As I stepped outside, my Great Pyrenees puppy’s enthusiastic barking and the chorus of alarm calls from our flock of chickens immediately caught my attention. The commotion was followed by a panicked squawk from one of our hens, whose desperate bid for cover led her to seek refuge under the stairs leading to our back door. The hawk that had been chasing her, however, didn’t linger once it spotted me and quickly retreated from the scene.
I quickly coaxed my distressed hen out from beneath the stairs, examining her for any signs of injury before relocating her to her coop. There, I offered her a soothing mixture of fresh sugar water and a cooked egg in an effort to calm her down and ease her back into a normal state. Over time, she gradually regained her composure and began pecking at the treat, although I did notice that her right eye refused to open initially.
Fortunately, after a day of rest, her eye had fully recovered and she was once again laying eggs at her usual rate of 4-5 per week, a testament to her remarkable resilience as a 5-year-old hen.
The Sneak Attack
Seven days passed before I ventured out to check on my chickens, but what I found was far from a pleasant surprise. A hawk burst forth from the underbrush, its presence confirmed by the gruesome scene that lay before me. Even without seeing it, I knew in my gut what had transpired. The hawk had returned to claim its prey, this time targeting my prized hen. She had wandered too close to the woods and paid the ultimate price, her lifeless body still warm from the encounter.
The most unsettling aspect was that neither my other chickens nor my dog seemed to have noticed anything amiss. They went about their day as usual, oblivious to the tragedy that had unfolded right before my eyes.
The Relentless Chicken Hawk
As I lifted Rosie’s lifeless body from the ground, an eerie feeling settled in – as if unseen eyes were scrutinizing every move I made. I scanned the surroundings until my gaze landed on a majestic hawk perched 20 feet above, its piercing stare trained on me and my flock of chickens. The unmistakable glint in her eye told me that this bird had a taste for poultry and wouldn’t yield without a struggle.
The hawk’s persistence was relentless; she returned multiple times, claiming four of my flock as casualties before I intervened to rescue four more. It wasn’t until then that I realized the importance of adapting my chicken-keeping strategies to outsmart this cunning predator.
I didn’t harm the hawk, respecting her protected status and the natural order of things. Instead, I modified my approach to better coexist with this magnificent bird and its predatory instincts.
Protecting Your Chickens From Hawks
When it’s not feasible to enclose your chickens in a 360-degree predator-proof area, you’re left searching for alternative solutions. In my case, I have an irregularly shaped run that measures approximately 55 feet long by 20 feet wide, with three tall trees and plenty of blackberry bushes creating a native habitat for my flock.
While a roof over this space would be challenging to construct, the thought of carving out a smaller area from it seemed too harsh for my chickens who were accustomed to free-ranging all day. Instead, I knew there had to be other ways to mitigate hawk attacks and keep my chickens happy.
Understanding Hawk Predation Tactics
To effectively defend against predators like hawks, it’s essential to grasp their hunting strategies. While Sun Tzu’s The Art of War may not directly address bird-on-human conflicts, the principle remains valid: understanding your adversary is key to success. In this case, I didn’t need ancient Chinese warfare wisdom; a simple internet search and a willingness to learn about hawks sufficed.
My research yielded valuable insights that ultimately helped me devise an effective defense – at least for the time being.
Hawk Fact # 1: Hawks Can Hunt Anywhere
Despite the conventional wisdom that long, narrow runs deter hawk attacks, I discovered that hawks are surprisingly adept at navigating dense environments. Their long tail feathers serve as rudders, allowing them to maneuver and catch prey even in thick woods. In fact, hawks have evolved to hunt in a variety of settings – from woodland areas to roadside foraging, and they’ll even consume carrion if other food sources aren’t available.
What’s more, they’re not above adapting their hunting strategies to suit the circumstances. Given their impressive adaptability and rudder-like tail feathers, it became clear that a long narrow run wouldn’t be an effective deterrent against a determined hawk seeking out my chicken.
Hawk Fact # 2: Hawks Like Easy Targets
While some hawks, such as the red-tailed hawk, are notorious for scouring wide open fields in search of prey, it’s not necessarily because they have a penchant for these environments. Rather, they’re often drawn to areas with abundant small game, such as mice, voles, and grass-eating rabbits, which provide an easy source of sustenance.
Hawk Fact #3: Hawks Are Prey Too!
When hunting in open fields, hawks exhibit a peculiar behavior – they tend to focus on snatching small prey and then consuming it on a perch or in dense vegetation. This inclination suggests that they prioritize privacy while feeding, possibly due to the risks associated with eating out in the open. You see, open-air dining can be hazardous for hawks as it makes them vulnerable to predation by larger birds of prey like owls.
As a result, their preference leans towards small and abundant prey that can be easily plucked up and carried away.
Hawk Fact #4: Hawks Are Small
While hawks’ impressive four-foot wingspans may make them seem like formidable giants, they typically weigh between 4 ounces and 5 pounds, depending on breed. Most backyard chicken-keeping nuisance hawks fall within the 1-3 pound range. Notably, despite their ability to capture prey much larger than themselves, this is a significant amount of effort for such a small bird. Hawks being intelligent, they often avoid exerting excessive energy, making them slower and more susceptible to predation.
In reality, full-sized dual-purpose and heritage breeds are not the hawk’s preferred meal. My personal experience with a hawk suggests that it was either desperate or struggling to find smaller prey options.
