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Tell me about it! We've got Red-tailed and Coopers hawks, and once we even spied a baby eagle (complete with remnants of head fuzz) sitting in a large dead tree! None of our chickens are truly safe!
See and given where I live this is why my birds don't free range and ALL of my runs are covered with wire or net.
I understand completely. I talked to a friend's mom the other day and asked about her young birds. Of the twenty she started with, twelve were killed by hawks and coyotes. They don't keep their birds confined at all. They can run under cars or into a few small patches of vegetation, but that's pretty much the only cover they get. It makes me sad to think that her birds are always in constant danger.
Oh, how sad about those birds!
I have been looking at bird aviaries. I wonder what DH is going to say if I ask "Hey honey, can we turn our entire back yard into an aviary?" LOL. Not that I'm totally crazy enough to do this, but, then again...
What do you guys think... would something like this batting cage be enough to keep hawks, eagles, etc. away from my girls? http://gourock.com/battingcage_home.html
I wonder if I could sell enough crapola from around the house to pay for something like that. But, I'd only want to spend that kind of money on it if it was believed that it could work.
Edited to add: This would JUST be to replace free-ranging, when I am at home supervising them, during daylight hours. When I am gone, or at night, they are always locked in their coop/run set-up.
You DO KNOW somebody who has created thier own version of this. And for WAY LESS $$$.
