Catnip5
Chirping
Hi all - I was here for advice in the spring/summer when dealing with a fox - it got three of my pullets so I came here for advice. Put up an electric fence which has proven 100% effective thus far - with ground predators anyway. Now that it's winter with all the bushes and foliage gone the Red Tails have arrived. 3 attempts so far and yesterday it nearly succeeded before I scared it off. All the girls were fine but someone lost a bunch of feathers in the scuffle. I had hung tinsel boughts off an old Christmas tree on a broken clothes line but the hawk swooped down on the ledge they like to hang out on. I am now considering scare tape strung over the ledge from tree to tree. Anyone have any luck with scare tape or fishing line in deterring hawks? The girls are in lock-up until I come up with a solution. I'll supervise them this afternoon for some free ranging time before dusk but I've seen the hwlk circling this morning so not taking any chances.
I've avoided building a run for a number of reasons and the fencing has been fantastic. It's a 300 ft. enclosure around their coop and the yard and ledge with several large tall trees which have proven handy to the hawk. Clearly they have plenty to eat in the summer and the growth has been a deterrent but now it's a whole new ballgame with everything so barren.
I don't want to add a roo to the flock for biosecurity reasons and because the girls are 7 months old now. May add one next spring with the next 6 chicks I'm ordering. I have a dozen girls now.
Advice appreciated Scare tape? Fishing Line? Roo? Aside from a covered run (which may yet happen) what's worked for you?
I've avoided building a run for a number of reasons and the fencing has been fantastic. It's a 300 ft. enclosure around their coop and the yard and ledge with several large tall trees which have proven handy to the hawk. Clearly they have plenty to eat in the summer and the growth has been a deterrent but now it's a whole new ballgame with everything so barren.
I don't want to add a roo to the flock for biosecurity reasons and because the girls are 7 months old now. May add one next spring with the next 6 chicks I'm ordering. I have a dozen girls now.
Advice appreciated Scare tape? Fishing Line? Roo? Aside from a covered run (which may yet happen) what's worked for you?