Hello Nice to meet you bakyard chickens breeders! im a new member with questions!

[WandaLiz]

Hello!

I am so happy to become a member of this group! I am a new member. My flock is kind of tiny! I have 4 hens, 2 roosters and 2 very young hens 4 month old. They are growing well and my little flock is very healthy! I am having problems with dogs and hawks. One of my roosters is totally blind because of dog attack about a year ago while i was at work and yesterday a Hawk tried to catch the youngest when i did let them out in the garden. Luckyly i am always with them and we threw rocks and ran to them and saved them. I do not want my hens to be inside a coop with limited motion permanently as they are not used to that. I had to put them in one yesterday. Do any of you know of a way to get rid of hawks? thank you for your support!

 

[sourland]

Welcome to BYC. When raising chickens, predators are a continual problem. If you free range your birds, there will most likely b e occasional attacks and losses. A well built, covered pen is the best protection against predators. Good luck in protecting your birds.

 

[chicks5500]

We currently have 2 hawks that are constantly flying over our pen. We finally had to buy netting and cover the pen for protection.I hate not being able to let them free range and hope that eventually the Hawks will move on once they see they can't get in to get them. We also have coyotes at night so the netting serves as double protection. We plan to put a roof over the entire run later this spring.

 

[WandaLiz]

Thank you very much! I will start working on a big pen and roof for them. Will share pictures when we finish building it. Hopefully the hawks will stop searching around my farm or will change their diet!
thank you so much!!!

 

[drumstick diva]

I agree with Sourland. Netting will not keep coyotes out - nor would chicken wire, if that is what you are using. The gold standard is 1/2" hardware cloth securely affixed to framework- with more than just staples. Most predators can go through flimsy chicken wire like it was butter.

 

[Pork Pie]

Hi and welcome to BYC - glad to have you join us.

I'd suggest looking at the "predators and pests" forum - there is an active thread discussing hawks at the moment, which you should find useful.

Good luck

CT