Hawks :( :( Need advice

[Paradisewife]

Hmmm...Y'all made me stop & think...(again)!
We had a peahen move in (fly in) this past March, and sightings of hawks around the pens, usually a daily occurrence, are almost rare. (I also know that chickens & peafowl shouldn't share pens. Well, we didn't really invite her. And honestly, in the desert, if there's a water source, you get every type of wild bird in the region.)
But back to Raptors. I've also seen fewer mice.
We also have a nice population of Roadrunners - they help with the mice & lizards too. Competition in nature for food? At our 4.5 acres, the hawks are losing. At this time. Subject to change.
*When we ordered pullets this year, we completely netted their pen (35×40 ft).

 

[ZedikerStation]

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

I've noticed when the Blue Jay's start making racket in the trees, the hens look for cover. I've never seen a hawk when they are squawking, but the hens take notice.

I just would probably advise against a scare crow

Scare crows work for about 30 days, and that's with moving it every 2 to 3 days. They figure it out pretty quick.

 

[Ju dy]

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.

A hawk attacked our black chicken and killed it. We had three in our flock of 20.

 

[Adolph Otto]

I bought 3 black English Orps with the belief that hawks would be deterred; alas!

 

[ZedikerStation]

Wild animals have evolved over millions of years. I believe that thinking a hawk can't tell the difference between a chicken and a crow is wishful thinking at best. Let's not forget how far away a hawk can spot a mouse in a field. I'm not a hawk, but I suspect a hawk would rather "deal" with a crow than a rooster, but it happens.

 

[Adolph Otto]

Wild animals have evolved over millions of years. I believe that thinking a hawk can't tell the difference between a chicken and a crow is wishful thinking at best. Let's not forget how far away a hawk can spot a mouse in a field. I'm not a hawk, but I suspect a hawk would rather "deal" with a crow than a rooster, but it happens.

Exactly.

 

[MamaWolf7]

I work at a landfill. We have bald eagles and ravens scavenging the garbage year round. I frequently watch ravens fly after eagles to try and steal their food. In the summer we have seagulls and during migration we also have golden eagles and hawks. So many so that a local bird watcher has permission to visit the landfill during migration to monitor the numbers of endangered/at risk species of predatory birds.

Any of these birds will very quickly attack any bird that shows signs of weakness. From my experience there, I do not believe that any large bird will restrain from attacking a chicken of any colour if the predator determines that the chicken is an easy target.

I recently saw a video of someone who put up a flapping noodle guy (like at a used car sales lot) to deter hawks. No idea if it works, but it has potential. When a large sheet of plastic is flapping in the wind at the landfill, the birds do avoid that area.

 

[Perris]

you could try making a home-made version of the best performer in this paper
https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0204802

 

[AGeese]

Just saw a Sparrow Hawk grab a small bird in my front yard. Might have been the one that came after a hen before as I noted the checkered pattern on the tail again, but if it's not hawks, it's eagles... a neighbor just had 6 Bald Eagles land in his front yard. They free range too.

 

[RFoxfire]

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.

I’ve free ranged my chickens since ‘97, and I gravitate toward dark hens. They do the best for me and natural selection is at play. If you get those black, black red or brown red genes into your flock, there is a reason they will steer toward the darker colors. Cocks will be red and bright but hens dark. Depends what cock you keep with the flock, but I’d wager any color cock over dark hen or two will eventually be replace the other colors in time if natural selection is at play. Select for a quality gamecock for the hens. Let them tell you. Just my experience.