Hawk spotting

[Estrella77]

How wild is this picture! The hawk is sitting right on top of my poor chickies' pen. (This is temporary while we build their run). I was hoping to have supervised free ranging but now I'm having second thoughts. What do you all think? Now that he knows they exist :/ Of note it looks like only 3 of the 5 are hens, so we will only have 3 hens OR 3 hens and 1 rooster.

 

[GlicksChicks]

That hawk definitely wants a piece of them. I would personally get a pellet rifle and pop it (I know that isn't allowed but I would rather not have hawks around.) Or get a rock and throw it at it to scare the hawk off.

I do not tolerate any predators around my chickens, even if they haven't touched the chickens yet because they can't get them.

 

[Lelilamom]

Whatever you build, make sure it's completely enclosed in hardware cloth of 1/2 in chicken wire. That hawk will keep coming back until all your chickens are gone. Shooting is illegal so whatever you do, make sure no one knows about it.

 

[GlicksChicks]

Shooting is illegal so whatever you do, make sure no one knows about it.

Exactly.

 

[Estrella77]

Yup hardware cloth ceiling is going in
I am not doing anything about the hawk just wondered if ppl would still do very supervised free ranging? Or do birds still come undeterred by humans? This one fled as soon as my husband started walking over but it makes me nervous still.

 

[Estrella77]

We're also going to have metal roof so they won't be seen as well while in the run but obviously freely visible if free ranging

 

[GlicksChicks]

Yup hardware cloth ceiling is going in
I am not doing anything about the hawk just wondered if ppl would still do very supervised free ranging? Or do birds still come undeterred by humans? This one fled as soon as my husband started walking over but it makes me nervous still.

I would not do the free ranging, even if supervised. That hawk has already set it's eyes on them.

I once had some chickens sitting outside for a little bit and a hawk tried to swoop them when I was right there. Thankfully no one was hurt.

Hawks will be in, grab a chicken, and out before you have time to run and stop it.

 

[Estrella77]

I would not do the free ranging, even if supervised. That hawk has already set it's eyes on them.

I once had some chickens sitting outside for a little bit and a hawk tried to swoop them when I was right there. Thankfully no one was hurt.

Hawks will be in, grab a chicken, and out before you have time to run and stop it.

Yeek good to know, thank you!

 

[GlicksChicks]

Yeek good to know, thank you!

Of course! Good luck with your chickens! Maybe put up some owl figurines around your coop!

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Agreed, supervising only gives you a front row seat to the hawk's predation, and leaves you feeling frustrated and helpless. The year we let our Orps hatch chicks, hawks (or a hawk) would swoop down and snatch them with me standing right there, within feet of the chicks. Of 8 chicks I think we raised one cockerel to adulthood. Foil the hawk by protecting your birds. Please don't shoot the hawk with pellets, that consigns it to a slow and miserable death, as well as its chicks, which it's trying to feed.