Cooper Hawk

[chickengeorgeto]

A very good but slow to deploy hawk shelter is a thick stand of large bamboo canes. A patch about 100 foot long, by 30 foot wide, and up to 20 feet tall makes a good refuge from most daytime flying pest as well as quite a few daytime 4 legged pests like foxes, or other K9s that must chase down their chicken dinners. You are also creating a cool and shady spot for your birds to idle away the hazy, lazy, days of Summer.

 

[scooter147]

A very good but slow to deploy hawk shelter is a thick stand of large bamboo canes. A patch about 100 foot long, by 30 foot wide, and up to 20 feet tall makes a good refuge from most daytime flying pest as well as quite a few daytime 4 legged pests like foxes, or other K9s that must chase down their chicken dinners. You are also creating a cool and shady spot for your birds to idle away the hazy, lazy, days of Summer.

I have this, not nearly as big but you have to do some thinning or the chickens get stuck in it.
Also it is very invasive, it grows with underground runners so beware.

 

[chickengeorgeto]

A friend of mine converted an old cow shed to a chicken coop by covering the open east facing side in wire. He left the 2 foot area above the solid plank wooden door open. One morning recently he found a blue darter or sharp shinned hawk inside the pen eating one of his Rhode Island Red hens. I honestly don't remember what he said happened next. Anyway, its all here-say.

 

[chickengeorgeto]

Also it [bamboo] is very invasive, it grows with underground runners so beware.

This is all very, very true, beware unless you want 160 acres of bamboo that you couldn't drive a tank through.

 

[JoeG]

My rooster Stigletts has already gotten into a brawl with a Cooper's hawk. It was attempting to attack one of the hens and Stigletts gave him a butt kickin'. The hawk barely cleared the fence surrounding my yard and crashed into the brush on the other side. Never saw him fly away, don't know if he died and don't care. Checked the hen and Stigletts for damage but found both unscathed except for a few ruffled hen feathers. He's also got into it with a feral cat. I heard the ruckus but didn't see the fight, just a cat desperately trying to climb a fence with a roo in hot pursuit! A large rooster will definitely help your hawk situation. Even a redtail will fly off looking for easier meals with a big rooster hanging around. My experience anyway.

 

[chicknmania]

In my setting the rooster actually fights the smaller Coopers Hawk and usually runs hawk off without actually coming to blows.

I've seen that happen just one time. May have happened more than once, but the time I saw it happen was pretty cool. Roo and hawk in a standoff. And the hawk gave up first.

 

[chicknmania]

I have to chuckle every time I read this. Not trying to be negative but CDs hanging in your yard only accomplish one thing. They make your yard look like a dump. Like "snake repellants", which are completely innefectual(search for real scientific data), they are a waste of time and money and generally bad for the environment. Owl and crow decoys give similar results. Wild birds of prey are not at all put off by shiny objects. If anything, the glitter and movement may actually attract the attention of prey birds and draw them closer to your flock. They are the alpha predators in the woods and when it comes to procuring a meal they are fearless. Cover your run with netting or learn to accept the risks.

you know, you are entitled to your opinion, but in fact, it does work. And if you talk to any reputable bird store, they will tell you the same thing, that it works.. Furthermore, our yard does NOT look like a dump, because we use a little discretion in where we put the cd's.,. Maybe yours does...... but that's your problem. Furthermore the OP already said that their run is too big to cover with netting.

You know, people, this is not a contest. The OP is simply asking for ideas. To automatically shoot down someone else's suggestion because it does not work for YOU, is not only rude, but disrespectful to everyone else. We have had chickens since 2005 and I'm telling you that it does work for us. We have seen hawks watching from a distance, but they will not come close.

 

[centrarchid]

I've seen that happen just one time. May have happened more than once, but the time I saw it happen was pretty cool. Roo and hawk in a standoff. And the hawk gave up first.

I have seen it less than a dozen times myself over many years. Best evidence I have is that losses of chicks and hens to smaller hawks is greatly reduced when adult rooster is present. Such roosters may not always be as a effective against red-tailed but even then losses still reduced. Dogs are still better so long as dog shows interest in part because some dogs are good against a much longer list of bad guys.

 

[chicknmania]

We do not use "snake repellants" (what the heck is that?) or owl or crow decoys?

 

[Teery]

I do not know if the CD option works or not. Nor do I advocate their use. You nor I are informed enough to say definitively CD's do not work.

It was suggested to me to hang CD's in my fruit tree's to keep birds away. What do I know?? so I tried it...It actually appeared to work..but only for a very short time..The birds got used to them and continued there feast...

So the question one has to ask themselves is...are you willing to gamble and/or risk the protection of your birds on hanging CD's? Only you can answer that....

If hawks cannot get to your birds, they can't kill them.