Horse Running and Hawk Attack

We've had a pretty calm few weeks.  Mostly bad weather.  In fact, I've been contemplating the idea of creating raised beds in the house so that we never have to plant the garden.  Last week I began hardening off the indoor starts and the next day I had to stop because it was snowing.  Crazy!

Even though there hasn't been a lot of excitement, we have had a few minor things happening.  The biggest news is that the horses now have a huge pasture all to themselves.  My pseudo sister-in-law moved her horses to her new place and that means that for a little while we get to take over both pastures.  The only reason it will be temporary is the infamous fencing challenge.

All farms fight this challenge...how to find the resources to buy the fencing to take the best advantage of your land.  We will be fighting this challenge with the horse pasture because my sis will be taking her fencing down (she bought it so she's keeping it).  So, we could really imagine that the horses have a huge pasture anywhere, but until we have the fencing to put back up, it doesn't matter.  Still, it was pretty awesome watching the horses stretch into their full running gait for the first time in awhile.  They've been in a pasture that just didn't allow for a true run.

Red-tailed hawk.

Now, about the hawk.  We are blessed to have an amazing variety of raptors visit our field.  I have personally seen American kestrels, Gryfalcons, Merlins, Prairie falcons, red-tailed hawks, and even a pair of bald eagles (boy, they are big!).  Most of the time, I love them.  I like to look up their distinctions and figure out which is which.  But just like raccoons are cute, little bandits up until the day they kill my chickens, hawks are only pretty when they aren't eating my livestock!

Yesterday I heard the distinct cry of a chicken in distress.  I ran to the chicken coop in time to see a very large hawk drop one of my chickens and fly off.  I checked the chicken.  She was fine.  All of the bigger chickens were in the shed, cackling.  This chicken was one of my younger teens and she didn't seem to know that hiding was the thing to do with raptors in the sky.  I spent much of the rest of the day listening for chickens and watching for hawks.  I saw the hawk a few more times, but there were no attacks.

Until this morning.  I heard the cry of a chicken, got out of bed to look, and saw several of my hens in the shed - their heads cocked to one side so they could get a better view of the sky.  I thought that the hawk must've taken a look and headed off without a catch.  I could see the hawk sitting on the pivot in the field.  It would shriek every once in awhile, but it had nothing in its claws.

Later in the morning, J and I kept looking out at the field.  Just before the grass started there was a butterscotch-colored lump.  When I went out to investigate, it was a chicken.  Butterscotch, to be exact.  She had obviously been killed and partially eaten, I suspect by the hawk.  For the remainder of today, I have been watching the sky with the chickens...hopeful that the raptor has had her fill, but knowing better.