Hawk just took one of my ducks

[magicboy]

1st of all i feel sad you lost your birds 2ndly shooting or killing is not the solution make for them proper cage they will be safe..

 

[CricketR4]

1st of all i feel sad you lost your birds 2ndly shooting or killing is not the solution make for them proper cage they will be safe..

Like I said previously, I'm not killing the hawks, only shooting a warning shot into the air a few times over the course of several days while aiming away from the hawks, doesn't hurt them, only scares them and they've not been back in about 3-4 days. Haven't seen them since Friday. I also said previously that my landlord won't allow us to build a permanent cage for them, but I will talk to him about doing a "tractor coop" or a run with kenneling. In the meantime, we're looking into getting some geese and/or goats (put on a tire so they can roam and graze without the need of fencing) to protect them, since we can't currently afford the $4K price tag to refence the property for LGDs.

 

[ginods]

We have pair of African geese they are very good at protecting the flock from predictors in the sky and the ground. Also rooster will help. They sound an alarm when they hear or see something

 

[CricketR4]

We have two roosters. The hawks killed one, otherwise we would have three. :/ that's why we're looking into larger protectors.

 

[magicboy]

well 1st of i am really sorry if i say any thing bad which make you feel sad...
well i say in short killing is not the solution because i killed more than 15 HAWKS 3 male cats lots of mouse,snakes,some of big lizards but end of the day i make the war END ....
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]have a look some of my short cages in my profile picture may be it will help you out .......stay safe [/FONT]

 

[CricketR4]

well 1st of i am really sorry if i say any thing bad which make you feel sad...
well i say in short killing is not the solution because i killed more than 15 HAWKS 3 male cats lots of mouse,snakes,some of big lizards but end of the day i make the war END ....
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]have a look some of my short cages in my profile picture may be it will help you out .......stay safe [/FONT]

Even if I thought it would stop the hawks, it's illegal to kill them here. Don't worry, you didn't make me sad or anything.

 

[chickengeorgeto]

Since I avoid violence I have never tried this but I have heard that a strong wire cage (one inch X 1/2 inch welded wire) with a couple of small white pullets inside and set in an open place where no one else can see it from any where else on the face of the Earth is the perfect hawk deterrent device, but only if there is a rifle man with a good field of fire watching it from cover. However if there are a couple of # 1 1/2 foot hold traps securely tied on the top of the cage, then the rifle man is un-needed and in that case you may substitute a Louisville Slugger for the .22. In which case shoot, shovel and shut-up becomes swing, shovel, and shut-up

. Remember to pick up every hawk feather and stray piece of down and don't forget to get yourself a new Louisville Slugger or fresh chunk of 2x4 with which to address every new delinquent hawk.

 

[jdywntr]

Oh, they are helping more than not. It's just that the crows aren't always in the yard, so it seems the hawks have figured out: come in when I go in the house, leave in the car (I've actually seen them come over the yard as I'm pulling out of the driveway!), and when the crows aren't around. Stinking smart hawks!

As for stringing up fishing line or netting, my chickens and ducks range over 1.5 acres, so it'd cost a fair amount of $$ to string the areas they frequent, as they aren't small areas.

There are still options for you. Fishing line is cheap, >$3 for 700yds of 15lb test. What I did was get 10' sections of PVC put upright in the ground with a connector on the very top. Under the connector, I put lengths of fishing line. I ran the line out to the fencing and trees. I also tied colored rope ( I got it at the $ store and its not fiber rope) along the lengths of line at different spots. I frayed the rope so that when the wind blows, it looks like there is alot going on. This cost me >$10 and I haven't had a hawk go after anyone in that area. It won't provide protection for the whole area but it may help discourage them a bit. I think with hawks, things need to change up a bit as they are intelligent and will figure things out especially if it is stationary, like fake owls.

As for geese, I kind of miss mine. They were great alarms for EVERYTHING but they attacked my week old ducklings that hatched in December and I couldn't have them going after babies so they went to freezer camp.

 

[roostersandhens]

That is soooo sad. I once lost a chicken to a hawk. I tried to find ways to kepp them away it was hard. I ended up placing tables and unbrellas everywhere for them to hide under.

 

[CricketR4]

Since I avoid violence I have never tried this but I have heard that a strong wire cage (one inch X 1/2 inch welded wire) with a couple of white pullets inside and set in a place where no one else can see it from any where else on the face of the Earth is a perfect hawk deterrent device but only if there is a rifle man with a good field of fire is watching it from cover. However if there are a couple of # 1 1/2 traps securely tied on the top of the cage, then the rifle man is un-needed and you may substitute a Louisville Slugger for the .22. In which case shoot, shovel and shut-up becomes swing, shovel, and shut-up

. Remember to pick up every feather and stray piece of down and don't forget to get yourself a new Louisville Slugger or chunk of 2x4 to address every delinquent hawk.

This made me laugh!