Arizona Chickens

[EmmaDonovan]

Grrr... someone stole another Amazon package from our front porch last week. After the last time it happened we put up cameras but the guy had a hoody and a mask, there's no way to identify him. We reported it to the police but mostly just for their crime stats. There isn't much they can do.

There are legions of scummy men who constantly circle the neighborhood on bicycles and in old cars without license plates. Sometimes they follow the delivery trucks. They look for anything they can steal. We can't keep anything outside the house, no Christmas decorations*, not even a front door mat, it'll vanish. Even the chickens are under lock and key.

When packages are delivered by Amazon we track them and make sure we're here when they arrive. Sometimes they ship via other carriers and those just show up whenever. We weren't home and the %$&*! thieves got this one.

It wasn't anything fancy. To their credit, Amazon sent replacements at no cost (shipped via Amazon so we got it this time). I really wish they'd tell you before you purchase how the items will be shipped but I guess they don't always know that.

Most of the thieves around here are fentanyl addicts looking for anything they can sell or trade for a fix. According to the police there's also a gang that has a "chapter" or whatever it's called nearby and their "territory" ends less than a mile from where we live, so we get spillover gang activity, too. Theft has skyrocketed here in the last four years.

They're so brazen. The thief was on a bike and he just cruised up to the porch, snatched it, stuffed it into a backpack and took off again. Grrrr. I hope he enjoys the lavender tallow, toothbrush holder, Bluapple refills and old lady socks.

* I do put seasonal wreaths on our security doors. That's about all the decoration we get. The wreaths aren't pricey, they're just crafty things I made. I use around dozen metal zip ties to attach each wreath to the doors. Either that's working or they're not as pretty as I think they are and no one else wants them.

 

[BenisonsChickns]

Grrr... someone stole another Amazon package from our front porch last week. After the last time it happened we put up cameras but the guy had a hoody and a mask, there's no way to identify him. We reported it to the police but mostly just for their crime stats. There isn't much they can do.

There are legions of scummy men who constantly circle the neighborhood on bicycles and in old cars without license plates. Sometimes they follow the delivery trucks. They look for anything they can steal. We can't keep anything outside the house, no Christmas decorations, not even a front door mat, it'll vanish. Even the chickens are under lock and key.

When packages are delivered by Amazon we track them and make sure we're here when they arrive. Sometimes they ship via other carriers and those just show up whenever. We weren't home and the %$&*! thieves got this one.

It wasn't anything fancy. To their credit, Amazon sent replacements at no cost (shipped via Amazon so we got it this time). I really wish they'd tell you before you purchase how the items will be shipped but I guess they don't always know that.

Most of the thieves around here are fentanyl addicts looking for anything they can sell or trade for a fix. According to the police there's also a gang that has a "chapter" or whatever it's called nearby and their "territory" ends less than a mile from where we live, so we get spillover gang activity, too. Theft has skyrocketed here in the last four years.

They're so brazen. The thief was on a bike and he just cruised up to the porch, snatched it, stuffed it into a backpack and took off again. Grrrr. I hope he enjoys the lavender tallow, toothbrush holder, Bluapple refills and old lady socks.

It’s a shame what some areas have come to be like. I’m really doing my research in looking for a new house because some blocks the crime is low then the block next door seems to be crime ridden just like you’ve described…. The drugs have really taken a toll here.

 

[EmmaDonovan]

It's weird how several blocks will be perfectly fine then the next block over is a high crime area. It's very checkboard-y. It isn't like that where I'm from, there are good areas and bad areas but they're distinct. They aren't interspersed with each other.

When we first moved here this street was mostly owner-occupied homes. Now most are rentals. I think there are three owner-occupied homes left including us.

The house across the street is one, the owner is very nice young man who came over to check that we were okay after the tornado last summer (he lost his wall and part of his roof). Next door to us was a lovely older gentleman who owned his house and lived there with his son. The older man sadly passed away last month and his son immediately sold the house. We're wondering who's going to move in (and we hope they like chickens).

You are wise to do your due diligence. I hope the search goes well!

