hawk attack lockdown

[Tucs]

Reading this I feel stupid. We have let our chickens roam on 10 acres for over a year and they are so happy. Recently they started disappearing due to Hawk attack and it took me too long to finally lock them up because I didn’t want to deprive them from their lovely life. They are still complaining about their captivity. We are contemplating getting a donkey and goats to better protect the flock.

 

[Folly's place]

Donkeys or goats are very likely to not care at all, they aren't designed to protect poultry at all. Our horses don't care either, predators who threaten foals, sure, but chickens, it's entertainment.
Mary

 

[Tucs]

Donkeys or goats are very likely to not care at all, they aren't designed to protect poultry at all. Our horses don't care either, predators who threaten foals, sure, but chickens, it's entertainment.
Mary

What do you suggest we do about the hawks?

 

[Folly's place]

Lock your birds in their safe coop and run for ten days to over two weeks, or longer, until your hawks move on. Their life is lovely out there, until each dies suddenly, and this isn't better.
Netting overhead works pretty well if your run is large. We have a small roofed run that keeps our birds safe when necessary.
Two trained livestock guardian dogs can work. The most expensive option, and two years spent training them to guard, not eat your chickens. @centrarchid has done this, in a large environment.
Scary objects tend to fail quickly, but can be tried. Years ago someone posted here with one of those moving inflatable thingies, like stores have outside.
Mary

 

[Tucs]

Lock your birds in their safe coop and run for ten days to over two weeks, or longer, until your hawks move on. Their life is lovely out there, until each dies suddenly, and this isn't better.
Netting overhead works pretty well if your run is large. We have a small roofed run that keeps our birds safe when necessary.
Two trained livestock guardian dogs can work. The most expensive option, and two years spent training them to guard, not eat your chickens. @centrarchid has done this, in a large environment.
Scary objects tend to fail quickly, but can be tried. Years ago someone posted here with one of those moving inflatable thingies, like stores have outside.
Mary

Thank you for your great advice!

 

[centrarchid]

Thank you for your great advice!

Dealing with hawks is a function of hawk species, demographics of your flock (age/size. sex, breed), and the cover options where the chickens free range. Cover patches here have shut the Redt-tailed hawks down here. Coopers still hunt although they can take only smaller chickens and standard sized roosters are very good at keeping Coopers Hawks away. I free-range chicks with broody hens. My broody hens will take on a Coopers Hawk and prevail.

Dogs now more important for larger stuff (foxes, coyotes raccoons, opossums) and owls.

 

[Layniep3]

A resident goshawk attacked my hens just last week. I was lucky to be home and hear the hens freaking out. Long story short my girl that got attacked survived and now my yard looks like a powerline sub-station with cables and strings everywhere. Good luck.

I've heard of this but wasn't sure how effective it is. Based on your research, is it worth it?

 

[Debbie292d]

I've heard of this but wasn't sure how effective it is. Based on your research, is it worth it?

Here it's a fact of life as we have a 125' internet tower smack dab in the middle of our property. It has 3 sets of 3 cables coming down from various heights and cemented into the ground. Those are spread about an acre, and we have 2.5 acres the chickens free-range in. We find a couple of dead wild birds every year that didn't see the cables and hit one, but you can be sure the hawks see them.

The other thing I've heard works is fishing line. You string that high above anyone's head, between buildings, trees, etc. It's nearly invisible to us, but hawks see it. I've heard people hang old cd's from it but I think that would look kind of gawdy and perhaps unnecessary.

With that said, we've had a chicken hawk come land on the pole that has our yard light on. It's a telephone pole, so pretty high up there. That's the most it does, sit there for a while, then flies away. When he does that, the roosters take no chances and I wind up with chickens up against the house or in the coop.