Why are the Wild “Neighbors” Fussing???

[Baumshell28]

So I set up a temporary field trip area with chicken wire and four metal posts for the girls. I’ve been taking them out once or twice a day to play & forage in the grass and dirt. They’re (well, WE) are loving it! I noticed yesterday (Day # 2) that they were attracting quite the crowd. Even when I didn’t have chickens, there have always been some red tail hawks, or other hawk breeds in the area, so the hawks flying and making noise in the area is a normal 24/7 occurrence. But the longer we sat outside, the more seemingly negative attention we/they attracted. By the time I started to feel uneasy, watchful & protective, I could tell the girls had become uneasy as well since all twelve of them were huddled together inside the “pen” as close to me (outside the pen) as they could get. I have 2 large old oak trees spanning my back yard. Somewhere above us there was a crow or two adding to the chatter, but in the branches directly above us I noticed two or 3 very curious squirrels and the various wrens. The wrens probably just wanted us to get away from their nests at random places around the porch. What stumped me were the birds that I believe were making the chicks the most uneasy; these tiny, finch sized birds I think are called Carolina Chickadees. They were crowding around us in the closest branches just fussing incessantly at my chicks and making them VERY uneasy! Does anyone know what they would be fussing so adamantly about? And why?

 

[centrarchid]

Somebody has nest or fledgelings. May have been a snake you did not see or squirrels were considered a threat.

 

[Baumshell28]

Yeah, we have some blue & green garter snakes that I’ve seen sunning lately. May also have had some fledglings back there, I mean, it IS that time of year, lol! It just seemed like the ones above us were so insistent that it was my penned up girls causing them some sort of problem. I packed them up & brought them back in to ease their fears. Besides, I was really sure we were not long away from being dive bombed by a bunch of Carolina Chickadees! Soon enough, there will be some very interested actual predator birds. Speaking of that...their chicken run will not be a covered one. Do you think I would get some protection from posting a fake owl up on a visible post?

 

[neo71665]

Squirrels are natures alarm system. They will sound off at any predator in the area. Could be anything from a hawk or owl landed nearby to a stray dog they are not used came by. Crows will gang up on hawks circling so if you had some of them mad above raising cain they might have been busy chasing one off.

 

[Baumshell28]

Must’ve been the hawks. Although I live in a very populated part of town, on a very busy road, I have an empty grass lot next door and we have a few different hawk breeds in this part of Louisiana with at least one pair clearly visible & audible 24/7. I believe they may have one or two offspring right now that they’re teaching to hunt. Oh, my poor girls I hope the coop and the kumquat tree inside their run will provide them enough protection!

 

[Al Gerhart]

See if you can run some nylon fishing line across the pen in a checker board fashion. Raptors don't like flying into obstacles and their eyes are sharp enough to see the line.

 

[Uncle Vig]

I had an elderly gent tell me to always have black chickens mixed in your free range flock. Crows are a hawks worst nightmare and hawks can't tell the difference between a chicken and a crow. They leave the chickens alone. So far it's worked for me.

 

[Folly's place]

Raptors won't care what color your chickens happen to be! My white birds have been no more likely to be attacked than the 'camo colored' birds, and one year my one black hen was the one injured. Luck and wariness are better survival traits out there.
Mary

 

[neo71665]

I'm gonna have to agree. Growing up granny had birds of every color and I can't ever remember one color being any safer than another from chicken hawks (redtail). Seems the size of the breed or age had more say than color. They will skip over larger birds in favor of a smaller one. I think that goes with just about any predator.