Paranoid and anxiety filled after hawk attack (I'm talking about ME!!)

[Sabrit]

Do you find the flashy CDs work? I had a hawk take one of my buff orpington, then come back and get one of my barred rock, so now i don't let them free range, which they love so much, but i don't want to keep feeding the hawks!

 

[chickmomma18]

@preciouskitty

Thanks. She was a beautiful bird. 9 weeks. She weighed 1 pound. Sweet gal.
What is wrong with yours?

 

[preciouskitty]

I'm really sorry about your loss.  I do have a stupid question though since I spotted a hawk for the first time while I had my two pullets in the front yard yesterday.  Do the hawks usually pick up the pullet/hen and carry them away?  I was really nervous, but the pullets looked to be the same size or a little bigger than the hawk so just wondering what happens?
Thanks

I think that can happen..not what happened to me, though...also,think it depends on the size of the chicken...
You can see what happened to my Rana if you go to my profile page. I have a pic in the Ameraucana album...it is NOT gory. Only took it cuz DH was not home & I needed to show him.
Others I've been talking to seem to think it was a juvenile hawk...I tend to agree. I used to have 2 resident adult red tails & they never did anything.
But, since they are migrating right now...who knows.

 

[preciouskitty]

@preciouskitty

Thanks. She was a beautiful bird. 9 weeks. She weighed 1 pound. Sweet gal.
What is wrong with yours?

Not really sure. Noticed her by herself by one of my big trees around noon, moving real slow. She is always with her siblings; at least the other EE & OE. Called to her & she slowly walked back to the house under the deck.

I bring the scratch out when putting the birds in their pen for the evening & they all meet me as Im coming down the porch steps & are under my feet the whole way to the treat bin; but not Shyla tonight. She's just basically sitting under the bush, falling asleep while standing & I did note that she has diarrhea. AND she won't even touch the scratch, which she usually will eat out of my hand.

Of course she's my fav of the babies that my Marans hatched. I lost my fav chicken, Spaz (avatar) the day before the babies hatched this past Mother's Day & this is how she was acting..never did figure out what it was...just cried & buried her.

Just noticed your EE looks like my EE Partridge!

 

[shend]

I'm really sorry about your loss. I do have a stupid question though since I spotted a hawk for the first time while I had my two pullets in the front yard yesterday. Do the hawks usually pick up the pullet/hen and carry them away? I was really nervous, but the pullets looked to be the same size or a little bigger than the hawk so just wondering what happens?
Thanks

I think this hawk has had his eye on the girls. Because mine are full size birds I didnt think a hawk would try. They would normally fly off with their prey but he probably was surprised at her size and just killed and began to eat her. As I came around with the mower I probably scared the hawk off. For this fall season I'm gonna enclose the others thru the day and let them out only when I'm ouside. Just got more chicken wire to secure the run. Someone in forums said if you lock your girls up for a week or two the hawk will lose interest because of no food source and go elsewhere. Hope that works for me.

 

[The Triplets]

I think that can happen..not what happened to me, though...also,think it depends on the size of the chicken...
You can see what happened to my Rana if you go to my profile page. I have a pic in the Ameraucana album...it is NOT gory. Only took it cuz DH was not home & I needed to show him.
Others I've been talking to seem to think it was a juvenile hawk...I tend to agree. I used to have 2 resident adult red tails & they never did anything.
But, since they are migrating right now...who knows.

Oh my - she was really pretty. This makes me really nervous. I just watched a video on you tube of a hawk going into a coop and killing a hen. you couldn't see it, but hear it. It was horrible. I know it can happen at anytime, but it doesn't make it feel ok. RIP Rana.

 

[preciouskitty]

Oh my - she was really pretty.  This makes me really nervous.  I just watched a video on you tube of a hawk going into a coop and killing a hen.  you couldn't see it, but hear it.  It was horrible.  I know it can happen at anytime, but it doesn't make it feel ok.  RIP Rana.

Yes, she was gorgeous. Her sis, Kali is really bummed that she is gone. Cries at night in the coop at roost time; the others still pick on her...had a heck of a time integrating her & Rana with the rest of the flock..got both of them in June.

If your coop is sufficiently predator proof, i really don't think you have to worry about a hawk getting in...my coop has a metal roof; the pen, part metal roof, and any other open areas are covered with hardware cloth. I then have hardware cloth buried around the perimeter to prevent digging predators. I learned a lot from BYCers on how to best predator proof it!

When it comes to hawks I think the main risk is when they are out in the open (I.e., free ranging, open run, etc.). i know for those of us in an area that has winter, we prob only have a few more weeks til they have migrated. Of course, this is also a more dangerous time...

I don't think I could watch that video! I know for Rana it was QUICK. She never knew what hit her...

At least with hawks, I know that another animal got a meal...unlike what raccoons or dogs do with them ...

 

[The Triplets]

Yes, she was gorgeous. Her sis, Kali is really bummed that she is gone. Cries at night in the coop at roost time; the others still pick on her...had a heck of a time integrating her & Rana with the rest of the flock..got both of them in June.

If your coop is sufficiently predator proof, i really don't think you have to worry about a hawk getting in...my coop has a metal roof; the pen, part metal roof, and any other open areas are covered with hardware cloth. I then have hardware cloth buried around the perimeter to prevent digging predators. I learned a lot from BYCers on how to best predator proof it!

When it comes to hawks I think the main risk is when they are out in the open (I.e., free ranging, open run, etc.). i know for those of us in an area that has winter, we prob only have a few more weeks til they have migrated. Of course, this is also a more dangerous time...

I don't think I could watch that video! I know for Rana it was QUICK. She never knew what hit her...

At least with hawks, I know that another animal got a meal...unlike what raccoons or dogs do with them ...

You're totally right. My problem is that my girls free range in their side yard and have access to shelter and they are secure at night, but what I saw in the video was the hawk jumped down into the run and walked into the coop in the middle of the day... My girls are not as protected as they can be. I need to rethink some things. Perhaps they need to stay confined until migration is over...

 

[cairns3chooks]

We had a similar problem recently, although luckily it seems to ok for now..
We have 3 little bantams that are the perfect snack size for a hawk! We live in te tropics in australia, so to keep themselves cool they would always go to the otherside of the garden in theh afternoon. They got divebobmed a few times (that i saw), but luckily they wernt sucessful. The poor girls were terrified and trying as best they could to hide in the bushes. I put up some criss-cross canes secured together with zipties to try and keep the hawks away. It did offer them protection and they were a little happier feeling safer but the hawk continued to try..
In the end we got an old trampoline net and wrapped it around their coup area (open sided veranda attached to the house). We didnt let them out for fear for around 3 weeks and that seemed to do the trick!
The poor things were so stressed from hiding that they'd stopped laying, but once we kept them from free ranging they started laying again! We havent had any hawk problems since (this was a few months back now), so i guess they forgot
We still let them out in the afternoons but they are so much happier and more relaxed.

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[cairns3chooks]