Hawks and how to stop them!

[luvmichx]

Unfortunately, we just lost two 1 1/2 week old chicks today. My "secure" pen wasn't so secure after all and when the chicks made their way out into the uncovered garden area, one was taken by a hawk of this I am sure and another made a wrong turn into an unsecure spot and landed in the dog run and to it's demise. Needless to say I reinforced the weak areas and I hope I don't have a repeat of todays happenings. Next project is covering the back garden area and after growing season convert that area into more room for the chickens.

Good luck to everyone.

 

[swamperkk]

i never tried this before,what about putting a scarecrow out in the pasture or a dummy,my uncle tried this and somethimes it works,i guess the scarecrow has to be moving

 

[chickenlover89]

Unfortunately, we just lost two 1 1/2 week old chicks today. My "secure" pen wasn't so secure after all and when the chicks made their way out into the uncovered garden area, one was taken by a hawk of this I am sure and another made a wrong turn into an unsecure spot and landed in the dog run and to it's demise. Needless to say I reinforced the weak areas and I hope I don't have a repeat of todays happenings. Next project is covering the back garden area and after growing season convert that area into more room for the chickens.

Good luck to everyone.

That's horrible! Are you planning on getting any new ones to replace them later? Hopefully your repairs on their pen works well, and they are secure now!

 

[chickenlover89]

i never tried this before,what about putting a scarecrow out in the pasture or a dummy,my uncle tried this and somethimes it works,i guess the scarecrow has to be moving

I could see that working. Who knows, I may try it just to see. Luckily, we haven't had many hawk problems since the dog was trained to be with the chickens. Now raccoons are an issue. Looks like we'll be on alert for any new ways to stop raccoons!

 

[ZQQKeypurr]

We have 8 ladies, they spend the day in the secure run. I go out in the morning and let them loose in the fenced in back yard, my daughter gets home from work around 4 and we let them out til 7:30 when they go to bed. We also have 3 small dogs that stay out with them. We don't leave them alone out there for fear a hawk will get them. We have a lot going on in the yard, a hot tub, a pool, an open umbrella, their coop and run, plus a portable 5x5 covered run, its a small space and I think it deters predators because it's so crowded. We are thinking of getting netting to go over the yard so that we can be in the house and the chicks can be out alone.

 

[luvmichx]

That's horrible! Are you planning on getting any new ones to replace them later? Hopefully your repairs on their pen works well, and they are secure now!

So far so good on the repairs. Just extended their run today by 20 feet, its covered and seems secure as a fort! They are loving the extra room as well. Not sure if I'll replace the ones we lost or not. If all the chooks turn out to be pullets then I'll be 10 hens strong.

 

[Outer Beaks]

Unfortunately, I get to add my horror story to the list. We have a 98 sq. ft. covered coop and run area and seven chickens. I also have an uncovered run that adds another 200 sq. ft.

Today, I was looking for our Silkie, CottonBall, around the neighbor's yards when I hear the flock go haywire. When I got back to the yard, a Coopers Hawk flew out of a small dense pine tree on the corner of the open run. We've had chickens for a year and half and, apparently, have just been lucky.

The coopers Hawk didn't fly far away. He was waiting me out. I threw a rock and instead of flying away he swooped over the run and over me, before leaving. I'm not sure a scarecrow would work. I think I'm going to make the extra run space smaller and cover it. It's the only way to be sure. In the mean time, they'll stay in the covered area.

Cotton Ball was a beautiful silkie and consistent egg layer. She had somehow carved her place into the middle of the packing order, taking on other chickens almost twice her size. She was my current favorite.

 

[Folly's place]

The Cooper's hawk that visited here stayed for a couple of week; it was a juvenile who found easy pickings one day. He would perch on the run top wishing the birds would come out and 'play'! My flock was locked in the run for about four weeks, until he hadn't been seen for a while. Mary

 

[chickengeorgeto]

Unfortunately, I get to add my horror story to the list. We have a 98 sq. ft. covered coop and run area and seven chickens. I also have an uncovered run that adds another 200 sq. ft.

Today, I was looking for our Silkie, CottonBall, around the neighbor's yards when I hear the flock go haywire. When I got back to the yard, a Coopers Hawk flew out of a small dense pine tree on the corner of the open run. We've had chickens for a year and half and, apparently, have just been lucky.

The coopers Hawk didn't fly far away. He was waiting me out. I threw a rock and instead of flying away he swooped over the run and over me, before leaving. I'm not sure a scarecrow would work. I think I'm going to make the extra run space smaller and cover it. It's the only way to be sure. In the mean time, they'll stay in the covered area.

Cotton Ball was a beautiful silkie and consistent egg layer. She had somehow carved her place into the middle of the packing order, taking on other chickens almost twice her size. She was my current favorite.

I well remember a time when a hawk sitting on a power line wouldn't let you drive past it. The reason is that every farm wife and husband would have shot the hawk from the open window of their pickup truck if it didn't fly away at the first appearance of an automobile. I don't want to kill every raptor in hawkdom but hawks need to learn a little respect for domestic poultry, and this lesson can only come from the barrel of a 12 Gauge.

 

[scot123]

We have several Coopers Hawks working our backyard. Our chickens have been lucky so far. Not so much the songbirds!