Hawks

[Irish Cluck]

Ok so I have three gals now and I'd love to let them out to free range a lot more in the summer but I am a bit concerned. We have several red tailed hawks that hover over my yard (2 acres) every day. Are the gals to big to realy entice them or should I be looking at increasing the size of the covered pen? Right now it is 5' x12'.

 

[blefky]

Hawks are definitely a threat to your birds. They may have difficulty carrying off a very large adult, but it won't stop them from killing it on the ground. I keep mine in a large covered run, and only let them free range when I can be out with them. Even so, we had a near miss recently when a large red tail swooped in at one my hens just a few feet off the ground - and not 15 feet from where I was standing. It had a last minute change of mind, but it was close. Especially in the spring, with their own chicks to raise, hawks are a threat to be taken seriously. I do believe that quality trumps quantity of life, so I do let mine free range when I can be out with them, but there is risk inherent in free ranging.

 

[Irish Cluck]

Ok then, bigger pen it shall be. Man these "free eggs" are getting pricey!

 

[chickencrazyinHT]

I let our chickens free range only if we plan to be outside to watch them. They tend to get smaller chickens because they have killed some of my Old English Bantams before. They can get bigger chickens too. I have heard stories of them tearing them apart with their talons on the ground if they are too big to carry off. When we first got chickens, we let them free range during the day for months before a Hawk finally found them and now we see them all the time. You are right about the "free eggs" getting pricey. We have a ton of money invested into coops and runs and etc....but we love it. Raising Chickens has been rewarding for our whole family.

 

[Irish Cluck]

Yeah,
The "Whole Family" loves the chickens, love watching them and eating the eggs. The "Whole family" does not seem as eager to spend their weekends building coops or (and most importantly) CLEANING coops!

 

[ketcham]

Nothing is cheep anymore.A hobby is a good way to put it.I'm enjoying have them around but the bad guys do take away a lot of the fun!!! Kevin

 

[FlowerFarmer]

I've had a similar experience.
I love to let them out in the yard when we are there watching. They have so much fun in the grass and flower beds!
A red tailed hawk took our favorite chick (right in front of me; about 15 feet away) because I stepped inside for a second and the dog followed me inside(dog= our awesome chick protecter). The hawk must have caught on to our mistake, and by the time I saw her...
Anyway we're down a bird and we have learned this lesson the hard way.
Hawks are a threat even if you dont see them.
Take caution; especially in the spring when they're desperate to feed their own families.

 

[kiwismom]

We had a run in with a hawk, it did hurt 3 hens but hubby got the hawk off the one he was attacking and all three hens survived.They have a covered run but they free range as along as we are home, lesson learned.

 

[TheSpiceGirls]

I have to agree with the other posters. Your hens are at risk. I'm in the suburbs and have the smaller Coopers Hawks. But plenty in my area have lost hens to hawks. And how awful since you only have the three and they probably have names and you know their personalities. I would keep them penned and safe and only let them out when you can be there to supervise.

 

[carolinasculpture]

Hi! We have a huge (50'x50') net over a 50x50 run. So far is is working well. I have one of those inflatable bird eye things that is supposed to scare birds away from fruit trees out and several CDs flopping around out there. The hawks (here they seem to be mostly red-tailed and red-shouldered) swoop in to look, but keep going.
I read on here somewhere that only the first egg is expensive, after that they are all free. We have dubbed ours the "golden egg" and plated it.

Good luck!