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Spring is the worst time of year for hawks in our area. I was so nervous when we got our first two chickens -- two little fluffy bantam Silkies that can't fly. We never let them out of their little 4x6 coop pen unless we were watching them. But we quickly found that it is very unnatural not...

I've had between 3 to 5 backyard hens at a time over the last seven years. We have a smaller cottage backyard and found it easy to put up a pop-up canopy, 5 large doghouses picked up on trash days or in thrift stores, plastic lawn furniture and tables, tall trash bins, a compost recycle bin...

P.S. Before choosing plants/bushes for the chickens do a Google search for Safe vs Toxic Plants for chickens. Chickens usually are good about not ingesting harmful weeds or leaves of plants but just to be safe choose safe vegetation for the chicken yard.

Plants are a great protection for chickens. The thicker the leaves or the thornier the bush all the better. I had an old climbing rose bush and my first 3 chickens loved to sit under it as shade and protection from the aerial predators. Don't bother with planting a tree since it will attract...

I've been catching up on this hawk thread -- hope you all are finding successful solutions. One theme I noticed in reading here is that open spaces that block a hawk's aerial predatory flight pattern works some wonders. No guarantee that hawks won't find a way to get at hens but hawks'...

Our contractor has left us all his leftover lumber and plywood pieces that we will use to make more low-to-the-ground lean-to's. We have a cedar Adirondack chair we've had in a box for 15 yrs so time to bring it out and assemble it for the backyard. The contractor plans to take our scaffolding...

Better to confine your precious birds for a little while until you can make a larger covered pen rather than having them as free-range bait for hawks. We have a small suburban cottage backyard but still have a Cooper's Hawk issue. Most of the time the black Crows will chase off the Cooper's...

For our yard in the evenings we have the Nite Eyes plus we keep the patio light on plus we have another motion-activated floodlight. Night predators don't seem to like lights of any kind.

I love your chicken story! Aren't chickens more amazing than you ever thought they could be? I panicked the very first time we saw a Cooper's Hawk sitting on our patio chair eyeing our chickens (who were hiding in a doghouse at the time 5 yrs ago). Now that I've watched how alert and savvy...

Raptors like a clear open flying space to swoop down on prey/chickens so if you can put up a large pop-up tent in the middle of a hawk's flight space it will interrupt its flight pattern. I have a pop-up canopy and will be putting up a 2nd one. I have doghouses around the yard and under the...

Our crows used to love traipsing through our dewy lawn early in the mornings but since the drought 4 yrs ago we can't water the lawn any more! I won't keep any food out for birds because eventually we'll have way too many wild birds and rodents bringing us their lice and fleas! I'm exhausted...

If you think the feather-picker is one of the Doms, isolate one Dom at a time from the flock/coop for about a week and see if damage is still being done to the flock. If more damage is still being done then return her to the flock and isolate a different suspected culprit for a week or however...

Thx for the reply re the scarecrow & wire! Sorry about the loss of your hens but happy to hear about the fox! It's sad we have to battle wildlife to keep our domesticated livestock safe. I understand the adult Doms are serious foragers - you can see it already in the busy movements of the...

I think your idea of cutting down the flight path area of your chicken yard is an excellent idea. It's what we did to our open yard - we used a pop-up canopy to interfere with the flight path of raptors who like to swoop down on running prey/chickens. Of course we also have a lot of other...

My DD & SIL have a very tall lighted flying flagpole - they still have aerial predator visits - they decided not to keep chickens or even a pet cat for the pets' own safety. One large aggressive dog is what they keep as a predator deterrent - she tore up an invading possum night visitor. I'm...

Netting will be troublesome to keep secured from forming gaps or openings when raccoons or other night critters walk on it, but any deterrent that gives a chicken a chance to hide before a hawk enters the yard will be well worth it. Any $$$ investment that will deter aerial predators in one's...

Agreed - that our predatory raptors are losing ground and are protected. You hear exciting news when Eagles and Condors have successfully hatched and reared their new chicks in the wild. Not only is it illegal killing raptors but in the city we couldn't go shooting shotguns without police at...

@Fire Ant Farm How cool that you haven't lost any birds to hawks! We've been lucky so far too. Our hawks generally get chased by the Crow flocks but the Crows have been slack lately and people around us are locking up their Chiquaquas and cats. All the neighbors around me are reporting...

I am so sorry to hear of so many losing their flock to Hawks. I'm not in a rural area but have an ordinary cottage backyard but still get Cooper's Hawks. This is what we did if any of it can help someone. I started with two Silkies that we kept penned in a 4x6 coop we bought at a feed-store...

Yes, there is always risk in keeping poultry whether free-ranged or penned. There are just too many predators from small reptilians to rodents to large wildlife and aerial predators - and that's not counting the parasites and myriad of diseases poultry get exposed to for which there are no...