Hawk has made his nest over our coop.

[MooresonaMission]

We have ducks and chickens that have a shared coop in our horses’ pasture. We had been letting the chickens and ducks free range from breakfast until dinner in the pasture. Two weeks ago we had a duck attacked by a hawk. It was awful and my kids were devastated. So we’ve been keeping them in their coop, but they really want to get out. This week we found the hawk has made a nest right above the coop. Smart hawk... but what do we do? The coop isn’t portable. Hawks cannot be shot or bothered.
Any suggestions? Our chickens and ducks are more like pets... they help clean up the pasture and sometimes lay eggs, so we appreciate them, but we have named them and love them and really don’t want to lose another to the hawk. Thank you for your help.

 

[David61]

SSSsssshhh what hawk?

 

[alwaystj9]

You may need to build a covered run. I am in Louisiana and the hawk problems get worse each year. As the hawk nest is in your yard, maybe call your state wildlife people and see if they can help? It is illegal to shoot them and, unfortunately, many states have no time or interest in helping. My hawk issues stop around mid March each year as the hawks move farther north. Good luck, I am sure many others will chime in here with suggestions.

 

[Jrios58]

This may sound crazy, but we had a hawk hanging around one summer that i was afraid would kill my new kitten, so i got a kite and flew it. and tied the string to an iron bench. It is always windy at our place so i didn't have to go out there often to put the kite back up in the air. Only took a day or two (a weekend basically) and the hawk left. This also works really well for preventing barn swallows from nesting. We had 9 pair trying to nest in our front porch one year!!

 

[nuthatched]

I'm sorry for your first loss, the first one is always the hardest. Cover your running with lattice and brace it with 2x2. Hawks can go right through most anything else or get tangled up.

 

[linguini]

We have ducks and chickens that have a shared coop in our horses’ pasture. We had been letting the chickens and ducks free range from breakfast until dinner in the pasture. Two weeks ago we had a duck attacked by a hawk. It was awful and my kids were devastated. So we’ve been keeping them in their coop, but they really want to get out. This week we found the hawk has made a nest right above the coop. Smart hawk... but what do we do? The coop isn’t portable. Hawks cannot be shot or bothered.
Any suggestions? Our chickens and ducks are more like pets... they help clean up the pasture and sometimes lay eggs, so we appreciate them, but we have named them and love them and really don’t want to lose another to the hawk. Thank you for your help.

We covered the forage area with bird net and deer fence (using metal t-posts) - its relatively easy. The hawk still comes but can only sit on the tree and watch. I think the additional fencing also keep away other predators from getting too close. We lock them up in their 8x8 run which is open to their coop where they sleep at night.

 

[Chickassan]

Scarecrows help but you've got to make them portable, like secure the base in a weighted 5 gallon bucket instead of the ground so you can pick it up and move it.
Dress it in the brightest god awful clothing you can find and give it "hair" so it has some movement in the wind.

 

[hennanny]

just looked at Lyons Texas on the map..I think your options are whatever you want them to be

 

[cmom]

I have large pens covered with heavy duty netting.

 

[Folly's place]

My horses watched while a fox killen ten hens in their pasture, a few years ago. While the horses would likely protect a foal, the chickens are on their own. And raptors? Who cares, not the mares.
When the predator isn't directly a threat to the horses, they mind their own business.
Mary
I have read about horses protecting their owners from threats, but that's different.