Will bird netting keep the hawks from killing?

[cchardwick]

I have four dogs, none are safe with my birds, they would eat the chickens and ducks LOL

 

[centrarchid]

I see lots of approaches that can keep hawk from getting at your birds. Netting you plan would get entire run back into use. Can you pen a dog next to the run where hawk sees it when going after your birds?

 

[McChooky]

This post was made in 2012 and revived.

 

[cchardwick]

I'm not even sure the dogs would work. There are birds that fly into the dog pens and clean up whatever they leave on the ground, the dogs ignore them LOL

 

[centrarchid]

I'm not even sure the dogs would work. There are birds that fly into the dog pens and clean up whatever they leave on the ground, the dogs ignore them LOL

It will be a very odd dog that goes after chickens but has no interest in those chickens already alarmed in the presence of a large hawk.

 

[Huntmaster]

And this is just temporary. I want to eventually use lumber and hardware cloth to really secure it, but as you know that's an expensive project. The netting is cheap and quick.

I use 2"heavy knotted netting on all my turkey pens it has been up for 6 years now with very little problems. I used 2X4s for poles with PVC end caps for caps on top of 2X4s. I used hog rings to attach netting to fencing. I put netting right over small buildings, open roofs over roosts for shelter, small trees and shrubs for natural cover and shade in pens. Heritage turkeys like roosting and being outside they don't like being in coops, they do have 3 walled building with roosts but won't use it, so all my pens just have natural shelter from weather, wind, sun, predators. Only thing with netting is wet heavy snow can stick to it and can cause damage. I set mine up so all 2X4 poles can be removed or placed on angles before heavy wet snow fall by berrying plastic pipe in ground as sleeve to slide 2X4 poles in and out easily to relieve weight from wet sticking snow enough to let netting sag to ground in some areas to take pressure off netting until I can shake snow off netting. Only had to do this a few times in 6 years but better to have that option rather than causing damage. Love mine hard to cover 100'X100' open pens any other way. Has been very durable so far. With no predator problems. I did use plastic coated cable attached to 4x4 posts used for fencing, run up and over 2x4 posts and under netting on a few poles to help evenly support netting. A few pics for reference to hopefully help understand my explanations.

 

[Huntmaster]

If you click on photos to zoom in, you should be able to get a good Idea of what has worked well for me to cover large pens cheap and easy. I have all my pens covered with it, from 20'x20' breeding pens, 25'x50', 50'x50', 100'x100' grow out pens. Everything but my very large pastures for free range.

 

[cchardwick]

The problem up here is that we have bears and mountain lions. I keep my birds in a huge round arena with six foot chain link with electric wire, but if the power goes out or the electric goes down the bears get in. I also had a fox get in the big pen and he got a few chickens. Had a mountain lion wipe me out one year, my first year a bear got all my birds at once. It's crazy up here.

 

[DuckDuckSook]

I had a hawk get into my chicken run/coop that was covered with just netting. I don't know if it made the hole that it used to get in or if the hole was there for a bit and I didn't see it. I lost one chicken to it but luckily, I ran down there before it got any more. It didn't want to leave the run even after I went in there. Crazy! I now have my run covered with bent hog panels, wire, and a tarp. Nothing is getting in there now.

 

[centrarchid]

The problem up here is that we have bears and mountain lions. I keep my birds in a huge round arena with six foot chain link with electric wire, but if the power goes out or the electric goes down the bears get in. I also had a fox get in the big pen and he got a few chickens. Had a mountain lion wipe me out one year, my first year a bear got all my birds at once. It's crazy up here.

You got to adapt to your situation. Adapt