]

I'm curious about hawk attacks too! I've lost two chickens with not a trace or even a feather left behind. I've had a neighbor's dog get two chickens as well and so I know what THAT kind of attack looks like (subsequently they got to see what our gun looks like just in case their dog got loose again). But I wonder, is it an air predator that would leave no trace of a chicken, and can a hawk really carry off with a 10 pound chicken?!

 

[ADozenGirlz]

Big Red's Mom :

What kind of Hawk is that? We have Red Tail and Red shoulder and they have never gotten a chick or chicken on our place. Mine are in a coop at night and free range when we are home. Not always outside with them. We have a pair of nesting Red shoulder hawks in the same area. No problems so far....So sorry for your losses. Great pictures of the Hawk.

It's a juvenile, red-tailed hawk. Looks mean, doesn't he?​

 

[ADozenGirlz]

Quote:
The top of our run is covered in a plastic mesh netting, which is adequate protection against birds of prey (as well as much less expensive and much easier to work with!).