Hawks! How can I keep the hawks away from my chickens?

[Sylvester017]

http://shop.niteguard.com/products/nite-guard-repellent-tape

this hawk repellant tape really helps.


we keep the crows around by putting stale bread out for them in the morning( before the chickens are out)

Our crows used to love traipsing through our dewy lawn early in the mornings but since the drought 4 yrs ago we can't water the lawn any more! I won't keep any food out for birds because eventually we'll have way too many wild birds and rodents bringing us their lice and fleas! I'm exhausted just keeping up with the Hummingbird feeders during migration! The feeders bring a lot of attention from honey bees but then I need bees to pollinate my veggie beds. There's never a perfect solution to anything it seems.

Re the nighguard tape - wonder how much it would scare a chicken flock to have those flapping strips blowing in hard wind?

 

[Fire Ant Farm]

http://shop.niteguard.com/products/nite-guard-repellent-tape

this hawk repellant tape really helps.


we keep the crows around by putting stale bread out for them in the morning( before the chickens are out)

Does this scare the chickens at all?

- Ant Farm

 

[Cebarmlds]

Does this scare the chickens at all?

- Ant Farm

No it doesn't seem to bother them.

 

[Sylvester017]

I sure wish I knew how to stop hawks .problem is i must live smack dab in their flight path. I have 10,00sq feet I'd absolutely love to let my girls enjoy but I not only have chicken hawks I have those HUGE hawks. (don't know the name) and they are NOT afraid of people. I have tiny silkies now but in April I'm getting 7 Barred Rocks, 1 Silver penciled rock, one suprise standard layer and 1 Golden Cuckoo Maran. Those are who I DESPERATELY want to free range and keep my tiny silkies in the run but not a day goes by one doesn't fly over my house. oh yes they see me and know I have chickens. my silkie almost got it with me standing right next to her.

Thank God my hubby yelled look out! Those nasty hawks will SIT on my fence and patiently wait!! ugh. what can I do if anything? PLEASE HELP ME! ANY ideas? They aren't scared of anything!! those suckers. I live close to river and I think they nest there. it's not like it's just one. I have seen three at a time above my yard..

Raptors like a clear open flying space to swoop down on prey/chickens so if you can put up a large pop-up tent in the middle of a hawk's flight space it will interrupt its flight pattern. I have a pop-up canopy and will be putting up a 2nd one. I have doghouses around the yard and under the canopy. I have over 50 potted plants around the yard for the hens to dive under. I have several plywood and scaffolding remnants we made lean-to's for hiding. We recently remodeled the backyard and plan to plant some thorny bushes/plants like berries, evergreens, roses, etc, that the chickens can dive into/under. Our Cooper's Hawk will not just sit on our fence and watch our hiding hens, it will sit on a chair 5-ft away from hens hiding in a doghouse but it won't go after the hiding hens. I've watched these hawks for 5 years in our yard and they never once went after a hiding hen even if it could see her & was just a few feet from her. We've even seen an Owl. I've had Silkies for 5 yrs and not one has been bothered by the Cooper's Hawk. We get Red-tailed hawks but they fly way up higher. Unfortunately the State of California highway maintenance doesn't trim the freeway trees and these are just a couple hundred feet from our yard - a perfect nesting place for Cooper's Hawks. We have a flock of neighborhood Crows that have been keeping the hawks at bay but the Crows aren't always in one place and fly around and away. So we can't always count on the Crows to keep the hawks out. That's why we got creative with a lot of hiding spots for the chickens so they don't have far to run. A hawk loves a running target so we eliminated the running distance between shelters and interrupted the hawk's flight zone with a pop-up canopy. Anyway you look at it, it will cost to keep your flock safe but with planning it can be done. My hens have open-ranged the backyard for 5 years and we haven't lost one yet. Today I was feeding treats to the chickens under the canopy and the neighbor suddenly fired up his electric saw. My girls heard the noise and all 4 of them immediately piled into the doghouse next to me. They knew exactly where to dive when the "scary" noise started up. They explore the backyard every day to note where all the good hiding places are located.

 

[Sylvester017]

I know that Osprey live near water, but I'm not sure that they would eat chickens. They are known fish eaters. Is it possible for you to set up some shelters spaced close enough that your hens could duck under cover if needed? Maybe some old plywood over cinder blocks or firewood logs? Wheelbarrows tipped over, propped up slightly? Maybe try the predator eye balloons. We haven't tried ours yet, but I would imagine having them suspended and bobbing in the wind might be a deterrent. Cover is the key. As long as they have another escape route in case a hawk tries to get them on the ground. I've had them come at my hens sideways when they were hiding under tall ornamental grasses. My hens just scooted out from under on the other side to get away.

