What kind of predator?

[Nekatlla]

Today when I let my Chickens out they were acting very funny, usually they are stepping all over each other to get out and free range. They do have a 4 foot fence that covers roughly 1000 square feet but no over head cover except under the coop, in a small enclosure and some pines that they like to be under. Any way they finally came out and immediately ran over to the trees and then back to the coop and stayed underneath. I looked around but didn't see any hawks and had to get to work. When I came home everyone was still there and seemed fine but there was a pile of feathers in the middle of the yard. When I inspected the 2 birds with that color feathers the one had a bald patch on her back almost right where they go bald from mating (but I don't have any roosters) and a long scratch from left front to right rear long is about 3-4 inches. not very deep but the feathers were definitely pulled out. I'm going to put out cams but was wondering what I should do in the mean time. I really don't want to loose my birds they're just starting to lay. Also they've been free ranging here since they were 5 weeks old now they're 20.
Thanks for any advise and help.

 

[TwinsLoveChicks]

Can you put a cover on your run? You can get poultry netting on Amazon that is probably large enough to cover your run. If they were afraid to leave cover it was probably a hawk.

 

[Nekatlla]

Yeah I was thinking hawk I saw one early spring but haven't seen any since. Red tails are the norm here. They go after 20 week old hens? I thought once they got bigger they wouldn't get bothered by a small red tail. We are getting an upsurge in Bald Eagles lately maybe a youth. I'll look at netting.

 

[TwinsLoveChicks]

I know what you mean. I have Red Tails where I am and it seem as though they couldn't carry off an older hen, so you're probably right about an eagle.

 

[Zoomie]

Hawks will kill your chicken on the ground, and then eat it there. You are right that they can not carry it off; the chickens you describe would be too heavy for them to fly off with, but this does not stop them from killing and eating them. Even a female golden eagle, the biggest eagle here in the US, only weighs about 11 pounds. But they will still kill things too big to lift, and then just eat them on the ground.

There are a lot of young hawks out there just now, trying to learn to fend for themselves in a tough world. This sounds like an attack from a juvenile hawk. Covering your run is your best bet. Then you won't have to worry so much, at least about hawks.

 

[Nekatlla]

Hawks will kill your chicken on the ground, and then eat it there. You are right that they can not carry it off; the chickens you describe would be too heavy for them to fly off with, but this does not stop them from killing and eating them. Even a female golden eagle, the biggest eagle here in the US, only weighs about 11 pounds. But they will still kill things too big to lift, and then just eat them on the ground.

There are a lot of young hawks out there just now, trying to learn to fend for themselves in a tough world. This sounds like an attack from a juvenile hawk. Covering your run is your best bet. Then you won't have to worry so much, at least about hawks.

Thank you, I didn't think about that but was told by another local farmer that same thing. I may do the netting but we haven't seen anything in a few days now and the girls are way more attentative.