Birds of prey

[HenryG]

Has anyone tried reflective tape to deter hawks? It is commonly used in vineyards, and I have had luck with it in deterring deer from my garden. I have been thinking of trying it in an expanded area that is too big for a netting roof.

I am new to this and haven't lost a chicken to a hawk yet, but I can see them looking.

 

[foamyownsyou]

I being a licensed falconer in the state of California own a red tail any raptor if given the opportunity will go after a chicken or other bird you are keeping but the best way to solve that is not to take matters into your own hands and shoot the bird because you can be fined up to $25000 and spend 5 years in jail and its just plain messed up so the best way to deter raptors it's to put a cover over your chicken pens

 

[HenryG]

You have a beautiful bird...Does it shy away from reflective objects or will it ignore them?

 

[cgmccary]

I being a licensed falconer in the state of California own a red tail any raptor if given the opportunity will go after a chicken or other bird you are keeping but the best way to solve that is not to take matters into your own hands and shoot the bird because you can be fined up to $25000 and spend 5 years in jail and its just plain messed up so the best way to deter raptors it's to put a cover over your chicken pens

Agree with you. The only sure way is to cover them. Also, leave the hawks' natural prey around your place. The hawk is simply hungry and sees an easy meal. Many times, it is juvenile, hungry hawks who don't know how to hunt well -- your chickens look easy to them.

I DO free range my birds from dawn to dusk. I have lots of hawks around (Red Tailed, Red Shouldered, Cooper's) & never lose any to hawks. I am not sure exactly why I do not as I read lots of people on here for years complaining about hawks. The only incidence I know I have had was once, I witnessed a hawk dive after a chick. However, I use game hens on free range with chicks and the game hen met the hawk in the air. It happened in a split second. I was in the coop and had just let them out in the early morning. The game hen headed out to the pasture with her brood. I heard the game hen screech loudly. I looked up and saw her hit the hawk in mid-air while chicks scattered in all directions. This seemed to stun the hawk which flew up in the tree with game hen in hot pursuit -- she flew after the hawk! By then, my rooster had run over as an assist. The hawk failed to get a chick. I noticed the hawk was a juvenile RT.

Some of the things I do that make my birds a higher prey risk for hawks:
(1) I have 3 roosters out with 55+ hens and pullets free ranging. I keep large fowl, the roosters are big (and brave & will protect their hens) and as said, I use game hens as mother hens on free range so get a large, brave rooster; also,(2) I have 8 Toulouse geese free ranging (the geese rule the bird world except GHO -- the GHO pair near me, I hear, leave the geese alone so far for 3.5 years here where I live now) - so get a pair of large geese. Also, (3) as mentioned, as much as I feel like doing it, I do not hunt & shoot the squirrels and other natural hawk prey around me -- the hawks have plenty of less risky prey to eat. This has worked for me.

Donkey, mules and dog keep away the non- aerial predators. Killing predators does not work because it will just be replaced by another predator. They are just trying to make it too. Predators around me seem to realize the boundaries. Early on, I lost a couple of full grown geese to coyote pack while dog was inside (but now I have the donkey and mules).

 

[foamyownsyou]

You have a beautiful bird...Does it shy away from reflective objects or will it ignore them?

Yes he will avoid reflective areas asle those plastic owls and they work really well for hawks if you move them around