No place for chickens?! :-/

[AnnV]

I realize there is no place for chicken talk in the 'other pet' forums.
Since my chickens are like dogs, I will insert here.
I just have a whine and a boo hoo....
A hawk got in my henhouse yesterday and killed (out of 15 birds) my two rare, expensive Legbar hens.
I am just sick.
I went out in the morning as I always do to check food/water and throw some scratch grains. But none would come out of their house and I hear a lot of odd cackling. As I approach, I realize a large bird was thrashing against the door window from inside the house, in a panic. NOT a chicken.
Apparently, a hawk had flown down into the coop and walked into henhouse through the 8" pop door at ground level. Unbelievable. My two $50 hens were ravaged on the floor, partially eaten, as all others ($2 hens and roosters) were squished 2 or 3 to a nest box, trying to hide.
Pictured here, just the other day, eating some salad and fruit in the snow.
And then on the morning of the attack.
Sorry graphic content. (Tried to delete that but was unable...)

 

[Jacqui]

There were beautiful. It's always the expensive ones or the pet ones that get killed.

 

[wellington]

So sorry. That is terrible. Poor chicks. Feel so bad for the other ones too. They must have been so scared

 

[sunshyne621]

So sorry!!! The one night I was to lazy to lock the girls in they almost got eaten by a great horn owl. I knew I hadn't locked them in but thought it would be fine. The great horn flew into the back of their small coop to scare them out and then was chasing them in the dark around my backyard! I luckily hadn't gone to bed and was able to rescue everyone. So traumatic!!! So sorry for your loss.

 

[Laura]

it went after the rooster? think it was trying to defend?
time for a roof...
my friend strung baling string over her yard to keep the hawks out.. they don't fly thru it..

 

[lynnedit]

So sorry to hear that! You must be heart broken.

 

[Pokeymeg]

What a terrible thing to find! and what a very smart hawk, unfortunately.

 

[AnnV]

Re: RE: No place for chickens?! :-/

it went after the rooster? think it was trying to defend?
time for a roof...
my friend strung baling string over her yard to keep the hawks out.. they don't fly thru it..

Their pen was covered all these years until the blizzard of 2013 dumped 23" of snow and caved it in. Since we are moving to FL soon, we have not bothered to recover it. If anything, my husband took half of our chicken coop down there already.
That baling twine idea is great though as a temp fix. I have plenty. And except for tired arms, it would be easy to string across the top of chickens' fence. Thanks for the tip!

 

[New2reds]

Sorry that happened, what a shame. We live where there are a ton of hawks, raccoons and so on. Being a worry wart about my chickens being killed this is how my coop turned out. A mouse can't even get in!!!

 

[TortieLuver]

Oh I'm sorry to hear your sad story...that must have been hard. How long have you had chickens? Hopefully Florida will be better as far as predators.

 

[AnnV]

We used to let our chickens free range every day. We got them originally, for tick control, as much as for the eggs. We had guineas too, til one neighbor complained. Our guineas followed the wild turkeys and had a huge range. They are noisy and will dig for grubs, etc. All other neighbors appreciated the tick patrol, but our next door neighbor was totally intolerant so we gave the guineas away. The chickens have a much smaller range and stay on property, very close to the house.
We have a few potential predators, but our worst killer is coyotes. And once they discovered the smorgasbord, our chickens were no longer safe. Our worst losses were in the middle of the day. So now, my chickens free range only for brief periods when I am out working in the barnyard. They are locked in their henhouse at night.
We've had the fowl for about 8 years now.

 

[lupitapliego]

I used to have a chicken, it was literally my first dog, she was my very own first pet, all my responsibility. I had her from when I was 11 to about two years ago, around 5 years of having her. She laid these tiny eggs, Around the size of a quarter, a little bigger. Supposibly it was a dorking chicken and I loved her to death. And when I got home I would whistle and she would come arunnin to me. And if I called her name she would bawk and let me know where she was. Oh gosh, she was the best! And one day somebody left our gate open and she wandered out and she walked down the road and I never got her back. People said they saw her wander into somebody's garage, I went to that house and they said they never saw her. I was so distraught. I had lost my first baby, she could've been eaten or stolen or something, and I would never get her back. (Btw, the owners of that house she "wandered" into had been asking to buy her from me, and they had several chickens and roosters, they wanted her for breeding purposes, because of her small size, and I had always refused) I just loved her personality, I loved her so much, and I lost her.

 

[AnnV]

OMG! That is such a sad story. I am sorry.