I live in an urban area, have had hens for over 5yrs, "free range" in my backyard and have a mated pair of hawks that nest every spring about 4 houses away! Last year the youngster tried to grab one of my girls, luckily he was in the learning stage and missed! We put up bird netting afterward; I have wire that keeps it up, above my head, goes from my house to the fence/wall on the other side...it hangs down on the sides about 4' or so. I have a baggie with rocks at all the corners to keep it hanging down, so it doesn't blow upward in winds.
But yes, a hawk can still go under it, but they haven't tried to. By accident, I have trapped several hummingbirds and a pair of sparrows, but I flipped up one side of the net and they flew out. My girls still travel out from under the netting (they visit the pool?!?!) and are taking chances, but this gives them/me some security, and it's worked for me for over a year now. I got the netting on Amazon, 24'x24', 2 pcs for less than $35 total.
Bird netting is much thinner than deer netting, but seems to be holding up well. Best investment I've made for predator protection to date. Good Luck!
But yes, a hawk can still go under it, but they haven't tried to. By accident, I have trapped several hummingbirds and a pair of sparrows, but I flipped up one side of the net and they flew out. My girls still travel out from under the netting (they visit the pool?!?!) and are taking chances, but this gives them/me some security, and it's worked for me for over a year now. I got the netting on Amazon, 24'x24', 2 pcs for less than $35 total.
Bird netting is much thinner than deer netting, but seems to be holding up well. Best investment I've made for predator protection to date. Good Luck!