Hawks :(

[bj taylor]

Hi everyone, have read some of this thread. I had my first hawk attack a couple of days ago. A red tailed. I have four girls (heavy breeds). When i got out there one was missing alot of feathers and the hawk was taking off. My huge black australorp rooster (that i love and think is the best rooster in the world) had jumped into the air to fight off the hawk. I'm convinced if he hadn't been there,my girls wouldn't have come out so well. That being said, at this point i'm not going to lock my chickens up. We're going to take our chances.

 

[SumatraBantam]

The way to solve this problem is to use netting over the top of your pen. Then, no bird preds will get to your flock. Also, you might want to get extra big birds, in case one of your birds is caught in the open. The bigger the bird is, the harder it is to spirit off.

Buff Opringtons

Australorps

Rhode Island Reds

New Hampshire's

Plymouth Rocks

Good luck, and don't give up on chickens!

 

[MarineCorpFarmr]

Also white birds are more of an easy target. And giving them shrubs and small trees for shelter helps too.

 

[KnobbyOaks]

The way to solve this problem is to use netting over the top of your pen. Then, no bird preds will get to your flock. Also, you might want to get extra big birds, in case one of your birds is caught in the open. The bigger the bird is, the harder it is to spirit off.

Buff Opringtons

Australorps

Rhode Island Reds

New Hampshire's

Plymouth Rocks

Good luck, and don't give up on chickens!

I have netting over my pen just because of fear of hawks and feel very comfortable with that, so do my Lorps. They usually stay in there unless I'm outside, and then they come running, otherwise they just prefer to stay in the pen, they're never out in the open. The problem comes with that miserable squirrel. When he/she goes into the coop to eat the chicken feed, the chickens flee all the way out. I really feel that the squirrel and the hawk are in cahoots (just kidding). After seeing that youtube video with the hawk going through the door into the pen to get a chicken doesn't make me comfortable.

 

[Hangtown Farms]

Also white birds are more of an easy target. And giving them shrubs and small trees for shelter helps too.

little running white bullseye's

 

[chickengeorgeto]

So true. You know if I wanted to trap a hawk, I think I would use a caged white pullet for bait.

 

[mairead]

Just the other day i had a hawk attack my rooster again. He luckily made it to the barn fast enough. This is the 2nd time it has happened to him.

 

[canesisters]

My advice is - put netting over the entire run if you can - if you can't put up fishing line or string in the area where they freerange with CDs loosely hung. That way during migratory times you can help reduce your losses.

I started to read the whole thread but I'm at work (don't tell my boss...) and it's a LOT of info.

What are yall's opinions of the fishing line and CD's tatict??

This past Saturday a hawk (big one!) was sitting on a tree across my driveway. I walked over to take a picture and he flew RIGHT PAST MY HEAD!!! I'm not kidding! He dropped out of the tree and cruised along about 6' high and passed me no more than 6 or 7' away!! He landed in a pine tree near the back corner of my run so I went and sat in the run with the chooks for a while. By that time the crows had noticed it and drove it way back over the hill and into the woods.

(this was from across the yard before I walked over to the other side of the drive and he dived-bombed me)

I have a 30'x30' uncovered run. It's inside the fenced in yard - in the corner. The dogs bark at buzzards when they circle so I would think that a hawk would also get their attention, but they can't help if something lands inside the run.. I bought several rolls of the highest breaking strength fishing line I could find last weekend and I'm hoping to get sort of a 'web' strung this weekend with some CD's dangling.

Is anyone using this method? And have you had a hawk attack since installing it?

 

[Nambroth]

There are folks that swear by the fishing line trick, and some people say it has not worked for them. Every situation is unique, and each hawk is an individual. It may or may not work, it just matters to you how valuable your hens are to you and if you are willing to take that risk! You can get lightweight bird netting pretty inexpensively on amazon, just search "bird netting" under the Patio, Lawn, and Garden section. If you covered your run with this entirely, it would deter all but the most determined/desperate of hawks. I have read about people who have seen hawks tearing at the netting, but I suspect that might because the hawk got a foot tangled, etc, but be advised that it's possible. Which leads me to...

I have found that hawks sometimes get so focused on prey drive that they don't see the fine bird nettings. Weaving a few strips of hot pink/orange surveyor's tape (found in the outdoors section of stores, usually with camping and hunting supplies) into the netting seems to help them 'see' it and prevent any crashed, tangled, hawk messes and torn netting!

I have put lightweight galvanized fencing on top of my run, because I also have predators that can climb (raccoons, opposums, grey foxes). Be aware that bird netting sure won't stop a hungry raccoon or oppossum (etc). They would get through it in seconds, which is why I used actual fencing on top. My birds are pets, though, so the loss of a hen would be very devastating to me.

 

[Masonicflock]

A lot of old chicken farmers have done the "fishing line" trick either strung out haphazardly or in a grid pattern. Though the purpose was not to scare the hawk off but to finish the hawk off on a dive bomb run. (35mph hawk vs. 100lb line... not good for hawk). Random fact of the day and totally not advocating anything else in anyway... haha