Hawk just took one of my ducks

[nc farm]

Will give that a try and string them on all the baling twine we have laying around. How far off the ground should the string be?

 

[CricketR4]

Limited, supervised time near their run. Any time he looks at them as prey/toy, goes into a play bow, barks at them...basically any behavior you don't want him to have/do around the chickens, give a correction (i.e. "No!") and take him inside. Keep doing this till he gets to the point where he either ignores them completely or at the very least will look/sniff and walk away, lay down, whatever... Depending on the dog, this may only take a little bit of time and effort, or may take months for him to learn. Good luck, and NEVER let him near the chickens (penned or not) unless you are there to watch him, and for the first bit, I'd not even let him off a leash near them, that way you have more control.

 

[CricketR4]

If you string up the aluminum pie plates it will keep them away. It also scares off crows and squirrels. I guess the glinting of the light is disconcerting...Cds would also work, but the pie plates are so much less expensive. We have put them up to keep crows and such out of the garden and it works like a charm. Anyway get some hemp or another stron string and poke a hole through the middle of a few pie plates, space the plates about 2 or 3 feet apart on the string, and then tie that between trees or posts in the spots your chickens and ducks hang out the most. We have excellent tree cover over most of our property, but there is one big open field that I plan on putting my ducks and turkeys in...and I am thinking we need to get some pie plates ready. Then again will hawks mess with turkeys?

That would certainly work, but, I really don't want to scare the crows off. I actually want to encourage them to stay on the property. I've noticed the crows will chase the hawks away! Really liking the crows right now!

 

[Baybrio]

I've not tried this but I have heard that even fishing line strung hi over the birds will deter hawks. They have incredible eye sight and apparently don't want to get caught in the line.

 

[nc farm]

Thanks so much for the tips. He's getting better and it sounds like I'm doing the right things, other than the leash, but I'll follow that advice, too. Then I can correct him immediately. Thank you!

 

[missnu01]

I would put them 4 feet up or so...high enough that they won't be in the chickens way...

You could also spread up some deer netting it is 7 feet high, and so super ridiculously cheap...and it doesn't look too bad. You can get a 7 ft by 100 ft roll on amazon for $18 and you can't beat that...Again I would put it up 4 or 5 feet from the ground, so it won't bother the chickens, but will keep anything from swooping in for the kill. I am planning on using the deer netting to make sure my turkeys and ducks can't wander into the road...I figure 7 ft should deter them very well.

 

[missnu01]

That would certainly work, but, I really don't want to scare the crows off. I actually want to encourage them to stay on the property. I've noticed the crows will chase the hawks away! Really liking the crows right now!

Crows also give warning when a hawk is around...which the chickens will run away, but it sounds like the crows aren't helping you very much...so may as well scare them too.

 

[nc farm]

Thanks

 

[CricketR4]

Crows also give warning when a hawk is around...which the chickens will run away, but it sounds like the crows aren't helping you very much...so may as well scare them too.

Oh, they are helping more than not. It's just that the crows aren't always in the yard, so it seems the hawks have figured out: come in when I go in the house, leave in the car (I've actually seen them come over the yard as I'm pulling out of the driveway!), and when the crows aren't around. Stinking smart hawks!

As for stringing up fishing line or netting, my chickens and ducks range over 1.5 acres, so it'd cost a fair amount of $$ to string the areas they frequent, as they aren't small areas.

 

[poltroon]

Your landlord doesn't want a permanent structure, but what about something more like a tractor? You can make all kinds of simple, lightweight structures that will protect your birds and which can be picked up and carried away when you leave. You can also use the 10' chain link panel dog kennels and put a simple roof over that. They're 8 clamps away from being a flat pile that can easily be carried away in a truck.