how to get rid of a hawk killing my chickens

[KGandE]

I'm very sorry for your loss. We lost a hen to a hawk last year and I still feel awful about it.

Our solution was to purchase "hawk net" online. It was a nightmare to install, especially b/c our run area has trees, but with three adults and many hours, we got it done. I don't think it is foolproof, but so far it has worked. I also put up some of the reflective tape - not sure if it helps or not.

Some other ideas I've heard of, but not tried, include loud music, adding a rooster to your flock, and placing plastic owls. (The music seems impractical, but might work if you were out there with them free ranging. I don't see how a rooster would help - I know they try to protect the flock, but I would imagine they are also fairly easy prey for hawks (and we have a town ordinance against them where we live anyway.) The owls seem like they might work, but I figure if they'd scare a hawk away they'd also scare my hens so, I haven't bought one.)

I can agree and/or empathize with pretty much everything everyone else has posted here. Much sympathy to you and good luck.

hello I have lost 5 guinea hens and 1 chicken hen to a hawk which I caught on camera and saw it the other day and scared it off. I cooped my other 2 chicken hens which free range all day and built a scarecrow and put some reflective tape on it to try to deter the hawk away. Was wondering if there were any other tricks or advice to keep them away.

 

[KGandE]

PS, just wanted to add that when a hawk killed our hen, she had run under a fairly dense and large shrub - I found a ton of feathers there, and am fairly sure that's where the hawk "got" her. I mention this just because while I do think shrubs and other hiding spots are a good idea and do offer some protection, in our experience they're not foolproof (sadly).

 

[BudandBranch]

I don’t understand the logic of putting defenseless prey (chickens) outside in the open that birds of prey (hawks) by nature will eat because it’s instinct, and then killing the hawk for trying to eat when you’ve placed a buffet at their feet. Just secure the chickens. You can’t blame raptors for hunting defenseless prey left outside - they are easy kills. It’s like leaving a box of baby bunny rabbits outside on the lawn and getting upset when a fox eats one. I don’t want my chickens eaten by hawks, so I don’t leave them out unattended. I also have great respect for hawks as well as other raptors. It is the flock tenders job to secure the flock in a safe enclosure, it isn’t their job to blow away animals that they have basically lured to the open buffet.

 

[roosterhavoc]

People do things differently. Everyone doesn’t like caging chickens in a little coop and run in a tiny backyard. Some people actually live in areas where there’s a lot of foxes, hawks, raccoons etc and not in the suburbs. There’s huge difference in the amount of birds people keep too.
Aside from all that free ranging birds are healthier and aren’t stomping around in their own filth all day every day locked away.

 

[CMcGrath71]

PS, just wanted to add that when a hawk killed our hen, she had run under a fairly dense and large shrub - I found a ton of feathers there, and am fairly sure that's where the hawk "got" her. I mention this just because while I do think shrubs and other hiding spots are a good idea and do offer some protection, in our experience they're not foolproof (sadly).

That is the same thing that happened to my girl.

 

[Ferd Berfel]

My chickens and ducks want to free range. When I don’t let them out for some reason they are furious and don’t hesitate to let me know. I started noticing the hawks when one got a duck one day and a chicken the next. I left my birds cooped up for 2 days and the hawk moved on. It was fall, and I think that it was a migratory hawk. I had a rooster and several black hens, which didn’t seem to matter. There are lots of hawks around, but they leave my free range birds alone. I don’t know why. I also don’t know why hawks are protected when they are as thick as hair on a cat’s back.

 

[Myrth]

I keep my birds in a roofed outdoor run due to all the predators we have around here. Since they can’t forage, I bring them armloads of weeds from the garden. It’s not the same, but they get lots of varied nutrition and enjoy scratching and pecking through those goodies. And their yolks are as rich as back when I could free range, years ago.

Another thing I have done is chicken tractors. They keep the birds protected from predators. You move the tractor daily to fresh grass, and they eat it and scratch for bugs. While they seemingly tear it up, a week after they are moved off a spot it recovers and greens up greener than ever from all the aeration and fertilizer. The tractors are a lot of work. But when I raise a batch of meat birds, it’s the best way I have found to get that free ranged flavor without heavy predator losses. I have also raised layers in tractors.

 

[NickyPick]

Wholly Carp! Some states won't even let you put up netting? They don't have some kind of farm/livestock protection laws. My mind is boggled
I live in Texas. From 2010 until 2018, I lived in a suburb of Houston and I had 15-50 chickens and we would lose probably 5+ a year to hawks (more to raccoons, foxes & dogs). The dogs were rare, the coons and hawks we combated by reinforcing any issues in the coop construction and penning the chickens in a covered run for a week or three. That seemed to be enough for the hawk/coon to move on to better territory, and I could let my girls out again.
Since 2018, I've moved out to the country - with a National Forest out the back gate. I have had one predator death since then (a fox), but nothing else, even though I know they are around. I think my neighbor's GP's help with the larger predators - they have an operation with 800 hens and two GP's that patrol 24/7. Seems to keep the bigger predators away from me. As for hawks - my neighbor's operation does have losses from them, but I've had none. I can only attribute that to my roosters (they don't have any and their hens stay outside all the time). My boys are vigilant and even when the buzzards catch a thermal nearby, they will call everyone in. Plus, we have a group of crows that hang out. I've seen them ganging up on a hawk before. It's awesome. My friend thinks he's setting out corn to entice deer to come into my back acreage, but it really just brings in the crows, which protect my chicken flock from the hawks.

 

[swimmy44]

hello I have lost 5 guinea hens and 1 chicken hen to a hawk which I caught on camera and saw it the other day and scared it off. I cooped my other 2 chicken hens which free range all day and built a scarecrow and put some reflective tape on it to try to deter the hawk away. Was wondering if there were any other tricks or advice to keep them away.

I had hawks try for my birds but after my Australian Cattle Dog decided the chickens were to be protected, no more trouble - that dog wouldn't let a blue jay light on the property let alone a hawk - if one flew near she was on high alert - I saw her grab a young bird four months old from a hawk's talons one day - she leaped several feet in the air after the hawk swooped down - the bird was heavy so uplift took a few seconds - the dog leaped up and grabbed the bird, pulled them both down and yanked that hen right out of his talons. It was amazing - back in the days before everyone had a video cell phone so the scene just lives on in my memory and I've told the story many times! But seriously, no problems from the skies with that dog on duty. My birds were not free range but some always elected to fly out of the chicken yard. I strung fishing line in a zig zag pattern over the top of the fence to keep hawks out of the yard - they can see it from the sky and know they can't grab the birds without getting tangled and injured. A trick from a local farmer. This was in Western MA - never heard that netting was illegal in MA so I doubt it was but I only used netting on a small turkey pen for two or three turkeys.

 

[swimmy44]

I keep my birds in a roofed outdoor run due to all the predators we have around here. Since they can’t forage, I bring them armloads of weeds from the garden. It’s not the same, but they get lots of varied nutrition and enjoy scratching and pecking through those goodies. And their yolks are as rich as back when I could free range, years ago.

Another thing I have done is chicken tractors. They keep the birds protected from predators. You move the tractor daily to fresh grass, and they eat it and scratch for bugs. While they seemingly tear it up, a week after they are moved off a spot it recovers and greens up greener than ever from all the aeration and fertilizer. The tractors are a lot of work. But when I raise a batch of meat birds, it’s the best way I have found to get that free ranged flavor without heavy predator losses. I have also raised layers in tractors.

Never tried a tractor but yes, they do work great - you can make one with wheels on one end so one person can tip it up and move it easily.