I was dealing with a red tail a few months ago, but now a pair of red-shoulders have moved in. They too are somewhat close, nesting maybe 700+ feet away from my small yard in some branchy woods. I'm pretty sure they have young by now. Luckily, they have completley ignored my 10 week old chicks. They seem to prefer the big fat squirrels around here as aposed to birds. I don't have much security from hawks, but with a few shiny mirrors hanging from a tree, plenty of cover, and an open patio the chicks can run too when scared, I'm pretty sure mine are just fine. Not to mention they are very wary of things in the sky and run under a bush whenever the see a bird larger than a blue jay. I doubt a WELL FED red shouldered hawk would attempt to kill and eat and full grown SF or LF chicken, bantams possibly. I've seen them 10 feet away while taking walks around my neighborhood, they aren't very big. Maybe 1-2 pounds? 1 1/2 - 2 feet tall? Definately not a huge hawk...but none the less. It's a hawk. A starving one feeding young probably wouldn't hesitate taking on a 5 pound chicken. Better safe than sorry. So find some way to protect the chickens, I always found feeding the crows, grackles, and jays help keep the hawks at bay. Hanging a few shiny objects in a tree won't hurt either. Good luck!