FOGHORN LEGHORN~ "Lookit here son, I say, I say son, did ya see that hawk after those hens? ....

[off-grid hen]

vultures have little to no effect on keeping raptors away from your chickens.

Ah, ok! I wasn't sure. I knew the crows deterred them a bit, but I always see vultures here. At least twice a day.

And here is a Screech Owl I met during an educational presentation from the local wildlife refuge. She was hit by a car and can't fly. Sweet thing, she is.

 

[troy1]

crows will for sure mob a hawk or owl. I lost a hen couple of months ago to a red tail hawk that had half dozen crows pestering it while it dove and killed my hen. But the crows do let you know where the hawk is. Losing a hen here and there is part of raising chickens unfortunately. I've lost two to a grey fox and two to red tail hawks this year.

 

[CaCO3]

oh no, I am dreading this. We have an overabundance of the red tails. They are just always there. Honestly about 25% of the day they are overhead. Can I ask what breed your hen was, that took a hit? I keep telling myself that there are enough other small prey out there and my chickens are too big and relatively wise to predators. I don't want to lose one but can't cover my entire yard and don't want to keep the flock cooped in the covered run. I've been very lucky for a couple of years. The kid across the street had a silkie pullet attacked, but he threw a log at the hawk and it took off. The silkie lived too, but got a couple of puncture wounds under her wings. I cant be around all day keeping watch, with a log in my hand.

 

[troy1]

I lost a White Leghorn and an Americauna to the hawk, both early before the trees leaved out completely. No problems since the leaves gave the chickens more cover from above.

 

[CaCO3]

Sorry. I see people mention white ones being targets. My white leghorn is already pretty battle scarred and she is one of the lightest weights out of the flock. The level of cautiousness varies across my flock. I have a covered lean to in the middle of the yard for them to take refuge without having to run all the way back to the covered run. Some are under there in a heartbeat while a few just stand around like nothing's going on. The leghorn is one of the risk takers. Go figure.

I lost a White Leghorn and an Americauna to the hawk, both early before the trees leaved out completely. No problems since the leaves gave the chickens more cover from above.

It has been amusing to see all of them race for cover around 7:30 when the blue heron flies over heading back to its nest (believe the correct term is rookery).

 

[CaCO3]

Cool! They are such little things. I think they look like spartan soldiers. Or the ones from Troy. The ones that have the helmet with the nose guard.

Ah, ok! I wasn't sure. I knew the crows deterred them a bit, but I always see vultures here. At least twice a day.

And here is a Screech Owl I met during an educational presentation from the local wildlife refuge. She was hit by a car and can't fly. Sweet thing, she is.

 

[Maligator]

Like others, I live in an area abundant with hawks. They slowly picked off my last flock many years ago and made me disheartened to have chickens again. This time I built a huge covered run. It's not pretty, but it's been working. I set up 1x1 wood sections along the T-posts that have welded wire fencing. I stretched and stapled up deer netting and, so far, so good.

The hawks caught on we had small delicious chickens only a few days in. Our neighbors have all free ranging chickens from bantam size to large giants. I kept hoping the hawks and raptors would prefer her flock over mine. I've seen them flying super low, perched in trees, and eyeballing the coop. I have that thing stapled shut every couple of inches and they haven't tried it yet. Keep knocking on wood that this solves the hawk problem.

The netting is holding up pretty well. It as been rained on and blown around without tearing. It IS kind of fragile, and easily gets snagged but it's keeping the aerial predators out. We don't get snow hardly ever around here so no worries there. It's so tall even I can walk around without stooping or bending which s exactly what I wanted. Been several months now and no issues, so the real test will be this winter. Hoping it can make it through with minimal breakage. If not I may replace it with heavier fishing net but for now the deer netting is holding.

 

[ellend]

Hawks are highly intelligent; I'd be surprised if mylar, disco balls, or fake hawks would deter them. Also, they remember food source areas. We live in the city and have many Red-tailed hawks, and some Coopers. The local Coopers comes shopping at my yard in spring, winter, and fall at those times that the migratory birds are gone. When they are hungry, they need to eat. They'll take a bird only feet away from you. I've never lost a bird to a mammal, as my house and run are tight, but the Coopers has taken one, and nearly got a second, but lost its grip. My own fault; in the yard, without poultry netting overhead, they are "fair game." This year I will build a light-weight tractor so the girls can be outside of their run on the lawn safely. In the summer I've had no trouble with the Coopers, but one of the (many) "indoor-outdoor pet" cats has discovered the fun of jumping bantams (the one whose wing I had to clip due to daily excursions to the neighbors' house.) Awfully hot to keep the dog out there all day, and besides, being in the city I can't let her bark and annoy the neighbors every time somebody walks down the sidewalk. So, unless I'm outside, either the girls are locked in their run, or "we takes our chances."

 

[ellend]

Sorry. I see people mention white ones being targets. My white leghorn is already pretty battle scarred and she is one of the lightest weights out of the flock. The level of cautiousness varies across my flock. I have a covered lean to in the middle of the yard for them to take refuge without having to run all the way back to the covered run. Some are under there in a heartbeat while a few just stand around like nothing's going on. The leghorn is one of the risk takers. Go figure.
It has been amusing to see all of them race for cover around 7:30 when the blue heron flies over heading back to its nest (believe the correct term is rookery).

Right on both counts; the bird has its NEST in proximity to the other herons' nests, which make up the ROOKERY.

 

[1muttsfan]

Heavy-duty poultry netting is not overly expensive and very sturdy - you can often find smaller pieces on Ebay. Be sure to get the heavy duty if you are going to keep out hawks.