Hawks are not fun to have. At all.

[CobaltChick]

I was clipping wings this morning, 9:00am with my wolf/german-shepherd dog by my side, when a red tailed hawk decides to swoop down and attempt an attack at my flock. Of course, being big-bad Momma Hen, I successfully chased it away

But the fact is, I officially have a chicken hawk hanging around my house. Now, I know it's been posted before, but is there any way to protect against hawks without having to put an overhead fence in? 'Cause that's not happening. The hawk wasn't fazed by my being there either. Nor was he afraid of the dog. There's so much controversy on the CD's idea, that I'm not sure if it's even worth trying. This is the second attempt I've seen so far with hawks and my crew, and I'd prefer it was the last. Any tips out there? I have 37 hens and I'm looking to raise them up to about 50. I own 5 acres of land, but they only are on about 1/3 of an acre right now. Too big to fence the top.

 

[Whittni]

The CDs reflect light into aerial predators' eyes, ponds with water in them have the same effect. You can provide lots of hiding spots for your hens if you don't like the shiny cds or water everywhere. Trees and foliage (plants) also help. Don't forget the HUGE ROOSTERS (there are usually roosters available on craigslist and in the paper)! Large chickens are intimidating to hawks and the such, large chickens can't be taken up by the hawks, so heavy chickens are ideal for free-range flocks.

 

[centrarchid]

Sometimes adult roosters can help if they have cover to operate from while hawk above them.

What did your dog do? Mine go bonkers when a hawk visits and your dog should be major overkill when it comes to scaring hawk off unless hawk knows dog can't get to it.

 

[buttercup95]

hmm I have a cat that was raised with my chickens. I know getting another animal is unreliable and it would take a while for a kitten to mature anyways, but that's my tidbit.