Keeping Away Hawks?

[fadedracer]

Not sure what your run is like, but we got an electric fence because we have a lot of wood's around our house, and to keep the hawks out we ran fishing line across the top. It has worked really well! We lost one to a hawk also, but since we installed the fishing we have not lost any more! YA---HOO!!

I guess I am not sure what you are saying, do you put fishing wire high in the air, what test line do you use? How far apart? and does it knock them out of the air?. I used to have 2 Jack Russell terriers in my chicken yard, but the hawks got 1 one day, and then 2 days later, he killed the other. What a sad sight that was with their eyes and head all eaten up. I have seen cats carried off and eaten by them also. We used to have lots of pheasants all over the country in this part of the U.S. but not anymore. If you see one, you are really lucky. I still see lots of cottontails and jackrabbits, but no prairie chickens or pheasants. Maybe they will change the laws so we can protect our livestock again.

 

[First-timer]

We use a 8 to 10 pounds test. We just zig-zag it across the top of the run attaching it to the top line on the fence about 12-15" apart. Very inexpensive & my girls are safe. We leave a small open area right in front of the coop so we can get in & change their water & food & clean it out, but the rest of the run is wired. It has worked really good keep the hawks out. I am so sorry to hear about you dogs, yes it is a very sad thing. What part of the country do you live in?

 

[First-timer]

Sorry, I forgot to tell you also that we use a bright yellow/green line and I think they can see it and that is why they do not try to land on it.

 

[pfields]

I believe we bought our netting from this site Amigoni. I'm not positive but it looks familiar and the prices are good. We bought it last year and just around to putting it up due to my husband fighting an infection in his elbow for over a year.

So far its worked great. Our run is less than a half acre with a hurricane fence around it. We have one corner that's not covered. I need to buy more and we're also going to use it over our tomato plants in our raised bed garden. The birds really go after the tomatoes. We plant tomato plants here spring and fall.

The colored fishing line sounds like a good idea. We have a few chickens that jump the fence so putting the netting everywhere will stop that.

 

[pfields]

I was outside sweeping the grass off the sidewalk from mowing the yard and a hawk flew down in the only opening on the right side of the backyard and then flew out on the other side where we're going to net. The rooster didn't sound and none of the chickens seems to realize what had just happened. It happen so fast and I think all the netting confused it anyway I came inside and ordered another 400 feet of netting.

Well later this afternoon we had a hailstorm. It came down like snow and the wind blew so hard I thought we were going to get a tornado.
I just noticed some of the netting was moved around with the wind and some broke loose due to being attached to a tree. Other than that it did okay.

 

[beginnergirl]

I was outside sweeping the grass off the sidewalk from mowing the yard and a hawk flew down in the only opening on the right side of the backyard and then flew out on the other side where we're going to net.  The rooster didn't sound and none of the chickens seems to realize what had just happened.  It happen so fast and I think all the netting confused it anyway I came inside and ordered another 400 feet of netting

Glad your chickens were safe! Your post answered one of my questions which was if a hawk might fly under netting if it wasn't attached to the ground. Right now I am leaving lots of the volunteer trees for cover for mine and trying to supervise them.
Hail in September??? Where do you live?

 

[pfields]

Sorry, was watching TCU beat Texas Tech in the last seconds of the game.

We live right on the Texas coast, half way between Galveston and Corpus Christi. It was coming down so hard for about 30 minutes that when I opened the back door hail came into the house. I didn't think it could hail that long, it just went on and on and the wind blew really hard, lots of lightning, too.

 

[fadedracer]

We use a 8 to 10 pounds test. We just zig-zag it across the top of the run attaching it to the top line on the fence about 12-15" apart. Very inexpensive & my girls are safe. We leave a small open area right in front of the coop so we can get in & change their water & food & clean it out, but the rest of the run is wired. It has worked really good keep the hawks out. I am so sorry to hear about you dogs, yes it is a very sad thing. What part of the country do you live in?

I live in central/western part of Kansas, and Thank You for the information.

 

[BillieFeliciano]

I have found that fishing line stretched from tree to tree with shiny ribbons or small tins....like the ones from pot pies, or small shiny pinwheels, every few feet or so have been keeping the hawks away. They know better than to get entangled in the line and don't like the shiny items flopping in the breeze. So far I have had very good results. I still see the hawks. As a matter of fact one was up perched in a tree looking down at my property and coops about an hour ago from my neighbors yard. But he flew away, hopefully discouraged from the lines. Anyways I hope this helps someone. Good luck out there everybody.
Billie

 

[Oldallamerican]

We have been using netting to cover most of our coop and run area but the problem is we have pecan trees and they shed everything on the nets weighing them down. 'Been thinking on stringing plastic coated clothesline spaced closely over the area with occasional colored pennants to discourage hawks (we have at least one in the area and I saw a couple flying in what seemed to be a mating dance (a bit early) the other day) from flying in and some of my Wyandottes from flying out.

Perhaps the fishing line might augment what we've already bought...