Will a chicken hawk eventually leave?

[Emzyyy]

I still wouldn't let my chickens out for awhile the chicken hawk may come back. A RedTail hawk got my guinea fowl.

 

[amazondoc]

Quote:
It could have been a Cooper's hawk. A coupla years ago one hit a mourning dove directly in front of my van, landing in the middle of the roadway right in front of me. That was interesting -- with both the hawk and the captured dove staring at me while I was trying to figure out what to do about driving on down the road!

 

[Davaroo]

Quote:
If youre happy with it, then Im ecsatatic!

 

[amazondoc]

It's not a question of winning or losing, Dave. It's simply a matter of keeping the chickens safe. The hawk has no concept of being in a competition -- it's just trying to survive.

The hawk has wings and talons. Fortunately, we have big brains.

 

[Davaroo]

Quote:
I guess it's how you define winning. We wont de-rail this thread yet again by going there.
The hawk IS just doing what it does... which, I might add, goes ditto for me.

 

[Their Other Mother]

Quote:
And one sat on the top of my coop, squawking and flapping it's four foot wing span and my poor little gosling died of fright! Couldn't get in the cage either but poor goosie didn't know that. I had a thread titled "Scared to Death" and got a lot of great advise. I followed some, put the goats on one side and the horses on the other. Hawks have not been around for about two weeks now.

 

[BearSwampChick]

Quote:
I guess it's how you define winning. We wont de-rail this thread yet again by going there.
The hawk IS just doing what it does... which, I might add, goes ditto for me.

My thinking exactly, amazondoc. I respect the hawk's right to survive and feed its young. We're just unfortunate that that particular hawk decided to nest on our property. After all, I was the one who, when we were moving to this area, wanted to live in a large grove of oak and hickory trees as opposed to living in a developed corn or soybean field. And, I was the one who, knowing full well that we had red-tailed hawks and sharp-shinned hawks in the surrounding area, decided that I wanted to keep chickens. My chickens and I are the interlopers here, not the hawks, and I have to respect that and deal with it in a legal and responsible manner. My chickens will still be allowed to free-range, but only when I can be out there to protect them. They have tiny little brains and will adapt. And I have a lot less poop on my patio!

 

[Davaroo]

I respect the hawk's right to survive and feed its young.

Me, too.

(sic) We made choices that brought us here... (so) my chickens and I are the interlopers here, not the hawks.
This concept always intrigues me.

 

[Wolf-Kim]

We're all funny. The slightest comment or wording can oft go awry.

We all have our own way to view or way to cope with predation. Why not make a game out of it? The hawk "wins" a meal and the owner "loses" a chicken. It's life, we can make life into a game if we so please. How often have you heard people been called "winners" or "losers" in just everyday life, or even in reference to their career?

I, too, view it as a game. 5 chickens go out, 4 come back, the raptor/fox/dog/coon wins again. It is a game if you choose to look at it that way, and the chickens are the pons. We anticipate the moves of our "components" by beefing up security on our coop, putting out traps, or just plain putting the chooks on lock-down. My strategy is to let my "extra" chickens free-range, it takes a load off the feed bill and it freely feeds the birds I plan to eat, if they make it that far. I anticipate the raptor's taking of a chicken or two. Not much of a strategy, but it works for me.

I don't believe anyone was disrespecting the obvious need for any animal to eat or feed it's young. It was just terminology or even a viewpoint.

-Kim

 

[amazondoc]

Quote:
Now from THAT perspective, I can see the game analogy.

So keeping the hens in a secure pen isn't letting the hawk win, it's a strategy for making him lose his meal. Gotcha!