I just got a call from a friend who knows I have chickens. He said his daughter has free range chickens, but she just lost 7 chickens to a hawk attack. So, now she is buying more chicks to replace the chickens killed in the attack. I mentioned that if she built a nice chicken run with bird netting on top, she would not have hawks or eagles attacking her flock. That's what I do. I have not had an attack from above in the 5+ years I have had my chickens. Unfortunately, his daughter refuses to pen in her "free range" chickens and protect them with bird netting. To her, they would no longer be free range chickens.
I just said, well right now she has free lunch chickens but I'm not going to tell anybody how to keep their flock. I doubt if the hawk(s) are going to go away as long as they know free lunch chickens are on the menu.
It comes naturally to me to protect my chickens at the expense of letting them free range in my yard. I have hawks and Bald Eagles overhead all the time and my flock would not make it through the summer if I did not keep them in a chicken run with bird netting on top. I have a nice, big 13X30 foot chicken run. But certainly not as big as my entire 3-acre yard. I have a hard time understanding why a person would rather let their chickens free range in the yard, knowing they are exposed to hawk attack, and decide that is a better way than confining them to a chicken run with bird netting to protect them.
If anyone here has the opinion that it's free range or bust with their flock, let me know why that is so important to you. Or, if you once felt that way but changed your mind after an attack, maybe there is something I could pass on to my friend to help his daughter change her mind.
Frankly, I'm not so much into telling anybody how to raise their flock, but if anyone has some friendly words of advice that I could pass on to my friend for his daughter, maybe they could take it or leave it. I know my friend's daughter, and she does not welcome suggestions very easily. Nice girl, but usually hard to suggest other options if her mind is set on something else. I would only pass on any suggestions to my friend. He can choose to bring up the options with his daughter after that. I'm not going to talk to her directly. It's that kind of situation.
I just said, well right now she has free lunch chickens but I'm not going to tell anybody how to keep their flock. I doubt if the hawk(s) are going to go away as long as they know free lunch chickens are on the menu. It comes naturally to me to protect my chickens at the expense of letting them free range in my yard. I have hawks and Bald Eagles overhead all the time and my flock would not make it through the summer if I did not keep them in a chicken run with bird netting on top. I have a nice, big 13X30 foot chicken run. But certainly not as big as my entire 3-acre yard. I have a hard time understanding why a person would rather let their chickens free range in the yard, knowing they are exposed to hawk attack, and decide that is a better way than confining them to a chicken run with bird netting to protect them. If anyone here has the opinion that it's free range or bust with their flock, let me know why that is so important to you. Or, if you once felt that way but changed your mind after an attack, maybe there is something I could pass on to my friend to help his daughter change her mind. Frankly, I'm not so much into telling anybody how to raise their flock, but if anyone has some friendly words of advice that I could pass on to my friend for his daughter, maybe they could take it or leave it. I know my friend's daughter, and she does not welcome suggestions very easily. Nice girl, but usually hard to suggest other options if her mind is set on something else. I would only pass on any suggestions to my friend. He can choose to bring up the options with his daughter after that. I'm not going to talk to her directly. It's that kind of situation.
