How to keep Hawks away??

[lynnehd]

hi does this really work? hanging cds from the trees. please let me know
thank you

Don't rely on it, they can get used to them. A hungry hawk will bypass whatever they can, especially in Fall and Winter.

When people say that they confine their flock to a safe coop/run for 10-14 days, if they spot a hawk (until the hawk moves on), that is effective.
Also covering the run with poultry or aviary netting.

 

[the poppster]

You can try some CDs...I put up a temporary pen this summer.. filled feed sacks with leaves and moved them around the yard...sometimes out in the open or half tucked under a evergreen or bush...to a watching hawk it could be my Border Collie laying in the shade...I also attached several plastic grocery bags to the posts around the pen...so they flapped in the wind...inside the pen I made sure the birds had plenty of places to Hide...and the pen was always attached to the covered run...so if the rooster alarm called...the girls had plenty of places to escape to.

 

[amyeca]

I am new to having chickens my girls are about 6 months old this past week I believe a hawk took my sweet Loretta she has gone missing without a trace
I use to let them free range when we were home but no more and I feel our run is too small for 5 hens / any thoughts or suggestions - I have lived in my home for 13 years and have seen a hawk only a few times

 

[lynnehd]

I am new to having chickens my girls are about 6 months old this past week I believe a hawk took my sweet Loretta she has gone missing without a trace
I use to let them free range when we were home but no more and I feel our run is too small for 5 hens / any thoughts or suggestions - I have lived in my home for 13 years and have seen a hawk only a few times

So sorry to hear that!
Hard to know what took her; could you possibly have coyotes, or other ground, daytime predators?
A large raptor-hawk could have taken her.
Knowing the types of possible predators in your area can help with prevention.

In any case, you often don't see hawks, because they spend a lot of time sitting in a nearby tree, camouflaged.

If you can't expand on your current run, is there any way you can create another secondary outside run area just for daytime?
Whether you expand your current run, or add a separate area, you can prevent hawk attacks (if you are pretty sure you don't have ground predators during the day), but not worry about making it super secure because you won't be using it at night.
I did this with U posts, deer fencing walls, and poultry netting over the top, and have a 'chicken tunnel' connecting my coop run to this area, because it is not adjacent to my coop/run.

 

[lpatelski]

You might try a hen saddle with large eyes to keep hawks away. Mine do not free range. We have 3 pair of different hawks and a pair of owls. I have not tried free ranging yet. When I get ready these are going on everyone.

 

[travislilliana]

thanks for the reply. how long is it before a hawk would move on. my two ducks are in a closed in pen all day. my main concern is in the morning when I let them out of their house I let them roam my yard as I get their food and pools ready in their pen. I saw the hawk around our yard in the morning a number of days ago. do hawks also come at night? I do the same routine in the evening before I put them in their house for the night. I appreciate all your help. I didn't have any hawk issues last fall or winter so this is new for me.
thank you again for your help. all insights are welcome.

 

[Folly's place]

Hawks are daytime hunters, and are migrating now. Usually one to two weeks in lockdown will discourage a visiting hawk, who will move where there's food available. A few years ago, we had a Cooper's hawk who hung around for two long weeks, but that's the longest time here. Also usually, the hawk will visit every three days or so, not daily. Yesterday I lost a young bantam, who just disappeared in the afternoon. My flock won't be free ranging for at least another week, because I'm sure it was a hawk. Mary

 

[Silkie2]

i've heard that CDs can blind hawks, but won't the sparkling and glimmering CD attract raccoons? we have a lot of raccoons around here,

 

[Silkie2]

We never had a problem with the raccoons but with CDs I feel like would attract them,

 

[Folly's place]

Raccoons are attracted to the chickens and their feed, never mind the CDs. Mary