Will dogs keep hawks away?

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The dogs need not operate alone. If dogs out all the time as Beekissed suggest, they are much more competent in dealing with hawks as they will be more sensitive to alarm vocalizations of chickens. House dogs with attention centered on family not going to be as vigilant. Also, the example indicated above very likely where hawk made kill before you and dogs came within 50 feet / earshot.

Mine is self taught and she does not miss any of the hawks, Merlins to Gos shes on them!Literally" flys" low over the yard/ pasture barking like crazy.If they try and hide in the trees she sees them and announces to the world "In There, LOOK ". My husband has racing pigeons and we think she watched her dad chase the hawks .......... so if thats what she should do She's on it!!

It amazes me that people think a dog will protect your birds from hawk attacks. Unless your dog lives in the pen with your chickens it is totally useless. They may scare it off after an attack but the damage will already be done. Dogs are great for protecting against ground predators but since they can't fly....not much good in defending against hawks.

Like CMV said, I have had hawks attack my birds with me standing within 20 ft from them and one time I was even on a tractor pulling a bush hog! I can't imagine CDs or pie tins frightening a hawk away when they are willing to attack while I am on a huge farm tractor mowing right next to the pen. If a hawk is determined they will attack no matter what. Your best bet is to cover your run.

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Haven't you been reading? Some of us have dogs that DO live with our chickens.



It amazes me that we live with the proof that it works and you call us liars. Dogs do not have to fly to keep hawks from nearing the ground to attack a chicken. When last I checked, my chickens were ground dwellers, my dogs are ground dwellers and the hawks have to actually come down out of the sky to come in contact with either animal. Sheesh!

Cover our run? My "run" is an acre. I have many places my birds can duck and run to, unlike your penned and trapped in one area birds. Yeah, if you trap a bunch of birds in a pen, with no place to go except a coop with a small pop door, then I guess they are helpless against hawks.

Maybe your hawks realize your tractor~like our dogs~ just can't fly?

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You are Welcome anytime to come here and visit and be amazed! I live at the edge of wide open spaces and very close to a river.Lots of hawks! I also feed songbirds. In the 12 yrs of chickens free ranging I have yet to lose and bird, banty or otherwise, to hawks! My dobe runs under the hawks barking and herds them out of our area you are more than welcome to come observe!

It really depends on the dog. Some dogs are naturally more protective of their property and family members than other dogs are. In my household, the animals and birds that live here are part of the household and to be protected, also. My dogs know who lives here and who is allowed here. All others are encouraged to leave.

Our GSD/collie mix that recently passed away would even charge any hawk she spotted in a tree, jumping and barking, trying to climb into the tree, until it left. Even our cocker spaniel will bark and charge a hawk on the ground. He just did that this weekend. I don't mind the local turkeys flying down out of the trees, but he tells them to take off, too. He even has a thing about chasing doves away that land on the ground. He doesn't care if they're up in a tree, though. Nobody's perfect.

If you have a dog with no protective instincts, I don't think they will care about hawks. Some dogs don't care about stray dogs or cats coming to visit, either. Some dogs will do a good job with ground predators, but not really care about raptors. I think that any dog that's out milling around with the chickens is a deterrent, especially if it's at least a medium sized dog. When hawks are hunting more aggressively, the dog or you really needs to be right with the chickens and acting aggressively towards the hawk. Being farther away or just standing around doing nothing doesn't really deter them much. A dog barking and charging or a person yelling and swinging a walking stick around are much more effective.

My dogs are in a fenced back yard approximately 30' from the chicken pens. They do not free range outside of the fence. (They do however come in the house once I get home from work.)
The chickens free range only when I am home. When I am gone they have netting covered runs to frolic in. When I am here they have approximately an acre to range on. I do not for a minute believe the netting will stop a determined predator. It MIGHT slow them down.

That being said, I know my dogs are a predator deterrant. One of mine is very visual and she can see a hawk before any of the rest of us. She often alerts the roosters to danger. I have heard her do her "bad, scary thing" bark and then the roosters all give the danger call. Conversely, when they do the danger call before her she starts looking around to see what is wrong. Clearly they understand each other to a certain extent. The lone hawk that made a low flying dive (while I was out there anyway) was chased down the fence line and into the trees. I never saw it again.
Dog #2 (in my avatar) is ground oriented. She can smell trouble coming. I'm convinced that the only reason I have had zero ground predator problems is that she watches the coops and barks like a fiend when something comes near. Plus, my yard smells like dog and that has to help. They shed like crazy and I drop handfuls of dog fur around the pens. If they were boy dogs you better believe I would be out there having them pee on the coops.

Now, do I think my dogs make me predator proof? Not on your life. I think they help, but it is still my responsibility to be vigilant. The next big coop project is to cover the tops with chicken wire and replace the netting. I daily walk the perimeters to check for signs of digging. I only range when I can be around to supervise. The dogs will only help so much.

I do think that the hawks are aware of the dogs and tend to avoid coming near if there is a better food option. Thankfully there is a HUGE field behind my house and the rabbit population is insane. That meal is a lot safer than dealing with the dogs.