I love your chicken story! Aren't chickens more amazing than you ever thought they could be? I panicked the very first time we saw a Cooper's Hawk sitting on our patio chair eyeing our chickens (who were hiding in a doghouse at the time 5 yrs ago). Now that I've watched how alert and savvy they've become over the years we hardly bat an eyelash when a hawk perches on our new blockwall. Most of the time the girls don't even give a barnyard alert -- they just automatically dive into/under the nearest shelter we made for them. Granted, a scaffold set on paver stones or plywood boards set on cinder blocks may not be the most attractive shelters but they can be replaced later by picnic benches and cedar lawn furniture as the budget permits. It took us 5 years to plan the removal of an old chainlink fence to replace with a sturdier block wall construction but in the meantime we planted plants around the chainlink and put up canopies as shelters. A lot of cover is the key with no open flight space for a hawk to swoop on a running hen.

 

[chickypoos3]

Great idea I will do that too!!

I have lost 8 chickens to hawks in my rural area in less then 6 months, with 3 of them only in the last couple weeks. I can't let my bantams out anymore, unfortunately. Some neighbors said they just let the chickens out only in the last afternoon, since hawks like to eat early in the day, so they would go somewhere else. I lost one yesterday at about 7PM   I'll have to keep them cooped up 24/7 now, unfortunately.

Getting a dog and training it to stay with the chickens is a lot of work, but I would consider it. Problem is, my chickens are not next to my house where I can see them; they're hidden away on a hill, so they're just open bait. I'd need the dog to stay there rather than at my front door =) A german shepherd maybe.

The only other option, as of now, is to get some full sized chickens. From what I understand, and correct me if I'm wrong, full size chickens are far too big for hawks. Is that correct? Does anyone know of any regular sized chickens getting picked up by hawks? It'd be good to know before I get some.

 

[chickypoos3]

I lost a rooster 2 days ago and today I lost at least 8 young chickens to a hawk. I found one of my meaties lying in the yard with its neck eaten. I'm missing a 11 week old Cornish cross that was obviously carried off by a hawk. I'm so upset about my loss. I just started my chicken flock this past spring. How do I recover from it? I'm now down to one rooster and 4 hens which only one is of laying age. Should I buy more or hope my rooster breeds the hens I have and incubate eggs? I need some guidance please. I'm still trying to figure out how to keep my free range birds that are left safe.

 

[chickypoos3]

I lost a rooster 2 days ago and today I lost at least 8 young chickens to a hawk. I found one of my meaties lying in the yard with its neck eaten. I'm missing a 11 week old Cornish cross that was obviously carried off by a hawk. I'm so upset about my loss. I just started my chicken flock this past spring. How do I recover from it? I'm now down to one rooster and 4 hens which only one is of laying age. Should I buy more or hope my rooster breeds the hens I have and incubate eggs? I need some guidance please. I'm still trying to figure out how to keep my free range birds that are left safe.

is it typical for a hawk to take 8 chickens in one day?

 

[Folly's place]

In my experience, it would be one bird at a time. I think eight birds at once points to some other critter(s). The remaining birds need to be locked in their safe area until this is resolved. There's a dog, fox, or??? at work here. Mary

 

[FireGurl26]

I use scare tape and it seems to keep away flying predators from our land area where our chickens roam.

I also use "NiteGuard" for predators. I know alot of people roll their eyes and think it is all hype and a rip off but it seems to be working for us so far. I have 2 levels of perimeter niteguard boxes on a post. It is right in front of my coop and run. We are right smack dab in the middle of forest on all sides so we have many many predators. Wolves, coyotes, skunks, porcupines, bear, deer, racoon, marten, etc. I know it has only been 5 weeks since my girls went out to the coop but so far no signs of predators trying to get in to the run/coop. My girls free range during the day but i lock em up at night. Knock on wood...but it is working so far and right now is the season all the babies have been born of the predators. I guess the theory behind the niteguard boxes is the predators think the blinking red lights are eyes so they stay away. And it can be seen a half mile away. You just have to set it up on different levels for different size predators.

I still have to figure out our snapping turtle problem though, lol.