HAWK is getting too close for Comfort

[RASTACHICKI]

A couple of days ago a hawk flew over my run and freaked out my pullets. Today my wife said she came face to face with him outside of our bedroom window. She said he was sitting on the post of the run. i know its just a matter of time before he sinks his talons in one of them. i have scared him off several times now but he has the location nailed down. I plan on gettting some netting but in the meantime, how would yall consider keeping him at bay other than doing something illegal. I hear people mention owl decoys, but i don't think they would do anything, i mean they don't move or nothing. i put them back in their coop, b/c i fear he will get one eventually. any suggestions. The hawk is beautiful. he is about 2 feet tall. I think it is either a juvenile osprey or a Harrier of some sort but he is gold and black and large. we have alot of ospreys around and i thought it might be a juvenile. But he is definetely big and got some big talons!!! YIKES

 

[Lunachick]

I wouldn't let them out without cover at all. There has been too many incidents with hawks lately and once they scope an area and you've seen them, that's it. Time for lock up. Especially since you said you don't have a cover for the run?

I just encountered a hawk attack (attempt). My four girls and one cat were on my back patio when a huge red tailed hawk swooped down for a catch, don't know whether he was after the cat or chooks, but I think he was eying the chickens. ( my cat was asleep on the patio chair). Mourning doves flew in every direction, so I ran out and got the girls (and cat) back in their homes.

That's it for me for a long while, LOCK UP. Good luck, please protect them with some kind of cover, if you possibly can, otherwise leave them inside the coop.

 

[scooter147]

lock up until you cover the run.


go to Lowes and buy the deer netting, cheap, easy to work with and it lasts.

Funny story about the owl decoy.

I was sick and tired of the hundreds of sparrows around the place so I got an owl decoy and placed on one of the post of the run after the chickens were on the roost. The next morning they would not come out their coop for nothing, it took me about 5 minutes to put two and two together.

So, chickens think there real

 

[Mom2Cool]

Quote:
LOL Scooter the question is did the sparrows think it was real & stay away too?

I always loved the reactions to the plastic decoys here too & the dogs always had a *fit* & took days to convince "it is not real"! But for nature the fake owl & crane never really worked all to great here to keep anything away. I think the shiny stuff the moves works real well though & I'd forgotten about that until I read that from someone here the other day & I'm going to have to find something here myself. Maybe wind chimes or those things that twirle in the wind that are reflective/shiney?

 

[cmom]

Quote:
Some friends of mine have their boats in this marina. The seagulls were pooping all over their boats so they bought a owl decoy. The seagulls just looked at it, got on it and pooped on it. I just thought that was funny. Anyway, now they string CD's on lines over the boats and the gulls don't care for them. Ospreys perfer fish. There nickname is fish hawk.

There isn't right or wrong ways, just different ways. That's what make us all so unique.

 

[Mom2Cool]

Quote:
Some friends of mine have their boats in this marina. The seagulls were pooping all over their boats so they bought a owl decoy. The seagulls just looked at it, got on it and pooped on it. I just thought that was funny. Anyway, now they string CD's on lines over the boats and the gulls don't care for them. Ospreys perfer fish. There nickname is fish hawk.

There isn't right or wrong ways, just different ways. That's what make us all so unique.

yes we had the hawk here perched on top of the arch to the garden about 10 feet away from the plastic owl & I can see the hawk using the plastic owl for a perch too. LOL I don't think they're afraid of them. I love the idea of the CD's tied to tree branches, they certainly do shine & reflect & it's a great way to recycle CD's that are scratched & no longer usable... Great idea.

 

[RASTACHICKI]

i have seen Ospreys carry off a baby raccoon before down here. It was crazy.