using fishing line above my garden to repel Hawks-? (question answered, thanks!!)

[chickengardener]

Hey there, Im a newbie to chicken ownership so pardon me if this is a dumb question, but I didnt see it mentioned in the FAQs.
My friends who have fish ponds use fishing line over their ponds to prevent herons and other predator birds from swooping down and grabbing their Koi. Im wondering if the same method would also work over the top of my 30' x 35' garden? I have a 6 foot fence surrounding the garden, so if I put nails on the tops of the fence posts and weave the fishing line all over, I would think it would make a pretty good "net" ?

Has anyone tried this, and did it work?

thanks-

 

[Oregon Blues]

It's rumored to work for hawks. It does not work for owls.

 

[Mattemma]

I did it in the back over my chicken area.Give it a try.My mom picked up some deer netting at lowes 7x100 for $47 and it would also be good over a garden or run.Add a few mylar ribbons.I think red is better,but any reflective mylar would help for a while.

 

[terryg]

I use regular kitchen twine criss-crossed over the run. From that I hand old CDs. They sparkle in the sun and keep the sparrows and the hawks away. We have a lot of hawks in the neighborhood and in the several years doing this haven't had any taken. But, I also have a narrow run and I'm sure they know they can't easily fly out. I know someone who had hawk netting over a run that an owl found an opening in and slipped in. So, never guarantees!

 

[chickengardener]

ok, thanks- did the owl get in at night or do they also hunt in the daytime? I put my birds inside the coop at night.

thanks!

Amy

 

[terryg]

Owls hunt mostly at night, but I see them at dawn and dusk, too. Good that your hens are in the coop at night. One year a raccoon climbed the chicken run fence, ripped off the hawk netting and got into the coop. It was carnage. Now everyone is latched in.

 

[heath_elisha]

We use fishing line over certain areas of our chick grow out pen. It has worked but I used older string and I believe the sun makes it brittle. I would look into a cheap netting instead that may be more durable. Also, another thing to consider is snow buildup. This was brought to my attention as well. Whatever you put up needs to be able to have snow fall through it without building up too much or it could collapse on your birds.

 

[chickengardener]

Thanks for your advice! yes, we get snow here too, so I was thinking that the bird netting that I see at the garden store might collapse under snow, which is why I went for the fishing line - . Well it looks like the fishing line will work during the day, and I just need to keep an eye on it to make sure its not getting weak. Another option would be to use strong wire, and put the bird netting over the top- using the wire for support-. (thats another project in itself. )Sounds like the best solution is a "real" roof of some type- which unfortunately is not feasable for our situation. But its fortunate as well, that Im normally in the garden at dusk- thats when it cools off here in the summer! And I feed my horses early in the morning and let the chickens out after dawn. Im hoping they will all be safe- they are so cute! my husband calls my garden the chicken fortress- I have hot wire around the outside, hardware cloth on the ground around the fence, and now the fishing line over the top .

-Amy

 

[wvtim]

No - fishing line doesnt keep hawks out -- get game bird flight pen netting - that is the best

 

[ChickPrincess]

I'm interested in putting the fishing line up. How for apart should the rows of line be? Should they also be crisscrossed? I have quite a large area to do, but have plenty of line.