Hawk attempt-how long do i wait?

[Amazonlover]

Sometimes crows will deter hawks. Usually during nesting season. This time of year the crows aren’t as concerned but during the spring and most of the summer the placement of my coop between two places the crows frequent and nest in was very helpful.

That’s good to know, though I don’t think I’ve seen any crows in my yard

 

[Redbrush]

Feed the crows. They like peanuts.

 

[Amazonlover]

Will do!

 

[eddie_van_quailen]

Feed the crows. They like peanuts.

I keep a dish of whole peanuts in my yard and now the crows yell at me when I don't fill it quickly enough in the mornings But they are great for alerting to predators, and occasionally even chasing them away.

 

[Amazonlover]

I keep a dish of whole peanuts in my yard and now the crows yell at me when I don't fill it quickly enough in the mornings But they are great for alerting to predators, and occasionally even chasing them away.

Sounds like I need to invest in a lot of peanuts

 

[TOMTE]

The more experience your chickens get with predators, the better they'll learn to keep lookout and protect themselves. Unfortunately that means letting them have close calls. If you want predator savvy chickens, you need to take these chances. But if your goal is to keep predators away from them at all costs, the only thing you can do is keep your chooks locked in a secure, predator-proof run for good.

Hawks are smart. Super smart. And they keep territories, they don't just fly around willy nilly. If a hawk has already spotted your chickens while hunting on or patrolling its territory, it isn't going to forget about them in a hurry, however long you keep them locked up. The hawk will still hear them, and see them unless they're kept in a fully solid structure.

So you need to make your chickens not worth the effort. Again, that means either keeping them locked up and totally inaccessible, or letting them learn how to deal with predators. Because even if you're keeping close watch, all it takes is a fox in the bushes or a hawk in a branch that you can't see, to swoop in and grab an unsuspecting/unprepared chook.

Some good signs that your chickens are at least somewhat predator aware:
- Do they stop and look around when there's unexpected noises or movement?
- Do they seem to take cues from other wildlife (ie. chipmunks barking, birds giving warning calls)?
- Do they call out potential predators when they see them? For example, one of mine gives an alarm call and paces around whenever a squirrel gets too close, and she doesn't take her eye off it until it leaves
- Do they cringe/run away when a leaf floats down from the trees?
- Are they wary of sudden movements?
- Do they just let you pick them up, or do they try to get away like they should if a predator tried to grab them, even if only at first?
- Are they constantly keeping in vocal contact with each other while out foraging?
- Do they do the statue thing like they see danger, even when you can't see anything? Or do they always seem comfortably oblivious?

I've trained my girls so that any time I say "hawk!", they stop and look around. Chickens are really very intelligent, so it isn't hard to do. Any time you see a bird of prey, point to it and say "hawk" (or whatever word you want to use). It'll click after the first few times, I'm willing to bet. Unless you have particularly stupid stubborn chooks

When they go off to do their thing, I'll tell them, "watch for hawks". It's more for myself than for their sake. They know what they're doing at this point. We have so many hawks around here all the time, and they've had their fair share of close calls. And they see the hawks before I do 90% of the time, anyway. Our hawks aren't exactly the most stealthy. They're loud.

 

[Redbrush]

I was a falconer in my misspent youth. They remember places they've made a kill. It makes sense, if a critter was in a particular spot, chances are there are factors there that attracted it that translates to others of the same species.