A Good Rooster for Attacking and Deterring Hawks

[Thunder344]

Hello,
Yesterday I lost one of my older birds to this tiny hawk. I watched the hawk fly off, and it had to be the size of the chicken it caught. (the chicken that died was a tiny chicken)
I currently do not have any roosters but i do have 2 guard guineas. The chickens cannot free range due to ground predators, so they have a 60x45 sq ft run. It is not covered. I was wondering what rooster breeds would be great to help deter the hawks and if the hawks did try to take one, he would attack and protect. Any ideas?

 

[EggSighted4Life]

Any ideas?

Some roosters are decent while others are worthless.. they are ONLY a first line sacrifice to predators IMO.. which just isn't right, for ME.

I keep roosters for eating and breeding or for eye candy..

They can bring order in some flock or be a bastard to some hens you actually like. There is NO perfect answer.. But for ME.. I would consider covering my run before I would ad the issue of a cockerel/rooster. Parasites, virus, disease, antics, etc.

Sorry for you loss.

 

[aroostercalledBrownie]

I had a RIR roo who was a real gentlemen to the hens. He fought off a raccoon (or at least scared it so much it went running for the hills), and warned about and fended off hawks. He does also get very protective of the flock, and sometimes attacked our legs when we refilled the food containers. I’m not sure how helpful that is, but it’s an idea.

 

[MysteryChicken]

A couple good flock Protectors are Malays, & Liege Fighters.

 

[Sheepheart]

I hear it can be pretty hit or miss on a Roos flock guarding abilities. You could try a goose? Naturally aggressive towards outsiders and those unlike their flock and they’ve got pretty good size and win spans. You don’t need a place for them to swim either, just enough water to submerge their beaks.

 

[BeanBoy]

I have a black Australop mix rooster and several black hens which seems to help deter hawks. I forget where I read it, but somewhere said that black chickens can help deter hawks bc they look like crows, which are enemies to hawks. Or it said something similar to that lol. Hope this helps some!

 

[Thunder344]

I had a RIR roo who was a real gentlemen to the hens. He fought off a raccoon (or at least scared it so much it went running for the hills), and warned about and fended off hawks. He does also get very protective of the flock, and sometimes attacked our legs when we refilled the food containers. I’m not sure how helpful that is, but it’s an idea.

Yeah, I was thinking a RIR. I had one who was a great boy, until we decided to butcher the roosters. Now im thinking i regret that...

A couple good flock Protectors are Malays, & Liege Fighters.

I dont think i have heard of them, but ill look it up!

I hear it can be pretty hit or miss on a Roos flock guarding abilities. You could try a goose? Naturally aggressive towards outsiders and those unlike their flock and they’ve got pretty good size and win spans. You don’t need a place for them to swim either, just enough water to submerge their beaks.

Goose is a good idea, but i was wondering if the goose would attack the guineas.....

I have a black Australop mix rooster and several black hens which seems to help deter hawks. I forget where I read it, but somewhere said that black chickens can help deter hawks bc they look like crows, which are enemies to hawks. Or it said something similar to that lol. Hope this helps some!

thats cool! I have seen a couple crows flying over the chicken run, which might have scared off the hawks right then. I do have a couple Astrualorps

Some roosters are decent while others are worthless.. they are ONLY a first line sacrifice to predators IMO.. which just isn't right, for ME.

I keep roosters for eating and breeding or for eye candy..

They can bring order in some flock or be a bastard to some hens you actually like. There is NO perfect answer.. But for ME.. I would consider covering my run before I would ad the issue of a cockerel/rooster. Parasites, virus, disease, antics, etc.

Sorry for you loss.

I agree. Some roosters are worthless. I was thinking of covering the run, but i dont know what material i should use.
, but they're all girls.

 

[MysteryChicken]

Yeah, I was thinking a RIR. I had one who was a great boy, until we decided to butcher the roosters. Now im thinking i regret that...

I dont think i have heard of them, but ill look it up!

Goose is a good idea, but i was wondering if the goose would attack the guineas.....

thats cool! I have seen a couple crows flying over the chicken run, which might have scared off the hawks right then. I do have a couple Astrualorps

I agree. Some roosters are worthless. I was thinking of covering the run, but i dont know what material i should use.
, but they're all girls.

If you want a Malay roo, or two I may have a couple to spare. My Eggs I got from a breeder are hatching.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

I forget where I read it, but somewhere said that black chickens can help deter hawks bc they look like crows, which are enemies to hawks.

I hadn't heard that one before.. but I have seen groups of crows chasing hawks, plucking their feathers, squawking like crazy, bomb diving, etc.. to chase them off.. presumably from their nearby nest.

I took that clue and go out acting crazy and harassing them to blow their cover until they move on.. since hawks tend to be ambush hunters.. Chickens have SHORT attention span.. and quickly forget why they ran for cover and return to business as usual. I do go on full lock up during high hawk season.. I've seen my mini pig thwart an attack though mostly by chance and other attacks evaded. I do have to go on full lock up during high hawk season as they will come with YOU out there.

A decent head hen will usually call predator call as well.

Oddly or coincidentally.. hawk attacks stopped in my Silkie pen shortly after I strong fishing line.. they were black, the hawks have fairly good eye sight.

I might use poultry netting if it's a day time run, the metal kind that won't break down as quickly as garden bird netting stuff. Or a shade cloth if shade is desire.. they're UV resistant. Metal roofing.. rain, predator, and sun resistant. Tarp, short term maybe cheap solution since tarps break down sort of quick.

A good rooster is worth his weigh in gold and can be a great addition!

ANY cockerel or rooster that attack human legs.. has earned his place at camp Kenmore.

Sounds like you have many options, it's good to have options!

 

[Ilovechickens07]

It doesn't really depend on the breed in my opinion, I have a pretty feisty silkie rooster. Its pretty funny to watch him attempt to attack strangers