Hawks, Hawks and More Hawks

[BaaKaaawk]

So I just moved to a new home outside Lexington, KY with about 120 acres, mostly pasture- and the first thing I noticed (being a chicken nerd) is the incredible number of hawks I have flying all over the property. I've seen 4 at a time looking out across the land in different directions- so yeah- zero chance I am going to be able to free range chickens here.

I've always kept chickens and want to again, but the concept of an enclosed run is just not appealing to me. We have always free-ranged and I love watching the birds exploring their world, chase bugs and interact. The fact that I moved to Hawk-Land really has me second guessing whether to even start up another flock. I considered building a huge enclosed coop area, but the cost of that (and the eyesore) just doesn't seem worth it.

Any suggestions out there?

To top it off- for those Koi lovers out there (me included) - I also got a 10-acre pond... complete with daily visits from Great Blue Herons. SMH. Love this land, but what a bummer on the livestock side of things!

 

[CluckerFamily]

I'm trying to rack my brain for ideas and all I can think of is making a large enclosed run, you could make it the colors of the land so that it blends in more.
I've also seen picture of runs that people painted the hardware cloth black and you don't even notice there is any barrier there.

 

[BaaKaaawk]

I'm trying to rack my brain for ideas and all I can think of is making a large enclosed run, you could make it the colors of the land so that it blends in more.
I've also seen picture of runs that people painted the hardware cloth black and you don't even notice there is any barrier there.

I guess I just need to get over the idea that a penned chicken is an industrial chicken and not a backyard chicken. I could build a great run off the side of my barn that would have plenty of room... just trying to make peace with it.

 

[CluckerFamily]

I guess I just need to get over the idea that a penned chicken is an industrial chicken and not a backyard chicken. I could build a great run off the side of my barn that would have plenty of room... just trying to make peace with it.

If it is off the barn, you could make a wrap around run that takes up more sides of the barn of course depending on the main wind direction.
I think providing a large run is just fine. You can always provide sod, mealworms, toys, etc. You can even have logs in the run and little by little move them so that the flock gets to eat worms.

 

[Cinnamon Roll]

Could you get a guard animal? Maybe a goose or a huge rooster to warn the hens?

I have a fantastic dog that barks his head off at hawks and crows (and airplanes ) and my last rooster would echo his warnings to the hens. Maybe you need a mixed breed rescue dog

 

[BaaKaaawk]

Could you get a guard animal? Maybe a goose or a huge rooster to warn the hens?

I have a fantastic dog that barks his head off at hawks and crows (and airplanes ) and my last rooster would echo his warnings to the hens. Maybe you need a mixed breed rescue dog

Actually, I have a great guard dog! But sadly he can't be everywhere at once and I even lost chickens to hawks (Roos included) when I had much less land and much more cover.

I'll probably give it a go in the spring and see what happens.

 

[cmom]

So I just moved to a new home outside Lexington, KY with about 120 acres, mostly pasture- and the first thing I noticed (being a chicken nerd) is the incredible number of hawks I have flying all over the property. I've seen 4 at a time looking out across the land in different directions- so yeah- zero chance I am going to be able to free range chickens here.

I've always kept chickens and want to again, but the concept of an enclosed run is just not appealing to me. We have always free-ranged and I love watching the birds exploring their world, chase bugs and interact. The fact that I moved to Hawk-Land really has me second guessing whether to even start up another flock. I considered building a huge enclosed coop area, but the cost of that (and the eyesore) just doesn't seem worth it.

Any suggestions out there?

To top it off- for those Koi lovers out there (me included) - I also got a 10-acre pond... complete with daily visits from Great Blue Herons. SMH. Love this land, but what a bummer on the livestock side of things!

With around 120 acres it would seem you could build a nice pen for some birds without it being an eyesore. I don't free range anymore. Our land is mostly open pasture so there is no protection for the birds. I have lost some in the past so now they are in nice large pens. When I have let them out they may come out but before long they are all back in their pens where they feel safe. I do have electric wires around my pens, concrete under the gates and good heavy duty netting covering all of the pens due to losses from predators in the past. Good luck...

 

[cmom]

I was lucky when I bought my wire. I have a friend who buys it by the trailer load so he ordered some for me when he made an order and let me have it at his cost.

 

[BaaKaaawk]

With around 120 acres it would seem you could build a nice pen for some birds without it being an eyesore. I don't free range anymore. Our land is mostly open pasture so there is no protection for the birds. I have lost some in the past so now they are in nice large pens. When I have let them out they may come out but before long they are all back in their pens where they feel safe. I do have electric wires around my pens, concrete under the gates and good heavy duty netting covering all of the pens due to losses from predators in the past. Good luck...

From the looks of your pictures, you sure do have the same problem as I do!

 

[halefamily_flock]

This turned into a longer response than I had planned. I guess I'm in a writing mood today. I think you could try to free range, in spite of the hawks. I would recommend selecting breeds for their free ranging excellence, e.g. Dominique, Welsummer, Spitzhauben, Hamburg and ensuring they have plenty of cover.

Here's the longer version...

I am in Southeast Missouri on a 100+ acre farm with numerous predators including hawks. It is important to me to free range, so when I started my flock last year, predator savvy was one of my top criteria when selecting breeds. I started with Dominiques - 4 hens and a rooster. Whenever I saw a hawk flying, I would run out to protect the chickens, but they were no where to be found. They would disappear for hours at a time and always seemed to spot the hawks before I did. (They also took cover for passing airplanes and various non-threatening birds.) Earlier this year, I expanded my flock with a variety of other breeds known to be predator savvy, and now have a flock of nearly 30 who can disappear almost as quickly as the original 5.

I had my first hawk victim, a Speckled Sussex, a few weeks ago. I had seen a hawk flying around, and then found a pile of feathers and a Sussex who didn't make it back to the coop that night. Of all my breeds, the Sussex hens (3 remaining) are the most independent & curious, and the closest breed I have to a "lap chicken". I had been a little concerned, even before the incident, because they didn't seem to have the same self-protective instincts as the others, especially if there were tasty treats around.

After that, I noticed the flock spending a lot more time in the coop...hardly leaving it for days in a row. Then, other days they ranged and hung out in their favorite places around the farm. One day, I heard a huge commotion coming out of a little strip of woods by the compost pile where the chickens like to hang out. Suddenly, a dozen or more chickens came squawking/flying/running out of the woods, heading back toward their coop. There was one Spitzhauben rooster standing on the top of the compost pile, at the opening to the woods, screaming a warning siren, with one eye toward the sky and the other eye on the hens run/flying to safety. Another Spitzhauben roo was up in a tree near the coop also screaming warnings as the hens and juveniles who had been hanging out near the coop scrambled inside, and the ones coming out of the woods flew in behind them. Within seconds, the entire flock was safely under cover except the two roosters, who stood their ground and continued to sound the warning. Then, I saw the hawk fly out from behind the little strip of woods behind the compost pile and fly away. No one was harmed.

My plan is to continually add to my flock, select for hardiness and savviness, keep extra roosters in the flock (selecting for cooperation and protectiveness). I know I will lose an occasional chicken, but I'm hoping the flock will survive and thrive over time.

Here are my two siren-warning Spitz roosters who have been spending an increasing amount of time in trees lately



I wrote another story about them earlier today, if you're interested
"Too many" roosters


Good luck to you!