How big does a chicken need to be that it isn't HAWK BAIT anymore?

[chauqg]

Red tailed nickname is CHICKEN HAWK! Great horned owl is more of a problem when they find your birds out at dusk! GH owls dwarf red tail hawks.

 

[chickbird]

Quote:
i tried that and it did not help... have had problem with hawk and owl... we have a den of foxes down the street and i am worried about them.

 

[Pet Duck Boy]

I nearly lost some 6 week old chicks to an aggressive redtailed hawk a few weeks ago, not to mention it also attacked me. Since then I've been putting cheap dry dog food out every day. 3 weeks later I now have some crows that hang around often while eating the food. I still hear the hawk screeching, but it's never too close to my backyard. I've already seen up to 4 crows dive-bombing the hawk. And that hawk was hauling butt trying to get away from them.

 

[halo]

Ive had the occassional chick eaten by a hawk. They havent been carried off, but eaten right in the yard. Ive not had a problem with them bothering the full grown chickens, but I have a pretty big crow presence here (I always leave some eggs out for them, so they stick around). I know we have some gorgeous big hawks here, too, but other than the odd baby that somehow gets out of the pen, Ive not had a problem.

 

[Alabama ee]

We are in Alabama. We have had Eagles eat our ducks. The eagles travel through once a year. All I would find was a bunch of feathers on top of a round bale. It was very upsetting. They were such pretty Cayuga's and so sweet natured. I was very attached to them. Anyway, I gave up on the whole duck thing after they got the last pair. Geese on the other hand, did not seem to have any trouble.

With our chickens, we keep them in a covered run. I have heard the hawks come by. There are a ton of them. They would not last long being out in the open. We have a mobile coop and run. I just move it to a different spot every few days. It works very well.

 

[FarmerRob]

I think that a wire covered run is the best protection from birds of prey. However, I read somewhere, probably on this forum, where someone said that they free-ranged their chickens along side goats (within electric netting fencing--rotational grazing etc.) and the presence of the goats had acted as a deterent to the aerial threat. I would like to hear from anyone else who has tried this method. Of course goats are not an option for everyone.

 

[EastinChickens]

i had three 6 week old chickens taken by a hawk or owl

 

[Ms. Cluckingly]

I live in Colorado Springs... in the city, and we have a large Hawk that cases our neighborhood. See, I live in an "older" community, and a lot of the people here have chiuahuas. Well we had one too (a rescue chi.. who was the best chi ever), until about 6 months ago, my baby "Moose" was taken from our backyard... by that darn hawk. He perches on top of a neighbor a few houses down HUGE lightning rod. Now, my girls will always be in a covered run.

 

[jennh]

"Loving ARMY wife to Mike (who just got home from his 4th tour in Iraq), Mama to Brandon and Lily, and two fur babies. Laska the rat terrier, and Ponyo the blue tip siamese. And my girls.. 1 RIR- Scarlet, 1 BO- Buffy, 1 WL- Princess, 1 RSL- Penny, and 1 BPR- Yoshi."

Ms.Cluckingly, thank you husband for me for his service to our Country! We would not be the Greatest nation on earth if it weren't for people like him.
God Bless your husband, and God Bless you!

Jen

 

[chauqg]

Forgot to mention the presence of a large murder of crows. They keep after the hawks and owls, but more important I believe is that the birds are full sized RIR's. Hope luck holds out as it has in the past.

Smaller chicks need complete protection.

Good Luck!