Hawks finally did it

[bamitsbrittany]

I have a flock of 9 chickens... I have an Aussie and I have a Cochin rooster. I was outside today and saw 7 hawks in the sky at one time... I haven't had any chickens taken from the hawks yet...However, I am worried because my rooster never sounds the alarm he is fat and lazy. My dog seems to keep all the other predators away though. So hoping that this includes hawks. I have places in my yard for them to run and hide too. I cant imagine making them stay in their coop all the time. They are just such happy birds playing in the yard all day.

I am thinking of getting another rooster.... one that does his job. I love my current rooster because he is like a dog but he isnt very protective... any suggestions of breeds I should get?

 

[bamitsbrittany]

My chicken protector... Lola. Such a good dog =]

 

[centrarchid]

Here is what we are doing to detour a breeding pair of hawks who killed one of my hens. First I had fishing line up and rolls and rolls of fishing line but the hawk found its way in. Here is what we have now.
Wire is the only way I can keep the girls safe. We are doing the whole field.
If you look through my uploaded photos you can see how I had the fishing line which did not work

Setup will keep raptors out but is a little shy on flexibility. When all said and done it is likely a lot less expensive than dogs I use but my dogs can cover a much larger area. I use similar to your setup to protect fish ponds from herons, ospreys and even bald eagles although my covering is deer netting rather than chicken wire. I suggest you create built in weak points so it can fail with freezing rain, snow, or even high winds in a manner that is easy and quick to repair. Too strong will make so failure actually damages material. Long-term protection can realized by having multiple dense patches of brambles come up as cover.

 

[jrskol2000]

Thanks for all the replies. I would never kill a hawk, unless my family depended on my hens for survival. Thankfully this is not an issue. I cant afford to cover their range. I also can't stomach leaving them in their run all the time. It may sound foolish but I asked the Lord to protect my hens and help make them more vigil. We will see how it goes. I am putting up the owl. Who knows if it helps. I am also going to make some cover in the open areas out of scrap wood. I wish I could just leave the hawks a bucket of KFC from time to time and get them to leave my ladies alone. Thanks for the help. Happy Thanksgiving

 

[chickengeorgeto]

Bamboo thickets provide excellent cover from hawks and most raptors have real trouble navigating on the horizontal through a thick thicket of tall bamboo. A vertical dive through a bamboo thicket is dangerous to a hawk as well. I am talking about 20-30 feet tall here and as thick as the stuff will grow. If you can't walk through it then the bamboo is just right.

However do be advised that if you ever want to stop keeping chickens that the bamboo may prove to be a bigger pest than a whole train load of hawks.