I have chickens. One hen in particular goes broody at least twice a year. She always disappears from the flock, ending up in an old rusty wheelbarrow on the backside of my neighbors shed. Fortunately, my neighbor is such a sweetheart and she doesn’t mind. The hen (an Altsteirer breed) is a great mother and produces some healthy, strong, good looking chicks.
I have chickens. One hen in particular goes broody at least twice a year. She always disappears from the flock, ending up in an old rusty wheelbarrow on the backside of my neighbors shed. Fortunately, my neighbor is such a sweetheart and she doesn’t mind. The hen (an Altsteirer breed) is a great mother and produces some healthy, strong, good looking chicks.
In early February, she hatched out eggs. By the time she brought the chicks home, there were nine left. She is a fierce protective powerhouse and free ranges her brood anywhere from my chicken yard to the goat pasture. I have four dogs and all of them understand the chickens are off limits. For the most part, my dogs ignore the birds. They are more concerned with stray dogs, wildlife or people walking past the property. About five weeks ago I started losing a few chicks. I knew it wasn’t the dogs but I couldn’t figure out what was getting the chicks right out from under their noses. It’s not unusual to lose a few. But, over the last several weeks, it seemed every time I turned around another chick was missing. That never happens.
I finally got my answer in the most unexpected way.
I had just finished feeding the goats and was putting the lid back on the feed can. I turned around and was walking out of the garage and in a split second, just a blink-of-the-eye, a young red-tailed hawk, bold as brass, swooped down about five feet (yes, five feet) from me, snatched a chick and flew away. Totally silent. Not a single sound. There was zero noise. Not even a puff of breeze from the wings. It was the boldest, coolest, most irritating thing I had ever seen in relation to a predator. If I had been pointed in the other direction, I would have never known. There was no way to know. It happened so fast.
I’m a fan of hawks. I personally think they are cooler than eagles. So, while I’m begrudgingly impressed with its nerve to snatch a chick right in front of me, the young hawk won’t have any more opportunities with future chicks. I caught the remaining chick and her mother. They are now locked up in a coop until the chick reaches a heavier size. From now on, all chicks will be raised in a protected coop.
