Hawk Questions

[SamLockwood]

Some say that if you get a fair amount of Black Australorps, it helps with hawk attacks.

I think this is a myth. The first bird I lost to a hawk attack was nearly all black with black feet and beak.

Besides, hawks can and do ambush and kill lone crows (especially smaller young ones) when they get the chance. So it's not like even if the hawk does think you've got some crows in your yard it won't still swoop in for a little payback.

 

[ajlynco]

Are owl decoys really very effective for hawk prevention? What are some ways the BYC community are using to deter hawks? I have a secure coop/run but I want to let the girls free range in a fenced in 30X100 grassy area. there'll be 4-5 Black Australorps in my flock also. I've heard that hanging CD's randomly from fishing line works too. TIA

 

[Dnar]

Hawk species can be important. Hawks with long tails are generally good at hunting in heavy vegetation and will even chase a chicken on foot. The adult standard sized roosters can be good at turning on the hawk once it is on the ground. Dense cover is not always equal. I look for enough stems close enough so the hawk cannot sustain a flapping flight. Seldom do you see trees growing that densely.

I'm fairly certain the ones that have been bothering my chickens are red shouldered hawks. I also see them hunting from power lines and assumed they liked open areas... but I guess it's much harder to see the ones hunting in the forest.

Some say that if you get a fair amount of Black Australorps, it helps with hawk attacks.

I'm in the process of adding six BCMs to my flock with four of them being roosters. Unfortunately the last hen to get attacked was a BCM, so not sure if this will help too much!

 

[ChickyWhicky]

Owl decoys can help deter hawks, but you have to move them to different locations frequently so the hawks dont catch on that its a decoy. This goes for scarecrows as well, they can help but must be moved frequently.
Wind chimes can help, hawks dont like noisy/busy. Dangly, flappy stuff that moves is good.

 

[orelsi]

Chickens prefer cover lower to the ground - shrubs, bushes, fruit bearing ones like raspberry and gooseberry are their favourite. Trees prevent them from seeing the birds of prey clearly, so they actually help the hawks. Think about spotting a black dot on a blue/white background vs. a black dot among branches and leaves. Some hawks will hide inside trees to surprise pray instead of attacking from above. Nothing wrong with trees and chickens, if you live in an area without birds of pray.

I've found that a single rooster does a good enough job, more roosters means trouble and fights from time to time.a

 

[Fcarter]

Howdy,

My flock has had some unfortunate hawk encounters over the past couple of months. I ended up expanding the fenced in area to include about an acre of dense forest thinking it would provide some cover and make hawk attacks more difficult to pull off. But unfortunately it seems like hawks can still pull off successful attacks even in dense forest. Now I'm thinking that the dense forest actually makes it harder for the chickens to detect threats in the first place. Does this sound accurate? I've been wanting to clear out most of the yaupon holly and underbrush anyways, but if this was true, it would give me a better excuse to start sooner.

Also, perhaps it's a coincidence, but we didn't have any known hawk attacks until three out of our four roosters were relocated to the freezer. Has anyone else noticed a correlation between multiple roosters and a lower amount of hawk attacks?

Thanks,
Dnar

I use predator tape from Amazon
I fly long strips of it from trees, cars and anywhere my birds free range. My yard looks like a circus but it works. I have seen hawks fly above at a distance but not where the tape is. Just a thought

 

[Delmer_B]

Some say that if you get a fair amount of Black Australorps, it helps with hawk attacks.

Black Java's are also a good choice.

 

[brandonstokley]

I just recently started "free ranging" in my little yards maybe 5 days ago and already have had 2 bird of prey attacks.

first was a bcm pullet that was a little under the weather. She died.

today was a bcm cockerel that was lucky enough to have only lost a few feathers.

so the black chicken hypothesis doesn't work for my raptors here in the Florida panhandle.

today I did the million strings above the free range area along with a hawk decoy in both areas

hoping this works