Help!! Redtailed hawks decimated four of my five hens in 90 days

[hoosierhens101]

Please help or I am going to give up on my backyard birds if I can't keep them safer. I have a small secure 6'x4' run that we open up every morning and let the girls out into a 25' x100' grassy area. The large area has a 6 ft fence around it. There is with an evergreen tree and a bush for shelter as well as under the coop . Everything was fine until late fall when 2 of our hens were killed 3 days apart. We saw the redtailed hawk on the carcass of the second one. After that I read all the posts and we put bird netting over the entire 25' x 100' enclosure. There was a of 1-2 foot gap where we had to go around the pine tree but the gap had pine branches in it. We came home to two red tailed hawks IN the pen!! Only one hen survived .

 

[chickencheeper]

Hawks can easily get through bird netting, it’s ment as a deterrent. How many chickens do you have? It would probably be best to keep them in their run

 

[hoosierhens101]

Only 1 now

 

[centrarchid]

I would have to see how you are setup to make any decent suggestions. I would use deer netting rather than bird netting as cover. Mine is reinforced with binder twine. Other approaches can be used to protect your birds although tighter confinement likely most cost effective approach when number of birds is low. Losses to Red-tailed Hawks generally low for me because of more expensive approaches that do not scale down well.

 

[junebuggena]

When predators start to pick off your birds, it's time to keep them confined to a secure, covered run until the threat has moved on. It's the lean season for many predators, and raptors are agile and very adept at finding ways in. Remember that these hawks do hunt in forests, and can take a squirrel through dense tree branches. They ability to navigate tight spaces is incredible.

 

[lazy gardener]

I had to give up free ranging for 2 years. It forced me to build a large run which was covered with bird netting in the summer months. I had to take the netting down every fall. The first fall, I saw a huge hawk fly down into a section of the run which I had blocked off so the snow sliding off the coop roof would not bury the chickens. So, we then covered that section with 2 x 4 welded fencing. It's been an expensive undertaking. The run is not predator proof. But, what it does do is keep hawks from attacking the flock during the day. They only get out to range when I am around to protect them.

 

[junebuggena]

I've got a juvenile bald eagle that has been making meals out of my flock recently. They are not happy about being confined, but it's better than being dead.

 

[AllenK RGV]

I am so sorry for your loss. Did you have any roosters or just hens?
My roos do an incredible job protecting and alerting their gals to danger. I don't have enough experience to say it is the breed vs just roosters in general, but my guys are the bomb!

 

[Beer can]

My birds hate not being free but I occasionally have to confine them due to hawks. While I sometimes have way too many birds it's always when I'm down to just small breeding flocks that a hawk will get one of my best hens.
I do have large runs and the bird netting has been effective at keeping the hawks out I'd prefer to free range them but sometimes don't have any to spare especially for free... So they get jailed...
Try tightening up the netting covering all holes, or maybe use heavy fishing line criss crossed at spots where it's not easy to enclose with netting?

 

[Soon2BChixMom]

Sorry to hear about your losses. Maybe post pics of your entire set up so that you can get some good advice.
I've seen hawks surveying my chickens. They are not allowed out in the open run unless I'm out there. But, I'm considering netting for the top of that so at least they can be out when I'm home. I didnt realize that hawks could get through bird netting though. Ugh.
It looks like you are from Indiana judging by your user name. There is an Indiana BYC thread if you want to come over and introduce yourself to fellow Hoosiers.