Hawks :( :( Need advice

[Becks Chicks]

I was sitting in my run today, as I’m integrating chicks into my flock. It’s entirely covered. As I was sitting there, a large hawk swooped down and hit the hardware cloth. Mayhem ensued inside with my chickens flying around everywhere. It happened in a second, and thankfully we were all enclosed. The hawk sat in the trees overlooking my coop afterwards and took one more swoop at the run (while I was still in it!). I have no advice, except to share my experience. I am very thankful for my enclosed run. I would love to free range my chickens, but know it would lead to loss if I did.

 

[CFLRanching]

No. Unfortunately you won't be able to free range them without some type of overhead protection. They will never leave them alone, especially if they ever catch one. We have lost many chickens to hawks. You need to consider something like a chicken tractor that you can move if you need to, give that free range feel.

Unfortunely they're birds of prey, aka protected raptors. They're going to hunt, and if you have something larger than a red-tailed hawk, they'll likely try to catch them. We deal with hawks daily around here. We've just gotten to the point where bantams stay up and chicks (they're about the only targets) and turkeys and standard sized ones get to go out. Coverage like leafy elephant ears or some other low bush is an option if they'll stay under it (ours always freeze and go for the nearest cover if a rooster alerts when they fly over) . They are 100% a nuisance, if they were actually doing something like controlling the venomous snake population in our area I might have more regard for them. But they tend to make our bantams turn up MIA and any chick that might happen upon a hole they've managed to create by digging before we find it. Good luck with your girls. Ultimately you've got to keep them out of talons reach or they'll start disappearing one by one.

 

[Isabella7Storm5]

I don't know if it's true or not, but I watched a video on YouTube where a man said that he solved his hawk problem by having black chickens. He said the hawk thinks the black chickens are crows and it deters them. Again, no idea if it's true or not. I have 2 black chickens myself, but tons of crows around. I've never seen a hawk around here, despite living in a prime environment for them.

We've had a fully black flock before and the hawks just didnt care and grabbed a few of them anyway

 

[centrarchid]

I keep chickens, including young ones free-range. There are ways to do it with minimal loss when it comes to raptors. I say WAYS.

 

[KreetchaKeepa]

We've had a fully black flock before and the hawks just didnt care and grabbed a few of them anyway

I'm sorry! Dang predators!

 

[blutenstaub]

My little cockerels were on the cat tree in the yard making a racket, and I thought maybe it was because of one of the cats staring down on them from the roof, and who do I see on my neighbor's antenna......


I am not in an area you would call wild at all, the houses barely have a space you can walk between, if they're not build right up next to each other. Most yards are bricked. Very little greenery.

Anyway, while I was standing in my yard trying to look big and staring at it, two hummingbirds came out and started yelling at it, then took turns swooping at it and it disappeared. I actually got my birds to protect the hummingbirds and the other little songbirds that I would occasionally find pieces of, but here they were, protecting my birds from a hawk. In my old 10th floor apartment in a different city, I would regularly see swallows attacking the hawk (?) couple that lived in the cell phone tower on the building across the street. Six or seven swallows would circle and take turns dive bombing. So.... maybe a nice population of nesting flighted birds is the answer? Of course then you have the biosecurity risks...

 

[MamaWolf7]

My little cockerels were on the cat tree in the yard making a racket, and I thought maybe it was because of one of the cats staring down on them from the roof, and who do I see on my neighbor's antenna......
View attachment 3281589

I am not in an area you would call wild at all, the houses barely have a space you can walk between, if they're not build right up next to each other. Most yards are bricked. Very little greenery.

Anyway, while I was standing in my yard trying to look big and staring at it, two hummingbirds came out and started yelling at it, then took turns swooping at it and it disappeared. I actually got my birds to protect the hummingbirds and the other little songbirds that I would occasionally find pieces of, but here they were, protecting my birds from a hawk. In my old 10th floor apartment in a different city, I would regularly see swallows attacking the hawk (?) couple that lived in the cell phone tower on the building across the street. Six or seven swallows would circle and take turns dive bombing. So.... maybe a nice population of nesting flighted birds is the answer? Of course then you have the biosecurity risks...

Smaller birds will attack predatory birds by swooping at them if the predatory bird is near their nest. This is most likely what you were witnessing.

 

[CFLRanching]

We've had a fully black flock before and the hawks just didnt care and grabbed a few of them anyway

Yeah the crow thing and hawks. Little secret i've noticed on the ranch, prob wouldn't see it in town because they scavenge there. But wild crows habits are different. What I've noticed out here on our ranch you hear the crows first. They're the scouts. They find the prey and call to the hawks and then the hawk moves in and secures the meal. Once it's had it's fill it leaves the rest for the crows.

Came home from running to our mailbox last year (2 miles from our house) and saw a hawk and a crow sitting idle beside it just waiting for the hawk to finish the meal. So I drove out in the pasture to see what it was eating (nothing new i'm always curious what the raptors are feeding on). Get out there. It's my daughters grand champion modern game rooster. So sad. So yeah don't think for a moment feather color is going to help if it's black. Hawks and crows are buddies. Now a milli-fluer pattern I think those tend to be a little more helpful in camouflaging in leaf littered areas. But we've had black bantams go MIA to birds of prey.

 

[ZedikerStation]

A hawk scared these girls earlier in the day by trying to get in the covered run. On days like that they've trained themselves to stay close to their protection...

- Enclosed run, best advice.

-Dog that tries to sprout wings if a hawk flies over, good second!

 

[AGeese]

I free range and wouldn't turn chickens out to pasture without geese. That said no one method is full proof much like your own personal security. My gander and my hens are good at spotting, but the geese mainly just deterrents.

I watch hawks fly over from time to time. A short while back a young chickenhawk, either a young coopers or red-tail came floating down with talons open which I came face to face with walking out of the garage as one of my hens ran through the door. It turned right around and flew off, all very slow... so all I'm certain is that it wasn't a Falcon which probably would have had the hen.

The geese happened to be off somewhere so there's somethings you just can't control. That said there's good advice here you can use and I just would probably advise against a scare crow, unless you're brooding chicks I welcome the crows.

Crows, Swallows, Blue Jays, Cardinals, Red Wing Black Birds, great anti-hawk patrol.