Coop safety from hawks.

[Peoples]

Hello hoping to get some tips for coop design. I am in process of expanding yard for my girls. They sleep in an enclosed horse stall at night in barn which is secured. I can't seem to upload a pic for what ever reason. The yard is covered by lean too with full metal roof and has fencing all around that above waist high. A hawk could not see if flying over and would have to land and the fence under the roof to access the chicken yard. Would a hawk put in that much effort or look for easy swoop and take meal? We have lots of wild bunnies around and other nature.

 

[Chullicken]

If you're free ranging in a pre set area, running string/fishing line across the lengths can deter aerial attacks. Some folks are using that method along with shiny material such as old CD's...looks ridiculous and not sure if it works or how much you'd have to use to have it work (Never tried this method). Tree netting works wonders and installing covered post in locations so they have a place to hide or some sort of shelter placed around the paddock that is easily accessible and fast. The general idea is to take away the opportunity, i.e. clear flight paths. Predators are much like criminal behavior, the three elements...Ability, Opportunity and Intent. Removing one of the three can take away the threat. We as keepers can't take away Intent or Ability, but we sure can take away the Opportunity~

 

[K0k0shka]

Yes, a hawk can absolutely get your chickens from under the roof. Especially when nobody's looking. How hard is it to close the gap between the roof and the fence with netting? Even plastic netting would be better than nothing. Please don't use fishing line though. It's practically invisible and the hawk (or any other wildlife) can get tangled and really hurt on it. The point is to deter, not to hurt. The white string in the photos above is much better - easy to see and avoid. They sell special bird repellent tape, too, which is colorful or iridescent and works to deter birds. You can find it on Amazon or at feed stores.

 

[Peoples]

Yes, a hawk can absolutely get your chickens from under the roof. Especially when nobody's looking. How hard is it to close the gap between the roof and the fence with netting? Even plastic netting would be better than nothing. Please don't use fishing line though. It's practically invisible and the hawk (or any other wildlife) can get tangled and really hurt on it. The point is to deter, not to hurt. The white string in the photos above is much better - easy to see and avoid. They sell special bird repellent tape, too, which is colorful or iridescent and works to deter birds. You can find it on Amazon or at feed stores.

I have some green deer netting I can put up till we can enclosed all the way

 

[Peoples]

I have some green deer netting I can put up till we can enclosed all the way

 

[K0k0shka]

Oh that's a huuuuuge gap between the roof and the fencing. A hawk can fly right in. Deer netting is a good idea until you figure out a more permanent solution.

 

[Peoples]

Oh that's a huuuuuge gap between the roof and the fencing. A hawk can fly right in. Deer netting is a good idea until you figure out a more permanent solution. Thank you. I am planning to run fence ground to ceiling but need to frame out and add door to access. So will use the deer netting till then

 

[Peoples]

Is this to big a gap here?

 

[K0k0shka]

Is this to big a gap here?

Yes. Any gap the hawk can physically fit through is too big. I'm in a local chicken group on facebook and somebody just reported that a hawk found a weak spot in their run fencing, where the zip ties holding the panels together had broken down over time. The hawk squeezed through the opening, ate a 12-pound duck, and by the time the owner realized what was happening, the hawk was making its escape, leaving a pile of feathers behind - all that was left of the duck. So yeah, any opening big enough for the hawk's body is too big...

 

[Peoples]

Ok hubby is enclosing the top on long one and for the temp sides we added deer netting and wire between and tomorrow will pick up so bright colored tape to run with the wire between fencing and deer net. Will this be a good deterrent until I can fix more permanent?