I free range all of my chickens but because the hawks have been so active this year I'm going to be building an extended run that isn't necessarily as predator proof as my main coop and run but something I could put a net over to prevent hawk attacks and still allow a semi-free-range scenario. Does anyone know what kind of netting would work best for this? It's still going to be a large area so something wide and inexpensive would be nice.
So my suspense-filled story for today isn't yet a happy ending but I thought I would share why I'm in such a tizzy and why fake owl statues, shiny object, and string just aren't going to cut it! The 5 above chicks were recently integrated into the flock and the worst happened this morning...a hawk struck. I ran out to check when I heard the warning signal from a hen and I watched as a hawk flew away with my little Blue Copper Marans.
It dropped the baby somewhere in the woods and I searched for a while for what I was sure would be a body and I searched even longer for the other 4 missing chicks. No luck. I've locked up all of the other hens and chicks but even after circling the yard several times I couldn't find those 5 chicks! When making another pass around the yard because I was sure that once the danger had passed I would see the other chicks emerging from hiding...well, to my surprise I saw my little Blue Marans running toward me! The sweet baby is in just as much shock as I am, he clearly used his last semblance of sanity to run to me because he hasn't moved an inch since I brought him inside. His eye is scratched and has a wound on his back, but otherwise, I believe he's just very shaken. He's in a nice cozy, low light box to recover in with some vitamin water and wet crumble. Once he's had some time to rest I'm going to treat his wounds but fortunately, I think he's very very lucky and nothing looks terrible as long as he recovers from the shock.
So now I'm sunburned and still hunting for the other 4 chicks.
Wish me luck! I'm very attached to my chickens...
UPDATE: I found the other 4 peeps! They're all perfectly fine! So now I can focus my efforts on helping this poor little marans chick and building a fortress.
So my suspense-filled story for today isn't yet a happy ending but I thought I would share why I'm in such a tizzy and why fake owl statues, shiny object, and string just aren't going to cut it! The 5 above chicks were recently integrated into the flock and the worst happened this morning...a hawk struck. I ran out to check when I heard the warning signal from a hen and I watched as a hawk flew away with my little Blue Copper Marans.
It dropped the baby somewhere in the woods and I searched for a while for what I was sure would be a body and I searched even longer for the other 4 missing chicks. No luck. I've locked up all of the other hens and chicks but even after circling the yard several times I couldn't find those 5 chicks! When making another pass around the yard because I was sure that once the danger had passed I would see the other chicks emerging from hiding...well, to my surprise I saw my little Blue Marans running toward me! The sweet baby is in just as much shock as I am, he clearly used his last semblance of sanity to run to me because he hasn't moved an inch since I brought him inside. His eye is scratched and has a wound on his back, but otherwise, I believe he's just very shaken. He's in a nice cozy, low light box to recover in with some vitamin water and wet crumble. Once he's had some time to rest I'm going to treat his wounds but fortunately, I think he's very very lucky and nothing looks terrible as long as he recovers from the shock.So now I'm sunburned and still hunting for the other 4 chicks.
Wish me luck! I'm very attached to my chickens...UPDATE: I found the other 4 peeps! They're all perfectly fine! So now I can focus my efforts on helping this poor little marans chick and building a fortress.
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and the crisscrossed twine doesn't seem to faze them. I'm going to figure something out though...this was the 3rd failed attempt a hawk has made on my flock and I thought for sure it had succeeded this time. 
