Hawk!!!!

[newchickenmom33]

Hi new chickenmom!
Here where I live is a hot spot for Hawks, kites and eagles, owls etc.. They'll swoop in and out of our property daily so theres no way I would free range here. hardware cloth and heavy shade covers for our run.
I don't know of hens ever winning an attack by predator birds. Good luck to you.

Thanks. Now that I’m thoroughly freaked out. I’ll leave the dogs out and we’ll put something up before tonight.

 

[newchickenmom33]

Small Hawks can cause big damage. A cheap temporary solution would be drape plastic bird net over top of the open area. Hawks prefer attacking from above, if they don't think they can usually they don't try. I've used it before, around $20 for a 7foot by 150 foot roll.

Thanks, the enclosure is 8 foot wide... everything says 4 foot is better to keep out flying predators but I thought the extra space would be better for them. We just need to get it cover asap.

 

[OasiVerde]

Hi new chickenmom!
Here where I live is a hot spot for Hawks, kites and eagles, owls etc.. They'll swoop in and out of our property daily so theres no way I would free range here. hardware cloth and heavy shade covers for our run.
I don't know of hens ever winning an attack by predator birds. Good luck to you.

Hi Feathers Brady, I am currently building a large run for my chickens. I haven;t decided what to use for the cover. Thinking of 2x4 wire, bird netting or, what you mentioned, shade cover. Could you please post pictures of your run? I would love to get an idea of how that looks. TIA

 

[Feathers Brady]

It's 25x8 with kennel panels. Built the end gate from cedar. Burried hardware cloth around the bottom all around. I'll find a pic that shows it eventually.
I have shade cover on top being supported by 2x4. And attached to the building. Also have lighter shade tarps to drop down on the sides when needed. Hope you can tell in the pic.

 

[Feathers Brady]

Before hardware cloth. Sorry. I'll have to take new pics.

 

[Feathers Brady]

A little better mayb but before hardware cloth

 

[OasiVerde]

A little better mayb but before hardware clothView attachment 1537354

That looks great! Thanks for sharing. For the cover you just used shade cloth, no hardware?

 

[Feathers Brady]

Thanks oasiVerde! No hardware on top. The shade cover is 80% and there's grommets making it easy to attach tight. It's heavy duty for sure!
Not so sure what I'm doing this winter.
Hopefully we'll build a more permanent structure soon.

 

[aart]

Everyone laughed at me for how I built my run with a metal mesh roof...
...2 days after I put chickens in there I looked out and saw this:

 

[Feathers Brady]

Not laughing here! It's very smart, looks totally secure to me! Great job aart!