Hawks vs. goats?

[meloncholy88]

Does anyone have any suggestions as far as keeping other animals around to keep Hawks away, other than goats? I haven't had much luck, and have resorted to fencing everything in.......

 

[chickenlovernoteater]

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Well, I really want goats as pets, but I thought it would be an extra plus against the two hawks that come soaring over almost daily, and there are not even chickens out there yet!

Another thing I noticed, I let my 3 week old chicks run around yesterday in the nice weather, and if I would walk a few yards from them (I left them under a bench so they didn't freak out being in the open), a couple of vultures would come soaring alarming close to them. I would walk back over and sit down next to them, and the vultures would leave, out of sight. A few minutes later I would do the same thing, and they would pop out of nowhere. Was this just a spoof? I thought they didn't care for live prey? I Think the chicks may have been worried too because after a few times of this happening, when I would walk away, they would hover under my feet, and with 16 of them doing it, it made it extremely hard to walk.

 

[Wolf-Kim]

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If you want the goats for pets, then go ahead and get them. I believe they would certainly "help" keep the hawks away, but they can't be expected to "guard" the chickens.

Vultures have been known to take younger, more defenseless prey(chicks). It does seem as though they took a definate interest in your little ones, I wouldn't trust them around your chicks one bit. I do not "imagine" that a vulture would bother an adult, but 3 week old babies, what wouldn't take them?

LOL. My adult chickens crowd my feet, but only if I have mealworms or a bag of beadloaf-heels. Heaven help if I want to catch someone, because then everyone is nowhere to be found.. figures.. haha

-Kim

 

[Alexis]

I just love having goats in with my chickens. They protected the chickens from raccoons at night because they insisted on sleeping right by the door to the chicken coop. We never had to close it up at night! It was a great arrangement!

We also thought they would deter hawks, and I'm sure they did quite a bit more than I'm aware of, but one of my hens got taken by "something" from the sky when she was behind a tree where the goats couldn't see. The goats acted all freaky for the rest of the day.

I also love keeping goats with the chickens because when it comes to cleaning up table scraps there's never anything left because of one picky eater!

 

[Renegade]

I have chickens, goats, and horses and still lost hens to hawks. Since I've had guineas I haven't lost a chicken.

Donna

 

[chickenlovernoteater]

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Well what would a guinea do for a chicken? Sound an alarm? My chickens are pets, (meaning I wont eat them, and I want them tame), and all the guineas I have encountered are spookish. I would think they would make my chickens anti-social.

 

[Wolf-Kim]

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LOL.. How long have you had guineas?

(Couldn't resist.. an image of you having guineas for only a few minutes and being hawk free for those few minutes.. sorry..)

The local bird collector has guineas and a hawk ate ALL her doves and a just couple chickens. Then her guineas got hit by a car(6 at one time..all in a row..) and she only had 2 or 3, didn't have any issue with hawks.. Then again, by that time that hawk had eaten alot of her small birds and ALL of her doves, and so now every pen is covered.

-Kim

 

[Renegade]

I've had guineas for over two years. I was losing a hen almost every day until I started free ranging the guineas with the chickens. Haven't lost a hen since. I actually witnessed a hawk land on one of my fence posts and the guineas chase it away. I like my guineas a lot but some people hate them because they're noisy.
Guineas are high strung but my chickens just ignore them. All of my hens are always crowding around me begging for treats. My husband complains because they won't get out of his way.

Donna

 

[Wolf-Kim]

That is pretty neat. You have special guard guineas. I know many people who do not care for them either, but then there are people who do. To each, his own.

-Kim