Hawk killers? Liege Fighter?

[SarahGfa]

Interesting. And thanks for the feedback!
So they are protective/ alert as well? I don’t know much about turkeys and their temperament.

They are just bigger. Red tail hawks are only about 3-4 pounds and eat chickens on the ground. They won't land near a turkey that is 5 times their size.

 

[BuckeyeAmy69]

Interesting question! I've lost several roosters to hawks. I don't have an answer for you but I do have a funny story.

Back when I had ducks, a Cooper's hawk thought one of my ducks would be an easy meal. It trapped her under the front porch and went in for the kill. I was inside and heard the commotion. I looked out the window by the porch and saw the hawk emerge, feathers in disarray and looking bewildered. That duck kicked that hawk's a$$! It's funny that he chose the smallest duck in my flock and got beat up by her!

Maybe you should try ducks? She was a Swedish blue.

 

[LaFleche]

My best hawk killers/fighters in more than 20 years of chicken keeping/breeding have been a RIR X BCM cross, La Flèche, BCM x Araucana cross, BCM and my guineas.

Only yesterday the La Flèche rooster stopped the hawk mid attack and it had a very narrow escape. We stood only about 3 meters away when it happened. This rooster already had several encounters with hawks and furry predators in previous years and lost his once outstanding beauty because of several severe injuries he sustained while protecting his flock.

My guineas once even plucked the hawk right off the protective netting covering the chick run. They literally ripped him apart, I almost felt sorry for the hawk.

 

[Jenn1018]

I know this is an old thread but I have a major hawk problem. Found a hawk standing on one of my little silkies. Amazingly didn’t kill her. The next day a hawk was on top of my huge rooster squished up underneath the coop. The next day it killed one of my hens. My girls are locked up now. I have 3 roosters, stupid reflective streamers hanging everywhere and a part time chicken dog who will go after hawks and they still weren’t deterred. Leaving my girls locked up just seems cruel and I’m not happy. Having chickens is supposed to make you happy and I’m miserable that I have to coop them up and can’t enjoy them in my yard.
I don’t know what to do. I was hoping the liege rooster was my answer but it doesn’t really sound like this is the absolute answer either. If anyone has any ideas would love to hear them!

 

[centrarchid]

I have used chicken tractors to provide some access to limited forage and yet good protection from raptors. When days are long the birds can be trained to move back and forth between coop for roosting and chicken tractor for daytime activities. My approach now is dogs, but that is expensive and slow to realize.

 

[cmom]

This is what one BYC member did.

 

[M075136]

Do you need the rooster to kill the hawk or just deter it? These birds do deter predators and protect hens. I haven’t seen a breeder claim they kill hawks. But they will deter them and interfere with a hawk coming after the flock. That doesn’t mean killing hawks. Maybe why you’re having trouble getting an answer to your question.

 

[McChooky]

The roosters job is to alert his flock to danger and get them to safety (run and hide). The hens who don't listen or respond to his alerts are the loners and stragglers of the flock (lowest in the pecking order) No rooster can save a hen that won't run and hide .

 

[raingarden]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/my-rooster-killed-a-hawk-pics.616151/