We had a little run-in with a red-tail hawk the other day. I saw some flapping around in the yard (my chickens run the 1 acre backyard freely) and realized that one of the birds wasn't one of my chickens. So I yelled for the dog and ran out, and a hawk flapped off. I looked the chickens over and all ten of them are there and (I think) unharmed, as no one has taken ill after this. And they're much more wary about being out in the open now.
We're in a small agricultural village, and I've never seen hawks here before (usually out by the farms and fields). Is there action I can take, besides confining them to the tractor (where they currently spend nights) or building a proper wire-covered pen? They're such happy little nuts, I hate to lock them up. Do those hawk-balloon thingies work? My birds are between 3 and 4 months old.
Advice? Hawk eyeing my chickens...
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