Hawk Fact # 5: Hawks Hunt From Perches
While it’s true that hawks can spot prey from great heights, their hunting habits often involve more strategy than a thrilling aerial pursuit. In fact, many chicken-hawks opt for perches to stalk their quarry, rather than risking a 300-foot free fall in the hopes of catching an unsuspecting mouse. This approach not only conserves energy but also increases the chances of success.
As a result, it’s common to spot hawks sitting on power lines or tree branches at the edge of wooded areas, patiently waiting for the perfect moment to strike.
Hawk Fact # 6: Hawks Learn Quickly
It’s a well-documented phenomenon: Cooper’s Hawks and other young hawks have a knack for preying on birds visiting garden feeders. These unsuspecting birds are often too engrossed in the sweet treats they’re devouring to notice the stealthy hawk closing in. The absence of a feeder refill for just a week can send the bird population scattering, prompting the hawk to seek out another easily accessible hunting ground.
While my own red-tailed hawk’s behavior doesn’t fit this exact pattern, it’s widely acknowledged that hawks possess exceptional intelligence. This realization gave me confidence that I could potentially train my hawk to avoid exploiting an easy meal in a short span of time, much like training a chicken to adapt to new circumstances.
Out-Maneuvering a Hawk
With my newfound understanding of hawks’ habits and behaviors, I devised a strategy to make my backyard flock less appealing to these birds of prey. To achieve this, I took the following steps.
Route 1: Change the Routine
To ensure the well-being of my chickens, I restricted their access to the coop and allowed them to venture out into the run only when I was present in their vicinity. As it’s the season for garden preparation, I took this opportunity to make some alterations to their coop. As a result, they still managed to spend around 7-8 hours outdoors each day.
Additionally, I implemented a similar strategy to leaving a bird feeder empty for a period – by altering their routine, I aimed to persuade my hawk to diversify its hunting habits.
Route 2: Break Up Space
To deter hawks from swooping in on their unsuspecting prey, I designed an obstacle course-like maze within our chicken yard. Using bamboo, a repurposed fence panel, and cuttings from pruned fruit trees, I crafted narrow pathways that allowed me to access the area for emergency situations or routine cleaning of the run. To keep things interesting, I varied the angles to create a non-linear layout.
To create this hawk-deterring system, I installed bamboo bars and pruning scraps at 1, 2, 3, and 5-foot heights on posts throughout the yard. This forced any would-be hawks to navigate under and over obstacles if they managed to grab a hen. My idea was that the hawk’s efforts would be thwarted by these impediments, either causing it to give up or slow down enough for our rooster to intervene.
As fate would have it, our plan proved effective almost immediately after its implementation.
A hawk did snatch a chicken while I was briefly away fetching water from the house. Fortunately, I returned just in time to witness our gallant rooster spring into action, successfully chasing off the hawk and even extracting some revenge by ripping out a few of its tail feathers.
In light of this incident, I’m more convinced than ever that having a capable and courageous rooster like our Black Copper Maran is an invaluable asset to any flock.
Route 3: Stop the Swoop
To further deter chicken loss, I implemented part three of my multi-faceted plan. This entailed strategically placing random patterns of fishing line across the run’s open areas at a height of approximately 7 feet. To increase the complexity and visual disorientation, I also suspended an array of shiny metal scraps and jewelry at varying heights, both above and below the web of fishing line.
As hawks possess exceptional eyesight and can perceive colors, it was possible for them to navigate through my safety net if they desired. However, considering their intelligence, I hypothesized that they might be deterred by the perceived difficulty in entering and exiting, thereby reducing the likelihood of chicken predation.
Route 4: Remind Hawks They Are Prey
While many chicken keepers place owl statues near their coops, it’s unclear whether these predators actually perceive them as a threat. Nevertheless, periodically relocating these statues can still serve as a deterrent by making hawks think twice about risking their own safety to pursue prey that may be too heavy to carry. Additionally, taking regular walks around the coop with your dog can help alert hawks to your presence and potentially deter them from swooping in for a snack.
While it’s difficult to quantify the effectiveness of these measures, they do appear to make at least some impact, as the hawks that frequent our area tend to become more vocal when my dog is nearby.
Route 5: Save the Dust Bathers
Chickens are most susceptible to predators when they let their guard down, often when engaged in relaxing activities like dust bathing or seeking shade. In these moments of vulnerability, they can become easy targets for opportunistic hunters. To mitigate this risk, I developed a sophisticated yet effective strategy.
By deploying a network of fishing line directly above the area where my chickens prefer to dust bathe, and constructing camouflage-hunting blinds using repurposed materials like garden stakes and salvaged sheet metal, I’ve created safer zones for them to unwind without exposing themselves to potential threats.
Back-Up Plan
As the relentless hawk attacks subside, I’ve taken a moment to reflect on my five-part fix’s success. The weeks-long siege has finally come to an end, and I’ve learned valuable lessons about these birds of prey. Did you know that hawks can live for up to 20 years in their chosen territory, as long as the weather and hunting conditions remain favorable?
This newfound understanding has tempered my initial optimism, and I’m now preparing for the possibility that my hawk will return to hunting my chickens once mating season passes. If that happens, I’ll need to reconsider my approach and potentially implement a fully-protected run for my flock, complete with plenty of enrichment activities and nutritious feed to keep my hens happy in confinement. In the meantime, I’ve found a sense of peace knowing more about my hawk’s motivations.
Her nest, located high up in our woods, revealed her true intentions: she was preparing for the mating season and laying eggs to raise her young. Perhaps, one day, she’ll share with her chicks the cautionary tale of her close call with my rooster and steer them clear of that treacherous chicken yard obstacle course.