Hawks, any methods to keep them at bay?

[Lady of McCamley]

I personally wouldn't encourage crows to hang around my flock. Being wild birds they will bring in all manner of disease.

I have a lot of hawks where I live, and I've had a few hawk losses.

I would recommend getting another rooster, getting another dog, and/or hanging hawk netting up strategically, along with the dangling cd's or reflective tape.

I've had very good results with the hawk netting...and running out with a pan and spoon banging loudly if the hawk comes by. They eventually get discouraged and go away, at least for a time.

Best of luck,
LofMc

 

[Beekissed]

Our crows are an integral part of our hawk defense here and I couldn't do it without them. The dog helps but he's getting older now and less attuned to aerial threats, but the crows are vigilant and very aggressive to the hawks. They forage in a part of the meadow that the chickens rarely go, so they don't come into any contact but even if they did I wouldn't worry one bit about disease.

You can establish crow feeding stations around the perimeter of your land by placing pedestal feeders with field corn.

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[CrazyTalk]

I personally wouldn't encourage crows to hang around my flock. Being wild birds they will bring in all manner of disease.

Crows aren't going to bring any more disease in than the million sparrows, chickadees, starlings, and other wild birds that regularly move through people's properties.

 

[Lady of McCamley]

Crows aren't going to bring any more disease in than the million sparrows, chickadees, starlings, and other wild birds that regularly move through people's properties.

Which is why I don't encourage wild birds to come into my yard by hanging feeder stations or other things that will attract them or encourage them to stay. Yes, they fly by and through, you can't help that, but encouraging them to hang around in groups by my flock is not something I personally do. I remove anything that increases their attraction.

We've had several scares of Avian Influenza both south and north of me, with whole counties closed down, so we are taking wild bird management very seriously.
LofMc

A good video for backyard bird bio security from the Oregon Department of Agriculture

And a short summary of the list of diseases crows carry, most notable for me is their behavior of hanging around migratory water fowl...a huge vector for Avian Influenza in my area
http://www.extension.org/pages/3461...that-i-should-be-concerned-about#.VR7prPnF-CQ

 

[tacmomma12]

We just lost our first girl to a hawk. My poor Carly. Going to try the cd's and some reflective things to try and deter them from here on in. Thanks for posting this!

 

[Lady of McCamley]

We just lost our first girl to a hawk. My poor Carly. Going to try the cd's and some reflective things to try and deter them from here on in. Thanks for posting this!

So sorry to hear of your loss. That is always disheartening.

Perseverance will win the day. They do finally give up and go away.

LofMc

 

[CrazyTalk]

I understand the biosecurity concerns - I just think that removing bird feeders and bird baths has an absolutely negligible impact on risk. Crows are strongly territorial - they're going to reduce the overall number of birds regularly using your property. Encouraging them to roost is going to keep out other birds - especially raptors that cover much bigger territories.



Unless your property is netted, there are going to be wild birds moving through it regularly. If you have any sort of fruit producing plants, they're going to be there in large numbers (and that doesn't just mean human edible plants). You're just creating a false sense of security.

 

[Lady of McCamley]

I understand the biosecurity concerns - I just think that removing bird feeders and bird baths has an absolutely negligible impact on risk. Crows are strongly territorial - they're going to reduce the overall number of birds regularly using your property. Encouraging them to roost is going to keep out other birds - especially raptors that cover much bigger territories.



Unless your property is netted, there are going to be wild birds moving through it regularly. If you have any sort of fruit producing plants, they're going to be there in large numbers (and that doesn't just mean human edible plants). You're just creating a false sense of security.

I do net, and I do remove my fruit...and I do not have flocks of birds in my trees, or in my yard with feeders, though my neighbors do. It's simply what I can do to help minimize the risk.
LofMc

 

[CrazyTalk]

If that works for you, great - it's just not a viable solution for most of us.

If the OP was able to net his property, we wouldn't be talking about hawk protection.

 

[The ChickenKing]

If that works for you, great - it's just not a viable solution for most of us. 

If the OP was able to net his property, we wouldn't be talking about hawk protection.

You're right, I can't net mine, and we already have so many plants edible for birds and they regularly stay in the yard, I haven't had a problem yet. I think I'll try to get the crows to roost closer by, thanks everybody!