How to get hawk away from backyard?!?

[henplusrooster]

I was in my kitchen and I was looking out the window and I saw a hawk. The hawk was flying over one of my hens. But my hen was hiding under a bush. But my rooster started flapping his wings and screeching and all sorts of things to get rid of the hawk. But the hawk only moved from my backyard to the fence. So I had to go out there and scare it off. How do I get rid of it. It only happen one time that I know of. But i don't want it to ever happen again.

 

[Folly's place]

When we have a raptor visitation, my flock is locked in their safe coop and run for at least a week, and usually ten days or more, until the bird gets discouraged and move on. Your hawk might have been scouting your birds, or rodents and rabbits, which would be a good thing, but don't take chances!
Having a safe coop and covered run are essential for keeping your birds alive!!!
All raptors are federally protected, and generally flashing objects won't work for long to discourage them. A dog might help, as long as it's large enough to not be on the menu too, and will leave the chickens alone! Mary

 

[Folly's place]

If I were you, I'd be out there adding a covered run. I started with chickens roosting in my barn rafters, because I was told that it would be fine. After many night time deaths, I learned, and set up a coop. Then a run. Then a covered run, and a coop addition. Then another coop addition, and a roofed run.
Free ranging chickens in your back yard is wonderful, but you will have deaths, and injuries, some very ugly. Mary

 

[Folly's place]

I also have roosters, and lots of trees and shrubs as cover, and a barn some of the birds like to visit. It all helps. I've also had times when very determined hawks sit out there waiting for unwary chickens to come out, and they are then way safer in their run and coop! Mary

 

[Chickassan]

Make yourself a scarecrow, they aren't just for crows and they work really well. Move him around every so often so the hawks don't get wise. Scarecrow dosent work on crows at all BTW but that's ok you want crows they irritate the heck out of hawks.

 

[mechanic57]

I was in my kitchen and I was looking out the window and I saw a hawk. The hawk was flying over one of my hens. But my hen was hiding under a bush. But my rooster started flapping his wings and screeching and all sorts of things to get rid of the hawk. But the hawk only moved from my backyard to the fence. So I had to go out there and scare it off. How do I get rid of it. It only happen one time that I know of. But i don't want it to ever happen again.

The only way to protect them from hawks is a covered run. By FDA definition, a free range chicken is one that is allowed access to the outside. Thats it. The definition does not include an amount of time they are allowed outside, or how much of the outside they have access to, or whether the outside is fenced in from other parts of the outside.

So just because we are recommending a covered run, doesn't mean it has to be small and cramped, but without a covered run, the hawk(s) will come almost daily for an easy meal until all your chickens are dead. I have a covered run. Its not small, but it does not encompass my all my acres, so I do let them out of the run nearly every day after 3:00. Why 3:00? Because that is when I get home from work and my kids get home from school and statistically I've lost no chickens to hawks after 3:00. The hawks seem to come by throughout the morning until 1:00, but that's just my observation over the years of having chickens here. Every time the chickens come out, however, there is a risk of loss and I accept that risk based on my risk analysis.

Many people have an emotional attachment to their chickens and want to treat them like pets instead of livestock. That's fine, I understand that. Chickens are great entertainment and even therapeutic to care for and raise. They are easy and educational for kids to help raise. The reality is chickens are livestock and are nowhere near the top of the food chain. Many other animals will kill them if given the chance. So unlike a dog or cat that has no natural predators, part of caring for them is protecting them from the dangers that they cannot protect themselves from. Some people feel their chickens should roam "au naturale" and it is some sort of cruel, inhuman act to keep them fenced it, but then they don't want to accept the other side of the coin, the fact that "au naturale" chickens have a higher potential to become piles of bloody feathers and guts strewn across the yard. I feel that keeping them in a fenced run is for their protection. I would feel irresponsible to have all the capabilities and power of reason that I have, and do nothing to protect the flock I have decided to take care of.

Someone asked why hawks are protected by law. A number of different species are endangered due to deforestation for the development of urban, suburban and even farmland areas. I live in southern NJ and I was shocked to see photos and maps of the area from the early 1900s and see that a lot of the farm land of the Garden State used to be forested land. This displaces many animals, both predators and prey, so numbers decline. The law here states that birds of prey are not to be killed, trapped, etc for seeking out their natural prey. One state wildlife site give an example of people setting up bird feeders in their yards and hawks preying on the birds at the feeders. It says "You did not cause a bird to be killed by the hawk. You only caused it to be killed where you could see it. If you don't like seeing birds killed by hawks, don't do things that gather the birds in your yard." The law is basically set up to let the natural order of things occur without any more active human interference. Whether it is successful is an entirely different debate that I will not get into.

 

[Zoomie]

You can't make hawks go away from your backyard, except by perhaps erecting a huge bubble over everything. Hawks go wherever they want to in search of food. If you are really worried about losing a bird, you could keep your chickens in a covered run. That's what I do. I lock them up securely at night, and in the day they are in a covered run. That works best for me. Everybody has a different situation and different feelings about it.

 

[centrarchid]

In ND you are allow to protect your livestock AND there is always the 3 S's --shoot , shovel, shut up

You just screamed to the world in violation of the third S.

 

[BlueBaby]

The hawk will be back looking for dinner. That's the chance that you take with predators and your flock when you free-range. When the chickens are free-ranging, there is nothing to protect them.

 

[FrankHomestead]

except a determined chicken owner and a shotgun

Hawks are protected, you kill one- HUGE fines and maybe more. it's not worth it.
I don't know where op lives but here in Michigan that is a $1500 fine, per bird. nope..I'm good...I'll just keep my chickens in a tractor.