Hawks/eagles taking out my chickens

[ShannonsChimkens]

I have a hawk problem

Lost my favorite cockerel Boon. Silverudd’s Blue boy.

Also lost my only Flower Hen pullet. She was in a covered run and the hawk must have yanked her out.

Not kidding you, while I was typing this my son heard the Guineas going off so we bolted out the door. One chim was missing... Princess Chim our second Cemani hen. The hawk was going at her, she must of been in shock as we thought she was for sure dead once we go the hawk off of her. I’m currently needing to wash her blood off of me.

This was my fault. Completely. I KNEW we had a hawk problem. I told myself and the kids, we’re only letting them out while we’re out there. I started to feel bad over the last week, so I was letting them out for little spirts without supervision.

Is there ANY way to stop them? I mean... I know how but I’m not getting in that kind of trouble.

The chicken area is about an acre. We were considering netting the entire thing. 12’ posts and stringing the nets above it all, but one we tried failed miserably. Guineas fly. Enough said.

 

[sourland]

A securely covered pen is the only guaranteed protection. Monitored free ranging can work, but some raptors are brazen enough to attack even when you are present.

 

[Hidrainja4]

Fake owl move it around the yard. Make shelters that they can dash under and hide. keep them locked up if he can't get a meal he will move on. Plant bushes to hide in. Never tried this Black birds may be perceived as crows. Worth a try. I don't keep white birds any more , to easy of a target. Good Luck!

 

[ShannonsChimkens]

Guess we have a fairly large netting project on our hands. Not raising them to feed wild raptors

 

[ShannonsChimkens]

The one it took out was as black as chickens come... I read that a while back too, but this proved it wrong for me.

I think I went into this post knowing what I needed to do, just don’t want to. Guineas will have to remain clipped and $300 to $400 worth of material, but I think we can do it.

The other options sound great! My only fear is I’ll get comfortable with those changes, then the hawk takes out another. We’re close to these birds. Especially Boon and the one it got today.

 

[mowin]

Ya, you've answered your own question. Raptors are tuff to beat. Good luck getting everything covered up, and sorry about your losses.

 

[cmom]

I have covered pens with my coops. A few months ago I did have some crappy netting breached by a hawk. I had gone to a Dr. appointment and did some errands so we were gone for awhile. The birds were fine when I checked them before I left. When I came home the birds were really noisy and I knew something was up at the coops so I went down to check them out. I saw several dead birds and the hawk. The hawk had gotten through the crappy netting. I had problems with an owl also. The owl discovered it could go right through the crappy netting and did kill a couple of birds too. I have since replaced the crappy netting with some good netting. The owl thought it was going to go through it but got a surprise and got caught instead. So far no more intrusions. We have several acres but it's mostly open pasture. When I first put the original good netting up I had planted small trees in each of the pens. Now the trees are pretty good size. I did cut the nets around the trees as they grew. Most every year I trim the lower branches on the trees so I part the netting and put the limbs I cut off, over the back of the fence and when I'm done, I connect the netting back together. I use hog rings. Years ago I used zip ties but the sun eventually destroys them and they break off. I don't know how large of an area you want to cover. These are my pens. This picture isn't a more recent one but tells the story. You may have to pick out an area to cover for the birds.

This is the new netting I replaced the crappy netting with.

Here are some of the birds I pulled out of the pen the hawk had gotten into. Most were pullets just about to start laying. Since it had gotten into a pen, it went on a killing spree.

Here is an owl going through the crappy netting netting. I was short on the netting and bought it online. It wasn't what I thought it was but thought maybe it would be visible enough to keep the aerial predators out. After a couple of kills I moved the birds to another coop and put a game camera up. The owl came back.

 

[ShannonsChimkens]

I have covered pens with my coops. A few months ago I did have some crappy netting breached by a hawk. I had gone to a Dr. appointment and did some errands so we were gone for awhile. The birds were fine when I checked them before I left. When I came home the birds were really noisy and I knew something was up at the coops so I went down to check them out. I saw several dead birds and the hawk. The hawk had gotten through the crappy netting. I had problems with an owl also. The owl discovered it could go right through the crappy netting and did kill a couple of birds too. I have since replaced the crappy netting with some good netting. The owl thought it was going to go through it but got a surprise and got caught instead. So far no more intrusions. We have several acres but it's mostly open pasture. When I first put the original good netting up I had planted small trees in each of the pens. Now the trees are pretty good size. I did cut the nets around the trees as they grew. Most every year I trim the lower branches on the trees so I part the netting and put the limbs I cut off, over the back of the fence and when I'm done, I connect the netting back together. I use hog rings. Years ago I used zip ties but the sun eventually destroys them and they break off. I don't know how large of an area you want to cover. These are my pens. This picture isn't a more recent one but tells the story. You may have to pick out an area to cover for the birds.
View attachment 2073308
This is the new netting I replaced the crappy netting with.
View attachment 2073362View attachment 2073364
Here are some of the birds I pulled out of the pen the hawk had gotten into. Most were pullets just about to start laying. Since it had gotten into a pen, it went on a killing spree.
View attachment 2073370
Here is an owl going through the crappy netting netting. I was short on the netting and bought it online. It wasn't what I thought it was but thought maybe it would be visible enough to keep the aerial predators out. After a couple of kills I moved the birds to another coop and put a game camera up. The owl came back.
View attachment 2073374View attachment 2073375View attachment 2073376

Thank you for the info on the netting. Just saved me from buying 4 sets of 50’ers online. Sorry about your birds too :/ it sucks when you put so much time and effort into them.

Any chance you have the brand or where you go it handy? How many feet?

The netting we tried was a 50’x50’ cheap net from Amazon. I believe I paid $25? We had put it up temporarily, but against my better judgement let the Guineas out without clipping their wings. A leaf blew and they freaked the hell out and got caught. I looked like an idiot out there trying to get them out All while they’re belting their death screams.

The area is pretty well protected from ground predators. Not perfectly, but there’s sturdy 5’ fencing with 4 strands of electric fencing along the top. Going to get 10’ to 12’ - 4x4 posts and place them evenly through their area. Run the nets from the cedar trees to the posts, then down to the tops of the fencing. The chicken area is about an acre. Give or take. Really hope this works... we just got ducklings and have young pullets and cockerels almost ready to run around :/ They have outgrown the smaller coop.

This is the makeshift run for the young ones. Since aerial predators were the only concern, really though it would work. Nope! Yanked my little flower hen right out of the fencing.

It’s hard to get the full area in a photo. It extends behind the coops a bit and a little off to the right.

 

[hayley3]

You might try getting a goose or two. Or a couple goats.
There is a place in England that uses ducks to pick bugs out of the garden and the article I read said they use geese to help protect the chickens, not physically but their presence in general. I have a goose and saw a redtail flying around for several days when I first moved here. I have a big ol' pine tree for them to run under in the two sections I keep them in. They do seem to hide under my pine tree often but then sometimes they are out and about. I keep the branches low to the ground and that area (the base of the tree) is probably 15 to 20 feet wide. I feel the goose tells them when to hide, of course I am not 100% sure of that.

 

[ShannonsChimkens]

We will have two emu out there in a bit. We pick up the babies next Friday. I think at that point I would feel a little better. But there’s still that “what if” part that would sit in the back of my mind. If the emu are on one side and the chickens are on the other... I guess geese are a little more on top of it than emu