It's helpful to know every bump, every crevice, every tree in our little corner of the world. It means we can be alert to any changes.
Consider the scene below:
It was easy to spot what was different.
I'm sure the hawk was being alert too, but it was also busy preening itself, which was actually rather cute.
My chickens only get yard privileges when I can literally hang out with them doing chores. Coop cleaning, yard maintenance, car washing, anything that passes time productively but keeps me there on hand. There are just too many predators and I can't afford to enclose a space big enough over under around and through.
ReplyDeleteThere's an old tree with some high dead branches nearby, and sometimes there will be half a dozen hawks in it screeching, not only to each other but even more we hidden in other trees!
I've always loved hawks, but have never before witnessed gang behavior. And looking after your critters forms a bond.
The chickens do tend to go inside on there own when hawks are screeching, but sometimes one chooses a bush or goes under a vehicle instead.
Sometimes I feel kind of like a modern day David doing this because of hawks and foxes. Thank God there aren't lions and bears...well there are cougars and bears but they haven't shown up with me outside most of the time.
When you build your coop and chicken yard you're going to have the same problem.
One year there were a couple of eagles and some hawks flying around like a Western movie style, flying vultures over a carcass. I was out hanging clothes and they ignored me until I started waving some laundry around to get their attention. They left so the next day it was lock down for the chickens until they moved on. BTW, you have an awesome view.
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