I hadn't locked the chickens up being as it was still light out. And here was this hawk munching on some feathery dark animal.
Sorry about the quality of the picture. It was taken through the glass. You can see the hawk about the center of the pic.
I took off running out to the chickens. My heart was beating a mile a minute. All the while the thought of that hawk was eating one of the babies.
When I reached the coop not one chicken was to be seen. Oh crap this isn't good.
Then I heard the babies chirping from inside the chicken house. So I scooted in to find all the chickens and all 10 babies had already put themselves up for the night! They didn't seem frightened or stressed or anything. In fact, they all looked at me like what the heck are you so frantic about.
So I locked everyone in and proceeded to walk around the side of the house where the hawk was sitting on the fence. Surprisingly he/she allowed me to get fairly close. It turned out the hawk was enjoying a meal of a blackbird.
Seeing a hawk right outside the window is a reminder that yes they are here, and yes, when the babies are out in the big world it is a chance that the hawk may have a chicken dinner one of these times.
Ugh, the worries of a mother hen!! :)
Oh, I have been asked what breed of rooster Stew Pot is. He is a Barred Rock.
Until next time...........................
Arghh!! How stressful! Glad all chicken and chicks are A-OK!!
ReplyDeleteI can just imagine how you must have felt. Losing any animal is so hard. Glad things were fine, this time.
ReplyDeleteWow, you had me on the edge of my seat. Glad to hear your chickens are ok. I went to the feed store today and couldn't resist the babies any longer, I have walked passed them several times, but today I brought 3 home with me.I am worse than my kids to drag in more animals. (LOL)
ReplyDeleteMy heart skipped a beat while reading this. I just brought home 4 chickens yesterday and I am suffering from new chicken mom nerves. I am terrified about predators such as hawks and foxes that are pretty common here in the city. As a matter of a fact, I watched a fox hop my neighbor's fence this morning in search of her 8 chickens. Thankfully, she had not let them out of their coop yet. Oh my, the anxiety!!!
ReplyDeleteSo glad all your chickies were just fine.
So glad to hear all is OK! I just saw an enormous hawk flying over the goat pen on Saturday and since I don't shoot a gun, was wondering what to use to scare him off. I think firecrackers! I found a stack of them and have them ready to grab. My fainter goats may not like it, but I hope the noise sends that hawk somewhere else. It always seems there has to be something to worry about. Your Mother Hen instincts are superb and That will keep your babies safe!
ReplyDeleteI am sorry for the bird, but happy for you and the chicks...what a scare.
ReplyDeleteArrrggghhh..... as much as it is part of nature's cycle, it is always hard to deal with, I know I sit sometimes out on the deck when I see a hawk just so he won't scoop up one of my beloved squirrels. How sad.
ReplyDeleteI chased a hawk off 2 days ago. We've already lost 5 chickens to hawks last year. Since building the new coop, we haven't lost any, even though I let the chickens out every day. The hawk was getting them in the morning when they were sleepy. Now, they are safe in the morning.
ReplyDeleteOk, I thought StewPot was likely a Barred Rock. I have one chicken pen for youngsters that we covered with old wire fencing because I fear for the little ones although I've heard that those hawks will pick up full grown chickens too. I see the hawks circling the skies above us and worry about my birds.
ReplyDelete