What took my chicken? Is it going to take my ducks too?

[Miss Lydia]

No sign of foot prints in the snow makes me think a hawk, a small bantam could easily be carried off by a hawk, And they will kill ducks also but would probably have a harder time carrying one of them. We had snow and i saw coon foot prints so if a walking pred there would be prints,.
So very sorry for your loss

a hawk killed one of my cochin bantams a couple months ago.

 

[Learningstill]

UPDATE

Everyone was safe again through the night, yeah!

Just a minute ago my daughter noticed our ducks looking in the sky, so my daughter looked out the window and sure enough my daughter believes it was a hawk flying above the tree which provided shelter in their pen. By the time she called me and she through her boots on the hawk flew across the road and disappeared from sight.

I am thinking that the hawk is the culprit for sure now.


Has anyone ever seen a hawk try to take a duck? Did the duck just stand still or did it run/fly? Our goats were outside their shed when the hawk was near, so I think it may have thought it was to risky to swoop down. However, our ducks were frozen and silent right outside the shed.

Thanks everyone for the help and input. Please, if anyone else would like to share info please do. I am checking this forum often.

I will continue to add updates for anyone interested.

 

[Miss Lydia]

UPDATE

Everyone was safe again through the night, yeah!

Just a minute ago my daughter noticed our ducks looking in the sky, so my daughter looked out the window and sure enough my daughter believes it was a hawk flying above the tree which provided shelter in their pen. By the time she called me and she through her boots on the hawk flew across the road and disappeared from sight.

I am thinking that the hawk is the culprit for sure now.


Has anyone ever seen a hawk try to take a duck? Did the duck just stand still or did it run/fly? Our goats were outside their shed when the hawk was near, so I think it may have thought it was to risky to swoop down. However, our ducks were frozen and silent right outside the shed.

Thanks everyone for the help and input. Please, if anyone else would like to share info please do. I am checking this forum often.

I will continue to add updates for anyone interested.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/newsearch?search=Hawks+killing+ducks just some of the stories we have seen on here. Problem with hawks is they blend in so well in the trees, So even though your daughter saw it fly across the road doesn't mean it went far, it will bide its time till it feels it has an opportunity. When we have a hawk flying around the roosters give the warning and the chickens run fro cover, the ducks usually stand still and look up giving the hawk plenty of time to zoom in. This is what worries me about them being easy targets. Your goats maybe a deterrent but I have read about a person standing right there with the flock and a hawk swoop in they can be very bold.

 

[Amiga]

A friend just lost a runner to a hawk a couple of days ago.

 

[Learningstill]

I am sorry to hear that.

I was talking to another family who said they have never had a hawk problem until recently. I wonder why their natural food selection is more scarce than prior years.

I have been doing some extensive research and found that hawks hunt in a specific area for only a couple of weeks and then they move to another area. So, we have decided to move all the ducks and solo chicken into kennels in the basement during the day for the next couple of weeks. We will put them out at night and bring them in early morning. Hopefully this will trick the hawk into thinking there is not a food supply and move him on sooner.

We will update if this works or not.

We made this decision as the hawk continued to survey our yard. We scared him away every time he flew over our yard, but we will be gone every morning for the next week unless the kids have another snow day.


We have zero clue on providing a complete enclosure for them. If anyone would be willing to share how to do this and/or provide some photos it would be appreciated. Keep in mind it is winter, the ground is frozen, and covered with snow. We do not have a garage or pole barn, so moving them there is out of the question.

Thanks a ton!

 

[Amiga]

I think you are doing the best you can with what you have. A few days indoors is better than exposure to the risk from the hawk, in my opinion.

 

[veronicasmom]

Sounds like a good plan. I hope you are right, it does make sense. If the easy food supply disappears, then they would have to move on. Please keep us posted.

To add a lighter note, we have a Nigerian Dwarf goat named Bram, and his brother named Brix!

 

[Miss Lydia]

I am sorry to hear that.

I was talking to another family who said they have never had a hawk problem until recently. I wonder why their natural food selection is more scarce than prior years.

I have been doing some extensive research and found that hawks hunt in a specific area for only a couple of weeks and then they move to another area. So, we have decided to move all the ducks and solo chicken into kennels in the basement during the day for the next couple of weeks. We will put them out at night and bring them in early morning. Hopefully this will trick the hawk into thinking there is not a food supply and move him on sooner.

We will update if this works or not.

We made this decision as the hawk continued to survey our yard. We scared him away every time he flew over our yard, but we will be gone every morning for the next week unless the kids have another snow day.


We have zero clue on providing a complete enclosure for them. If anyone would be willing to share how to do this and/or provide some photos it would be appreciated. Keep in mind it is winter, the ground is frozen, and covered with snow. We do not have a garage or pole barn, so moving them there is out of the question.

Thanks a ton!

I have no way to cover the 1/2 acre fenced in property my flock ranges on so I am trying the predator tape I made streamers and also where I could we hung strips. they are 2" wide and you can cut to the length you need.

 

[Learningstill]

I am not familiar, what exactly do you mean? Do you have pictures? Our pen is not a 1/2 acre, but it is long and has trees. The fence posts are too short to put something across, so we have to figure out something in the spring.

I am thinking to possibly build a small enclosed attachment to their hut. It would be uncomfortable, but they would be more safe. I kinda wish this would have happened in the spring.
The ducks seem okay in the basement for now. The are able to stand, lay, and walk around a bit. We gave them access to water, but not big enough to place their bodies in which I think is what they are going to dislike the most

Please share more info about your idea! Thanks.

 

[Miss Lydia]

I am not familiar, what exactly do you mean? Do you have pictures? Our pen is not a 1/2 acre, but it is long and has trees. The fence posts are too short to put something across, so we have to figure out something in the spring.

I am thinking to possibly build a small enclosed attachment to their hut. It would be uncomfortable, but they would be more safe. I kinda wish this would have happened in the spring.
The ducks seem okay in the basement for now. The are able to stand, lay, and walk around a bit. We gave them access to water, but not big enough to place their bodies in which I think is what they are going to dislike the most

Please share more info about your idea! Thanks.

this is what it looks like in the small area where they like to hang out in if not foraging

the house with the goose on it is just off my house by a walk way and the hawk was just over the other side of it and killed my bantam. I'll go get the link for the Tape.
http://www.amazon.com/Nite-Guard-2-...3025743&sr=1-1-catcorr&keywords=Predator+tape I made streamers to hang in the trees around the more open parts of the 1/2acre, It crackles when the wind hits it and is extremely shiny. about all I can do.