<p align="center"><em>A Guest Blog by Chicken Wrangler Sara</em></p>
A hawk is using our chicken coop as an all-you-can-eat buffet. <a href="http://judythewriter.files.wordpress.com/2013/12/hawk-in-tree.png"><img class="alignleft size-full wp-image-3983" alt="hawk in tree" src="http://judythewriter.files.wordpress.com/2013/12/hawk-in-tree.png" width="279" height="181" /></a>

So far, the predator has carried off two of our bantams and tried to carry off a big hen, but apparently the hen was too heavy. The hen has tale-tell signs of claw marks on its back.

Another hen, named Little Gray Hen, died of unknown causes. I’m blaming the hawk.

Thanksgiving morning I looked out to see the hawk with another one of the bantams.  My husband took his pellet gun outside and the hawk dropped the hen and flew off leaving the deceased hen on the ground.

My son asked if there was such a thing as hawk bait.  Apparently, bantam chickens work great.

The hawk stayed away for a few days.

Then when I got home one morning this week, I heard a familiar cry from the chicken yard - “hawk, hawk!!!”

I raced out in search of the hawk, but couldn’t see it.

I saw no chickens either. Even the bantams were hidden under their coop.  All the big hens cowered under the trees.

As I checked on them, the hawk flew away. He’d been somewhere close by watching and waiting.

A friend recently asked me about the intelligence of chickens. I’m not sure about their intelligence but something allows them to sense danger when humans cannot see it.

There have been no hawk sightings in the past few days.

Just in case, the chickens are keeping an eye on the sky.<a href="http://judythewriter.files.wordpress.com/2013/12/hens-watching-2.jpg"><img class="alignright size-medium wp-image-3982" alt="hens watching-2" src="http://judythewriter.files.wordpress.com/2013/12/hens-watching-2.jpg?w=296" width="296" height="300" /></a>