Do you free range your chickens?

[3KillerBs]

I have hawks. Pretty birds. They no longer cause losses.

I haven't lost a lot of birds to hawks, but enough that it's an issue -- especially during migration season.

The resident hawks that nest on the property don't seem to take my birds the way the travelers do.

 

[NevadaEmma]

It's such an uncontrolled situation that I don't see an easy way to stop a dog from eating it, as far as free range birds are concerned.
If anyone comes up with a way, let us know

I do not think the problem is so much the dogs eating the chickens, it is just that they "play" with the chickens; Those that are not dead seem to be at the least traumatized and at the worst have to be put down with horrible injuries.

 

[My Very First 6 Chickens]

I haven't lost a lot of birds to hawks, but enough that it's an issue -- especially during migration season.

The resident hawks that nest on the property don't seem to take my birds the way the travelers do.

Hes smart and knows better!

 

[centrarchid]

I haven't lost a lot of birds to hawks, but enough that it's an issue -- especially during migration season.

The resident hawks that nest on the property don't seem to take my birds the way the travelers do.

It may take a little tinkering to get so chickens can beat hawks. I have as many hawks as anyone which includes resident and migrant hawks. Neighbors losing chickens to same hawks I have do not have situations that favor chickens as much as I do.

 

[NevadaEmma]

Geese are a good way to deter hawks once the roosters start yelling. The geese can see a hawk high in the sky that is hard for a human to see, but mine do not really do anything unless they personally are in danger or if the roosters alert them.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

It may take a little tinkering to get so chickens can beat hawks. I have as many hawks as anyone which includes resident and migrant hawks. Neighbors losing chickens to same hawks I have do not have situations that favor chickens as much as I do.

Care to elaborate, centrarchid? Would love to hear how to give my chickens an advantage such as yours enjoy!

 

[Perris]

It may take a little tinkering to get so chickens can beat hawks. I have as many hawks as anyone which includes resident and migrant hawks. Neighbors losing chickens to same hawks I have do not have situations that favor chickens as much as I do.

I am in a similar situation. No losses to predation for > 1 year; meanwhile a neighbour had 12 birds at the start of the year, and is now down to 3 because of the goshawk and foxes. But his range is an open paddock with relatively little cover; mine is more cover than open.
Edited to add: and I have 4 roos, he has 0.

 

[Ponyiqandhens2]

I have lost one pullet to an odd ball once in a blue moon situation. It is a year next month with chickens at home ( there are a ton at the farm where i foal out mares/ work with babies,wound care,small animal overseer) anyway,ground cover, lots of hides,and the most vital saving grace is a great, jackass of a bantam rooster,who must have seen combat in another life,because he literally has a head on a swivel,often performs," overwatch" ..he will hop up on a fence to both watch his girls ,the sky, and the pastures. It appears that he never rests..he is a hyperactive little man

We have multiple local hawks,red tailed,red shouldered,falcons,we are at the edge of a bald eagles hunting ground,vultures( lots of them) some crows a barn owl and screech owl next door...its nothing to drive my road and see 4 birds of prey within 1/2 mile or so.

We have barb wire/field fencing and electric wire for the horses..

I only have one neighbor,all the rest are fields of assorted livestock,cattle ( cow/calf pairs,sheep,horses, and grow out steers) some have livestock guardian dogs,some have donkeys ..

South louisiana so except during droughts ,everything is plentiful and for this year every exterminator is saying we have already are having a massive rat explosion at the barns in the area..therefore massive food source for birds of prey.

 

[centrarchid]

Care to elaborate, centrarchid? Would love to hear how to give my chickens an advantage such as yours enjoy!

Approach may need to be tailored to resources you have. I addition to dogs and fencing, which are very expensive, I have various types of vegetation that provide visual cover as well as refuges when hawks do come in to cause trouble. This means a structurally varied plant community with lots of edges/boundaries between plant types. For me, the ideal situation has cover patches scattered all over the place and easy for chickens to get to in a hurry and in good places for loafing. I also like so the chickens are able to get food resources they need without going too far away. Raptors like Red-tailed Hawks do seem intimidated by close proximity of places they normally see us walking around. If the chickens go too far away, especially with minimal cover, then odds improve for something like a Red-tailed being able to tackle a chicken and eat without being disturbed. The having adult standard-sized roosters also complicates life for the hawk which conflicts with what many people can support in restrictive neighborhoods or where smaller flock makes supporting even a small number of roosters costly and a potential complication for chicken keepers that do not know their way around roosters. That latter point is easy to see on this site.

Coopers Hawks which in many ways operates like a Goshawk is not an issue with adult standard-sized roosters.

Losses to raptors are not zero, although they are negligible when things going well.

And to restate, I have dogs and fencing.

If I had to restart, then I would be also farming a lot of blackberries organized in rows and patches. And I am gearing up for that too.

 

[centrarchid]

I am in a similar situation. No losses to predation for > 1 year; meanwhile a neighbour had 12 birds at the start of the year, and is now down to 3 because of the goshawk and foxes. But his range is an open paddock with relatively little cover; mine is more cover than open.
Edited to add: and I have 4 roos, he has 0.

Things I see as ideal for keeping free-range chickens make yard management more challenging than a monoculture yard of grass or isolated ornamental plants with minimal cover value. Our Red-tailed Hawk is a bigger and tougher customer than its close relative in form of your Buzzard hawk. In many ways, our Red-tailed hawk is analogous to your Goshawk although the Red-tailed is dominant in more open areas. The Goshawk, if I'm eats your Buzzard.