 

[EmmaDonovan]

I was making a late lunch and heard a big commotion in the run. We went running outside and there was a juvenile Cooper's hawk buzzing the run. The hawk alighted calmly on the wall about five feet from the run. We drove it off and it simply moved to the fence on the other side of the yard, so we turned the hose on it. That made it move on. Didn't see its mate anywhere but it might have been too young to have one.

About twenty sparrows had been hiding from the hawk underneath the coop and they all came flying right at us as we ran past. I didn't know they were there and they scared the heck out of me.

That sure got my adrenaline going. We see hawks around here but haven't had one come right into the yard like that before. The next place I live will definitely have to be somewhere we can have a rooster.

Would something like this right outside the coop be a deterrent to hawks? How do you all deter hawks?

 

[cavemanrich]

I was making a late lunch and heard a big commotion in the run. We went running outside and there was a juvenile Cooper's hawk buzzing the run. The hawk alighted calmly on the wall about five feet from the run. We drove it off and it simply moved to the fence on the other side of the yard, so we turned the hose on it. That made it move on. Didn't see its mate anywhere but it might have been too young to have one.

About twenty sparrows had been hiding from the hawk underneath the coop and they all came flying right at us as we ran past. I didn't know they were there and they scared the heck out of me.

That sure got my adrenaline going. We see hawks around here but haven't had one come right into the yard like that before. The next place I live will definitely have to be somewhere we can have a rooster.

Would something like this right outside the coop be a deterrent to hawks? How do you all deter hawks?

View attachment 4003292

I doubt that would deter hawks.
There is one thing that is supposed to work. Its call " Kites" of some sort. It is mounted on a tall pole,, and the motion of that flying kite deters hawks. It will scare the daylights out of your chickens,, if it is in their sight.
The hose did work for you.
I once scared away some hawks that were sitting in a tree, in my back yard. I tried waving a rake, and other things,, Water hose would not spray that high. Nothing I tried would scare them away. They were up high, and knew I could not do anything to them. I took a couple of small fire crackers, and lit them on the ground. They got the message quick.
I have no intention of hurting hawks, or any other creature. I just want them to look for their meals elsewhere, "NOT MY PET CHICKENS"

 

[EmmaDonovan]

A kite like this? I think that would definitely scare the chickens! It's hard to find something that will drive off a hawk that won't also frighten chickens.

 

[cavemanrich]

It's hard to find something that will drive off a hawk that won't also frighten chickens.

Yes, that one...
I read where people using such had them well out of sight of chickens,,,,,, like other side of their barn. The flying hawks seen, and stayed well away.

 

[igorsMistress]

I was making a late lunch and heard a big commotion in the run. We went running outside and there was a juvenile Cooper's hawk buzzing the run. The hawk alighted calmly on the wall about five feet from the run. We drove it off and it simply moved to the fence on the other side of the yard, so we turned the hose on it. That made it move on. Didn't see its mate anywhere but it might have been too young to have one.

About twenty sparrows had been hiding from the hawk underneath the coop and they all came flying right at us as we ran past. I didn't know they were there and they scared the heck out of me.

That sure got my adrenaline going. We see hawks around here but haven't had one come right into the yard like that before. The next place I live will definitely have to be somewhere we can have a rooster.

Would something like this right outside the coop be a deterrent to hawks? How do you all deter hawks?

View attachment 4003292

A rooster is simply a warning for the rest of the flock and often will hide just as quickly as the ladies. Chickens are prey animals and so they behave as such.

 

[EmmaDonovan]

A rooster could warn them faster than we could run out there. We keep an eye on them via cameras but I still have to get through two locked security doors to reach them in an emergency, I hate that.

 

[EmmaDonovan]

I bought the rooster anyway just because I think he's cute. I set him on the wall where the hawk was. I don't know if he'll keep the hawks at bay but I like him.

I had him tucked under one arm as I walked past the pen where eight of our hens were and they acted like someone set off a bomb. They definitely did not like him. They're used to seeing me carry chickens around so I guess they thought he was an intruder. They don't seem to care about him on the wall a little bit away from the pen, though.