A month or so ago, i awoke to non-stop crow cackling, when i went out to investigate, i discovered a murder of crows were heckling a red tailed hawk (who because of the frequency of sightings and hawk calls, i suspect lives VERY close) upon closer inspection once the hawk had flown off, i saw it had attacked and killed one of the several young turkeys that frequents the property with their mother, roughly the size of, or maybe a bit bigger than my young birds. since that day i have been mortified of letting my 13 birds roam on their own, each one is like a dear pet to me. but i do not have the time to spend out near the coop watching them for hours every evening, and i feel terrible only letting them roam twice a week or so. Is there anything short of turning the entire area around the coop into a covered fenced area, that i can do to keep the hawks away so that my birds can roam and forage in peace? *actual photo taken from my porch *and a couple snapshots of the flock i adore and dread losing so much. (I've even considered getting a goat as a sort of 'flock guard'...would that even help? or an owl statue? does that even scare anything other than pigeons? i don't know...*sigh*) any advice will be greatly appreciated, thank you so much in advance.-Country
An owl statue may deter hawks. It may also scare your chickens. I do not know how a goat will help against a hawk. But it may. If your chickens are walking in the open, there is always a chance that a hawk will kill them. I suggest having a large enclosed run for them, and just allow the chickens to free range when someone is around.
