Hawks :(

[haemony]

Another thing to up your chicken's chances is to let them out a little later in the morning or early afternoon but you need a good sized run. I have a large covered run for my flock that they stay in until between 10 AM and noon, depending on time of year. I wait for the predators to have their breakfast and then let the chooks out. Most (not all) of the hunting is done in the early morning.

If a hawk is scoping out my chooks obsessively, I just make them stay in until it gets bored and goes away. Usually, they move on after a few days if they know they will not get easy access. This doesn't happen often since there are crows to chase them off but I have had a few hawk stalkers. I had a huge hawk once stubbornly sit in a tree and stare at my run for hours every morning. I just waited him out and he moved on.

 

[SallyinIndiana]

What is starky?

That's a perfectly fine question. Depends on the breed and the situation. I usually start mixing them with the main flock when they are almost the same size as the rest of the flock. 18 weeks. The exception is young chickens with a broody. I mix them in with the flock earlier, usually 12 to 14 weeks. It's no sure thing since a hawk will take a full grown bird if the chicken is small enough or the hawk is large. It ups their chances though. I've never had silkies or bantams though, just standard breeds. More likely to lose the small birds. I haven't lost a bird to a hawk though...yet. Knock knock. I'm either on to something with my methods or just lucky. Now if only I had luck with roosters. No luck with roosters at all.

Thank you. Snarky is when one trys to be mean in a sneaky kind of way.

 

[JadedPhoenix]

I was reading on one site that raising geese alongside a flock of chickens can help prevent hawk attacks. Has anyone here used that method? What were your results?

 

[MarineCorpFarmr]

works very nicely for the hawks. If this doesnt work, the closet full of mortars and other fireworks gets the job done

 

[haemony]

Hmm. I wonder if this is why my abutting neighbor sets off fireworks during the day. He does have chickens. He's a few acres away and behind a hill so I can't see what is going on over there. Every now and then I'll hear very loud fireworks go off at odd times like 11 AM or 2 PM. I thought it was odd and that maybe he just likes noise.

 

[Blondiechic]

I have a hawk that visits, I think it is looking for the rats as we have some out by the stables this time of year. I recently had to move my girls over that way in a fenced area due so something killing them the other week. Imagine my horror when I heard one of them shouting and went out to see the hawk over there and had had a go at her.

Our paddock and my back garden are now looking most festive. I have bought those rainbow flags, hung cds and giltter balls around, got an eagle kite up by the stables and some glittery windmills - apparently they don't like glittering things..oh i have a few make up mirrors around (one for the tree it sits in) as apparently they also don't like seeing themselves - I wonder if that is why so far the girls have been safe in my back garden, I have a double mirrored wardrobe facing the garden window where it would come in from.

Next I have on the list for a scarecrow for the back garden and the paddock and we are looking into some netting as the girls area is difficult to put things over the top of - all the sides are enclosed and they have scrub and trees.

SO fed up with predators. Still don't know if it was a random dog or a fox in my back garden the other week and just want to keep my girls safe, happy and near me. At the moment I am too worried to let them free range even when I am home.

 

[SallyinIndiana]

We do occasionally have a bonfire but our problem is a daytime problem as we put our chickens up for night time.

 

[Blondiechic]

we aren't allowed to have bonfires or fireworks.
I am hoping that the mirrors work since I just bought an outdoor number from Ebay to put on the wall outside my office for it to see itself flying around (i haven't told my husband as he thinks i already went mad over the weekend...!)

 

[MLWoods]

I have a hawk that visits, I think it is looking for the rats as we have some out by the stables this time of year. I recently had to move my girls over that way in a fenced area due so something killing them the other week. Imagine my horror when I heard one of them shouting and went out to see the hawk over there and had had a go at her.

Our paddock and my back garden are now looking most festive. I have bought those rainbow flags, hung cds and giltter balls around, got an eagle kite up by the stables and some glittery windmills - apparently they don't like glittering things..oh i have a few make up mirrors around (one for the tree it sits in) as apparently they also don't like seeing themselves - I wonder if that is why so far the girls have been safe in my back garden, I have a double mirrored wardrobe facing the garden window where it would come in from.

Next I have on the list for a scarecrow for the back garden and the paddock and we are looking into some netting as the girls area is difficult to put things over the top of - all the sides are enclosed and they have scrub and trees.

SO fed up with predators. Still don't know if it was a random dog or a fox in my back garden the other week and just want to keep my girls safe, happy and near me. At the moment I am too worried to let them free range even when I am home.

Okay, you have to post a picture of this!
We have about 1/3 of the avian netting up. It is very difficult to work with, but once we started to figure out the crazy way it was rolled up things went faster. I am surprised at how very strong it is, and how a mass of black netting is almost unseen 20 feet away thru my windows. I was concerned it would look like a black cloud, but it is only noticeable when the sun is glinting off it. I am very hopeful this solves our problem. I cant say they will be 100% safe, but any hawk that bounces off of this net will be scared to try again. I am worried about the family of squirrels that visit the chicken yard who live in the tree behind us. I would love to keep them out too, but if one gets in and cant find his way out that could be trouble...

 

[ande]

I depend on netting and crows for my hawk protection. I put out BOSS, corn, and bird seed for them. I think the main thing that attract crows though is very tall trees. There are a few acres of tall pines abutting our property and luckily that is a major attraction for crows. They like to roost and nest high. If you have any tall trees nearby, keep scattering corn and other crow favorites. Crows are not a danger to grown chickens and do not tolerate hawks. Be careful about chicks and eggs though. I have always heard that crows will sometimes go after them. I've never had that problem. I keep my chicks covered until they are large enough not to be easy prey and all eggs are laid inside of a hen house that is not easy to get into at all.

I use hardware cloth to cover the top and sides of my run and bird netting over all the paddocks. We also make little hen hideouts all over the property in between paddocked areas. Hideouts are either evergreen shrubs or hoops with landscape fabric and branches or vines over them. I make sure they do not have to run more than 5 feet in any direction to get under cover.

Can you post a picture of your hen hideouts made out of hoops? Or just describe how to do it- it sounds like a great idea!!