Keeping Away Hawks?

[Frindizzle]

Hi! This morning, one of my chickens were attacked by a Dark Morph Swainson's Hawk. I was wondering if anyone has anyways that work to keep hawks away, so more of my chickens are not attacked? Thanks!

Oh, and the chicken survived. Carmel wasn't even injured, thanks to my mom chasing the hawk off!

 

[dogmom]

We lost our beloved Charity last September to a hawk. She had eleven three-week-old chicks, too. The hawk came out of nowhere and took one of the chicks. Charity attacked the hawk and lost her life. We were only about 100 feet away when the murder occurred but there wasn't anything we could do. Charity was gone by time we got to her. Since then we have hung silver-coated CDs all around our property. We have seen the hawk flying overhead (and a couple Bald Eagles) but they keep going. Our neighbors have told us they used to have issues with raccoons but since the CDs have been posted, they only see at the edge of the property. I don't know if this because of the CDs of not. All I know is during a sunny day, the CDs reflect light and they make noise against the fencing.

We also have bells in the trees where the chickens can't get to them and bike streamers on the fence. We are trying everything we can think of to keep predators away from our family.

 

[dan26552]

Larger, smaller dog would have the same problems as a chicken

 

[pfields]

We've put up netting over portions of our backyard. My husband ran guide wires from our covered patio to trees in the yard and then we went back and pulled the netting over the wires and attached with pull ties to the fence. We're not through due to lots of rain this past week. We went from drought to flood, lol. Our goal is to get the whole or most of the backyard covered enough for them to be safe (about a 1/3+ acre). Our rooster does alarm us but our goal is to give them enough netting overhead to have a good chance of running to the coop without getting caught. I've had three hens attacked by a hawk. So far with lots of TLC they've lived. It's not a pretty site when they get a hold of them.

 

[pfields]

I'm not sure but I think we bought it from here: http://www.absolutebirdcontrol.com/products/bird-netting/conf-garden-bird-netting. The cable (wire) that my husband ran to hold it is a wire covered in vinyl. Ours is not attached to the ground. We ran wire from the top of the patio cover across the yard to the trees, then we pulled the netting over the cables from the opposite direction and attached it to the chain link fence. I'll try to take a picture tomorrow so you can see how we put it up. We have more to hang but the rain all this week as kept us inside.

 

[pfields]

Here's some pictures of the netting. We're still not through putting it up.

Here's where it's attached to the fence. It runs over the cables and down to the fence on the other side of the yard.


Here you can see the other side where it attaches to the fence. You can see where he attached the cable to the patio cover.


In this picture I attached it to the coop porch and then ran it over the cables to the fence. The trees presented a problem so we did the best we could.

 

[Lavender Wraps]

All I can say is "OUCH"! Can't even scare the hawks away, what a shame. No one's attached to any certain wild hawk but we are to our chickens. I love my little Bantams, especially my tiny Frizzle hen called Doodle Bug. She looks like she is running around in droopy PJ's that frizzed in the dryer. She comes running when she hears or sees me, she eats out of my hand and will sit on my leg when I'm sitting down in the yard. I won't let her on my shoulder for reasons you can guess, lol!

I'm in California and we can't catch rain water. While in a drought no one is allowed to buy jugs of water to water their plants. Glad I'm on well water although the county is trying to figure out how to charge for what is used from wells. All about government control. What's happened to our freedom, to be able to protect our pets and livestock from predators, and free use of our land as long as it's not something illegal. Guess everything is illegal except for the illegals. Sorry, got off track.

Now about another kind of bird, Hummingbirds. We have hoards of them that have showed up due to others folks that have stopped feeding them. I've put up another feeder on the other side of the house so the babies can feed and not be chased off by the adults. I'm filling the feeders with sugar water and natural nectar at least twice a week and they are flourishing! First time babies have been hatched on the farm, they usually migrate to breed and nest. The babies look like large bumble bees!

Yet another bird, my little wild Doves. There was just one pair, year after year. Now that I've been giving my chickens free range to roam the farm, spreading out feed in the open as well keeping a feeder full in the chicken house, the Doves have had two successful hatches this year, we now have 8 Doves that feed right at my back door, I see them flying in and out of the chicken yard as well. Wonder how many there will be next year after nesting is done? What wonderful little birds.

God keep our little fowls!

Sue

 

[usedhobarts]

Hawks have been a real problem for me this summer. A hawk unchecked can take a chicken or other fowl a day. The really bad thing is they will eat their fill leave the carcass 90% in tact to go to waste and only to come back and back repeating this.

You have right to protect your flock however catching them in act is sometimes tuff. If I catch them in the act they get lead poisoning here. If they are in my trees they get near misses to chase them off. Hawks have a healthy fear of humans and dogs. Having either present while my chickens are free ranging is helpful but not full proof.

Fortunately they are only a problem around here late summer thru the fall. Once the leaves drop their preferred meal of rodents a rabbits are much easier for them to acquire.

I keep plenty of roosters on hand during this time of the year to make sure it least one of them is on hawk patrol all the time. Just remember the Hawks are going for your chickens because they are easy targets out in the open. I've read that they make a hawk control call that mimics a dominant hawk every so often but have not looked into that yet. Apparently a Hawks main predator is another more dominant hawk or an eagle.

Giving your chickens plenty of escape shelters is probably the best plan of attack. I have numerous equipment trailers that are parked out in open areas where my girls like to hang out in. The trailers double as shade shelters also. I know these trailers have saved more chickens this summer than I have.

Good luck, remember a hawk or owl won't go under something after a chicken. The need to always be able to fly upwards to escape quickly.

 

[Sunnyacres nest]

just another idea if you are in the country you could have a radio playing outside or building.Also for uncovered pens the big plastic owls will work and aluminum pie pans hanging from a string.I would be careful with having that many crows around they can carry disease that can be passed on to the chickens if they are eating around the chickens.

 

[Oldallamerican]

We had considered several options when looking at air protection. We have a beautiful hawk in our area who patrols regularly. Fortunately, for our babies out neighbor across the road free ranges (she has almost lost one to the hawk, and who knows how many others to it or other predators) and chicken houses down the road draw foxes and/or other critters from us - at least, so far.

I thought I'd string wires across the top of our run but didn't know if that would be adequate to discourage high flyers from my flock. After discounting a chicken wire roof we settled on plastic animal netting designed to keep deer and other wild animals out of your garden. I believe this is similar to what others are using. Easy to set up with zip ties and I've used PVC pipes as supports to keep the net from sagging too much.

Our situation is complicated by the pecan tree around which our runs and yard are built but the tree adds with cover for the birds - It is just a part of my daily routine to pick the branches and limbs out of the net - a pain, but better than losing my birds.

Oh yeah, I love hawks (well, almost any bird) - but if one comes after ANY of my animals - it's gone. If they don't catch me... and if they do, well, I guess I'll pay the band after I dance, but I will protect my own. They used to have some stupid rules like that about gators (and we have some in our neck of the woods) - as long as they stay where they belong, okay, but if one comes into MY yard and threatens mine?

Just sayin'... Hypothetically, of course...