How long until the hawk comes back?

[Coopcheney]

I had my four ladies out in our yard I was there to supervise as I was weeding the gardens and I walked inside to use the restroom and a hawk came and tried to attack my girls. My husband was in the garage and ran out and scared the hawk away and I then put my girls in the chicken run. They are ok and seem to really not want to be in the run even though they literally almost became dinner. Is there a specific amount of time I should keep them in the run?

 

[deidreg]

There's no rule. It's about your risk tolerance. I had a similar experience and kept them in for a few days while I calmed down. Now I listen for the hawk and pay attention to other birds, who may sound the alarm when the hawk is around. I am always with them when they're in the yard. So far, so good. But I know the hawk will try again sometime. Good luck!

 

[Coopcheney]

There's no rule. It's about your risk tolerance. I had a similar experience and kept them in for a few days while I calmed down. Now I listen for the hawk and pay attention to other birds, who may sound the alarm when the hawk is around. I am always with them when they're in the yard. So far, so good. But I know the hawk will try again sometime. Good luck!

Thank you for your reply. I am definitely keeping them inside the run for a while.

 

[igorsMistress]

Free ranging has risks, and hawks could care less about humans in the yard. Your flock, given the opportunity, will learn to watch the sky and sound the alarm. If you want to let them out, providing cover in the form of bushes, low tables, old chairs, etc is a good option. They will learn to keep an eye on the sky and other areas of concern.

 

[Dita Orlik]

I had my four ladies out in our yard I was there to supervise as I was weeding the gardens and I walked inside to use the restroom and a hawk came and tried to attack my girls. My husband was in the garage and ran out and scared the hawk away and I then put my girls in the chicken run. They are ok and seem to really not want to be in the run even though they literally almost became dinner. Is there a specific amount of time I should keep them in the run?

Hawk will keep coming until he realizes that he can't catch the chicken. I had hawk trying to get the chicken or sitting on the trees 15 yards from the coop for weeks before they gave it up. If you make a cover, for example, wiremesh leaning against the wall of the house, they can walk by or truck parked by the coop and so on every 15 feet of cover the hawk has no chance of catching them. It works for me for 3 months now. I never shot even in the air to scare anything away.