Tips for deterring hawks?

[Nashv755]

Holy talons. What a sweet face! I had an exhibition brahma rooster once and he was big, but not 13 lbs big. It seriously felt like I had Big Bird as a pet in my backyard. He was really shy though and the hens were all pretty mean to him. I now have a six month old Speckled Sussex who takes his rooster duties more seriously. He's not exceptionally large, but he is protective of his ladies. I'm totally Googling Liege roosters now.

Liege is the city in Belgium they are from originally. The ones we have here in the states are more docile. The first 2 i hatched including the one I pictured I suspect was crossed or just low quality. They both have leg problems and walk funny that I suspect could have been from shipping the eggs. I got 5 chicks from another breeder that are closer to the original line and specs for the breed but they are only about 6mo. It takes them close to 1.5-2 years to hit there full potential. One funny thing about them is the young ones don't look as big as they are until you pick one up and they are much heavier than a normal chicken the same size because it's all muscle and not fluffy feathers.

 

[Nashv755]

Holy talons. What a sweet face! I had an exhibition brahma rooster once and he was big, but not 13 lbs big. It seriously felt like I had Big Bird as a pet in my backyard. He was really shy though and the hens were all pretty mean to him. I now have a six month old Speckled Sussex who takes his rooster duties more seriously. He's not exceptionally large, but he is protective of his ladies. I'm totally Googling Liege roosters now.

Here's a picture I snagged from a Liege group when I still has FB. Liege, ayam cemani and some Chihuahua of the chicken world

 

[Amy Polka]

Chickens don't have to compete or hunt for food to survive like a wild predator.Some hawks don't migrate. Check with your states DNR to see what Hawks your state has.

I learned this also, red tail hawks in my area stay here year round. It's the fall that is the precarious time for the chickens, I've learned, when the leaves fall and the girls lose coverage. There are also hawks further north that migrate south around fall, I think, that can add to the party.

 

[Amy Polka]

Here's a picture I snagged from a Liege group when I still has FB. Liege, ayam cemani and some Chihuahua of the chicken world

I poured over Greenfire Farms' website last night (they sell liege chickens, kaching) and fantasized about owning some of the exotic breeds they sell. Have you ever owned an Indio Gigante?? They for sure are a reminder of the chicken dinosaur link.

 

[Nashv755]

I poured over Greenfire Farms' website last night (they sell liege chickens, kaching) and fantasized about owning some of the exotic breeds they sell. Have you ever owned an Indio Gigante?? They for sure are a reminder of the chicken dinosaur link.

Yea I believe Indigo Gigante's are from south America somewhere. They were in the top ten biggest list I was looking through but wanted something more "angry chicken" and less weird asian chicken for my project lol. I can't remember if it was those but one on the list did better on a seafood based diet.

Greenfire is who brought the Liege to the US from overseas. Thats part of why they're so expensive. Having to rent a room in NYC to quarantine chicks for weeks adds to the cost of shipping them over to start a breeding program

I got my second batch from Carolina Pines Hatchery. You might check them out. Mine are just starting to crow and getting into the teenager stage so time will tell how great they are. Be warned they have a loud deep deathmetal sounding crow lol "big roo" rattles the windows when he sounds off near by.

Mine are 6mo next week, do you want me to try to get you some decent pictures of them?

 

[Jenn1018]

I have dogs as well, this is what they look like. I let them out with me supervised with the chickens, they leave them alone but would they be any help with deterring hawks? I don't know hawks I don't know if they would be nervous around loudmouth dogs or not
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I have 2 dogs. One which actually barks at the sky if there is a predator and ran a hawk off who was on top of one of my girls I still lost a chicken this week. She was 2 feet away from the coop and my dogs were in the yard. Hawks are ruthless and nothing deters them. Don’t count on the dogs to protect them. You still have to be prepared for loss if you free range.

 

[OzarkChooks]

After losing 6 chickens since fall, my husband set up a covered run for them. In my experience, dogs did not successfully deter them. I have hawks and bald eagles that just sit in nearby trees staring at the coops. I would recommend a covered run, at least for fall and winter. Otherwise the hawks could start picking them off.

 

[McChooky]

Give your chickens a bucket of fresh compost and dry leaves to scratch around in to prevent boredom. They'll love digging and scratching around in it trust me! I add it to my runs regularly! They get very excited when I bring it! Just as much as food or treats Lol!

 

[McChooky]

I have 2 dogs. One which actually barks at the sky if there is a predator and ran a hawk off who was on top of one of my girls I still lost a chicken this week. She was 2 feet away from the coop and my dogs were in the yard. Hawks are ruthless and nothing deters them. Don’t count on the dogs to protect them. You still have to be prepared for loss if you free range.

I witnessed a Hawk swoop down & grab one of my dads hens right in front of us when I was a young girl still living at home. That turned me against free ranging .I still don't.

 

[Brock the cock]

A couple of times I have had a hawk kill a bird right next to me. It happened so fast I didn't have time to react. Now my birds are in nice large covered pens. There are ways to entertain birds in pens. Now when I let them out they may come out briefly but soon are back in their pens where they feel safe. Birds are creatures of habit. Good luck...

I recently lost one of my hens to a hawk. This is the second one, the first one was last fall. At the time, I thought she may have been attacked only because she was lame and an easy target. I didn’t think hawks typically preyed upon chickens. Now, from my most recent experience, and from many posts on this forum, I see I was gravely mistaken.
My problem now is how to protect them. Obviously physically covering the pen would be the best protection except that I have a very large pen (I like to give them plenty of room to roam and scratch.) I was thinking of using 2” chicken wire but I have a lot of poplar trees in and around the pen, and they shed large leaves and sticky pollen. This would very quickly form a solid covering and collapse with first snowfall. Wondering what others have used. Any ideas would be appreciate.