Hawk and chicken

[John K Jordan]

One of my favorite chickens was attacked by a red-tailed hawk today. I heard the commotion and ran up the hill and chased the hawk away.

At first examination it looked like one eye was missing but I think it's OK under an abraded eyelid. There were two places on the chest where skin was sliced but no other tissue damage (a hawk strike usually results in deep puncture/slicing wounds). I couldn't find my suture kit so I pulled the skin together, maybe 1/2", and held it together with superglue. Disinfected with diluted iodine solution, the same as with most animal wounds.

She has been resting in a plastic tub in the shop with gentle heat from heat lamp, calm but still alert almost 12 hours after the encounter. I'll see tomorrow if she makes it through the night.

chicken-attacked-by-hawk.jpg

I know hawks have to eat too but I prefer they go to a different restaurant!

JKJ

[Mel Fulks]

John, If the chicken is a favorite of yours, I'm betting it's lovely , good natured and good at making eggs. I hope she is not badly hurt.

[Rob Luter]

Nature is a tough town. Hoping she pulls through.

[Frederick Skelly]

Sorry to hear this. How is she this morning John?

[Tom M King]

Best of luck!!

[Eric Danstrom]

I hope she's ok. I have a dog that scans the sky for birds of prey and reacts on sight (balloons, drones and stray bags too). Many chicken herders use them to protect thier flocks. I adopted a hard-to-place Pyrenees-Labrador dog. Long story short I had no idea about the incredible instincts breed into these dogs for over 4000 years. If you want 24/7 protection of your flock a Pyrenees derivative dog is a good choice. Foxes, coyotes, raccons, stray dogs hawks, eagles are all innately reacted to. They also make great human companions.

[Jim Becker]

Infection and blood loss are very difficult for birds...hopefully, she will pull through.

[michael langman]

Hope she pulls through John. Hawks and falcons can be a real destroyer of life for our feathered friends.
Our place is a wintering yard for hundreds of birds, and the hawks do take advantage.
A female peregrine left her siblings here to take advantage of the many birds we have, last spring. They stayed for months.
Life is Hard.

[John K Jordan]

The chicken is still alive and seems in better spirits today, more vocal and active!

She was trying to open her damaged eye, a good sign. The skin I glued together is is still in place. Infection is still a possibility, of course, but at least there was no detectable blood loss.

This bird is one of the dozen or so I kept from my first incubator run. When the chicks were small I put them in an out building. I came to sit in the doorway a couple of times a day and a bunch of the birds, including this one, became quite friendly, would jump up on my knee so they could see outside better. I carried some around the barnyard to see the llamas and guineas. One gentleman who bought a bunch sent back a photo of the birds following him around - he was so happy to get chickens that he could handle.

I'm considering putting up a spare canopy frame inside the chicken yard in the biggest open area where I've seen two hawk strikes. Maybe cover it with netting or even the tarp for additional dry space when it's raining.

[Mike Henderson]

Chickens can be tough. Look up how you caponize a male chicken - the testes are inside the rib cage. We used to do that in the chickenyard and just put vaseline on the wound. And it's both sides. Had very few failures (where the capon died).

Mike

[Tom M King]

Glad to hear the good news!

[Michael Weber]

Speaking of friendly chickens
IMG_1861.jpg

[Jim Koepke]

Good luck with your chicken John. Glad to hear she is doing better.

Our last chicken was attacked by a raccoon and did not do as well as yours.

jtk

[Mark Bolton]

Its hard to beat mother nature. Its a process not for the faint of heart. Trying to stop/slow it is a major major battle.

[Bill Bukovec]

I hope she pulls through. We had been letting our hens free range evenings, but a hawk has been hanging around lately. A coworker lost a chicken to a hawk yesterday. They said the hawk was not afraid of humans. I may need to build a "chicken tractor" (portable covered pen) next spring so the "girls" can exercise their drum sticks.��