Aggressive HAWK and pen security

[Vadard]

The bird dog can see them up in the sky a mile away and will "chase" them, its quite comical but effective as I have never seen one get even remotely low to our property.

That's hilarious. The hawk must be thinking: "Look at this crazy thing. No way I'm going down there!"

I'm curious. What kind of bird dog do you have?

 

[Folly's place]

Our German Shorthair watched the jet planes fly over, high in the sky! If it was in the air, he was all about it! We have bantams, and sometimes hawks got one in spite of our dogs. hawks are smart too!
Scent hounds are all about the ground, pointers are about flying things, large of small.
Mary

 

[ChickyWhicky]

That's hilarious. The hawk must be thinking: "Look at this crazy thing. No way I'm going down there!"

I'm curious. What kind of bird dog do you have?

German shorthair pointer, he is such a great dog! Also have a bloodhound, they are quite the duo. Lots of kills under their belts. We sleep good at night knowing they are doing their job!

 

[AGeese]

Our German Shorthair watched the jet planes fly over, high in the sky! If it was in the air, he was all about it! We have bantams, and sometimes hawks got one in spite of our dogs. hawks are smart too!
Scent hounds are all about the ground, pointers are about flying things, large of small.
Mary

That's my gander. I've seen him scoping out planes way way up I wouldn't have noticed right away had I not been watching him.

 

[Aunt Angus]

That's my gander. I've seen him scoping out planes way way up I wouldn't have noticed right away had I not been watching him.

I hope he gets one. Someone needs to teach those planes a lesson.

 

[AGeese]

I hope he gets one. Someone needs to teach those planes a lesson.

HA.. he and his ladies have been spreading their wings lately, but I don't think any of them can get off the ground yet but if something comes down to his level it's on!

 

[linguini]

So I've now read a fair amount of things here to help deter hawks. The hawk(s) seem to be getting more aggressive. Great info and help here though!

This evening the hawk swooped ME. I came outside expecting to scare him off again because my hens were yelling, but I couldn't find him. Then I felt the wind woosh above my head. I ducked (probably too late), and he flew right over me as if taunting me. He could've attacked my head easily if he wanted to. Has this happened to anyone?

The previous owners of this house gave me their three hens with some advice on how to keep them happy and healthy and living. However, I've noticed they didn't do a great job building the pen and I'll have to redo it with some better wire, more space, and better security in general. Happy to have the chickens and fresh eggs. They are quite adorable and entertaining.

I admit, I probably let them free range too much in the beginning and that's what attracted the hawks. The previous owners had a dog which maybe helped and probably let the hens free range less as well.

I've installed a motion sensing solar light to scare off big predators at night. I re-stapled the chicken wire to the posts and closed any gaps and holes. I've put some CDs around the pen and fence. Bought a carabiner to keep the pen door latched even for savvy predators...

Going to put more CD's out there, on strings or fishing line now. Maybe streamers or something else too. But I have a feeling this won't work.

Might try buying a chicken statue to mess with it when it attacks the statue to no avail. Don't think I want to put up an owl decoy because I don't want to attract other owls... Maybe other statues? Fake snakes, eagles, crows, etc? I've also heard this doesn't work because they realize they don't move often and the hawks start to notice it's you who moves them.

Might try attracting crows with dried fruit and nuts? How else? Not sure I want crows in my yard anyway though because I don't want the noise.

Maybe roosting spikes around the fencing in my backyard and around the top of their pen? At least to get them away from landing too close.

I'm considering having my sister's dog hang out here for a bit and see if that does anything. Also I do want a dog, maybe a rescue pit, or in a perfect world I would raise a puppy to behave with the chickens well. Still, I've read that may not work.

It's illegal to shoot at hawks, but what about a bb gun or an airsoft gun?

For now I don't let the hens free range unless I'm out there as well doing yard work and whatnot. If I let them out I keep them from going too far and under the small 2 foot high deck on the other side of the yard (because then I can't get them back until they go back to the pen themselves for bed). That said, the chickens are pretty used to running for cover and are careful and spooked now more than ever after the hawk decided to hang out on top of the pen one recent morning.

Thanks for reading! Would appreciate any help!!

Is it possible to put aviary netting above the fenced in area? That's what we eventually did. The aviary nettings are fairly inexpensive, durable and easy to install. We use 2x2x8 to tie to t-posts to hold up the net so we can walk in the chicken run and garden area. The entire area is well protected from hawks! (There is a hawk nest in the big oak tree near the fenced in area).

p.s. we also added shade cloth on top this summer to reduce exposure to avian flu from wild birds. Chickens love the additional shade as well.

 

[Idaho Chicken Bungalow]

Is it possible to put aviary netting above the fenced in area? That's what we eventually did. The aviary nettings are fairly inexpensive, durable and easy to install. We use 2x2x8 to tie to t-posts to hold up the net so we can walk in the chicken run and garden area. The entire area is well protected from hawks! (There is a hawk nest in the big oak tree near the fenced in area).

p.s. we also added shade cloth on top this summer to reduce exposure to avian flu from wild birds. Chickens love the additional shade as well.

This is awesome! My vote is netting.

 

[Idaho Chicken Bungalow]

Any update?

 

[Aunt Angus]

Is it possible to put aviary netting above the fenced in area? That's what we eventually did. The aviary nettings are fairly inexpensive, durable and easy to install. We use 2x2x8 to tie to t-posts to hold up the net so we can walk in the chicken run and garden area. The entire area is well protected from hawks! (There is a hawk nest in the big oak tree near the fenced in area).

p.s. we also added shade cloth on top this summer to reduce exposure to avian flu from wild birds. Chickens love the additional shade as well.

I keep looking at this photo. I love it so!