How to protect against hawks

[Wrooster]

Ours roam a fenced space about that size. Lots of trees and shrubs. In fact, until we fenced it for the chickens it was difficult to walk through it, but they've eaten or trampled a lot of the small stuff. Sometimes I see them standing very still under shrubs while a hawk sits in a tree, but we've lost none to hawks. The "flight path" for a hawk would be challenging.

For a few years before that, they were truly free-range and some of their space was more open but no losses then, either. It's a pretty wary bunch of birds and they are watched over by a very capable rooster.

I've heard that stringing monofilament fishing line above them will keep the hawks away and I think it probably would, if you had enough of it. I decided not to try it when I realized what it would take to get it up high enough and spread out far enough.

Any cover would need to be close by when they need it. A diving hawk moves very fast.

 

[bmt123]

Yah I am thinking about putting a few shrubs in the middle of the yard so they would never be more than a few feet away from cover. I can not get a rooster because I dont think that my neighbors would appreciate that very much.

 

[bmt123]

I heard that guineas could help with hawks is that true.

 

[centrarchid]

I heard that guineas could help with hawks is that true.

They maybe more resistant to hawks in more open settings but I doubt they would protect chickens. The guineas simply have the appropriate escape response for more open settings.

 

[pambaum]

I live right in the migratory path & stopover breeding grounds of raptors! So, I'm researching the same thing. I'm going to try a few things...the 1st thing is crow decoys that they sell on Amazon for some other purpose. A wonderful woman on The Chickenistas facebook page swears by the decoys... I'm going to do the CD's on trees and bushes. I have a plastic owl, but I think they're on to that. Maybe I'll get another anyway...and I'll try making a scarecrow too!good luck to both of us!

 

[Bob G]

Hello, Pambaum, I've thought of using fishing line and CDs, as well. I have plenty of both, but I wonder if you could provide more details on how it's done. I know I can just throw one end of the line into the trees with a heavy weight on it for retrieval. Do I just let it hang with a CD tied to the bottom end? or what. Are the CDs used anywhere besides hanging them from trees? I have about 150 of them gleaned when my nephew moved out. Thanks for your assistance. Bob

 

[biteme2134]

Hello, Pambaum, I've thought of using fishing line and CDs, as well. I have plenty of both, but I wonder if you could provide more details on how it's done. I know I can just throw one end of the line into the trees with a heavy weight on it for retrieval. Do I just let it hang with a CD tied to the bottom end? or what. Are the CDs used anywhere besides hanging them from trees? I have about 150 of them gleaned when my nephew moved out. Thanks for your assistance. Bob

My understanding is the CD's are tied to a line - the hawk lands on that line as a perch and the CD's shake causing a bunch of shaking and glare form the shiny CD's which frightens the hawk and it flys away.

I just had my first hawk issue - I have (had) a partially enclosed run and a hawk had perched directly on top of my fence overseeing the open run... my birds were all fine but freaking out. I had two shell less eggs that day. I just finished closing in the top of my run today. All I have in the coop are full grown hens and roosters so that might have saved them since they were so big.

 

[jb59]

I have 9 adult guinea, which do help - yes. But it's the young keets I've been losing to hawks lately.

I must have lost 2 dozen chickens/guinea over the past 3 years.

I'm going to take someone's advice (near the end of this thread) that advised using crow (and other) decoys. I can't remember the person's name...

Also read that using old cd's will work. Kind of confused about this one.

 

[RollerDerbyLexi]

I feel terrible. My ignorance caused the death of my favorite chicken. I just started up in a new home and I didn't factor in hungry Hawks. My English Orphington Splash Rooster was killed. He was 13 weeks and too big for the Hawk to carry off. I feel bad cause I don't think I gave the kids enough coverage from the Hawks. The hawk flew into the open door coop and thrashed up my Welslummer rooster and Golden Laced hen. I'm off to home depot today to get hooks to hang up some CD's, getting a few bushes to put around the coop, a doggie door that I'm going to cut up like this

I am also going to up a bird netting above the chicke

n door out about 3 feet with steaks. It's a start!


I live five miles from the Ocean in Texas. We are surrounded by birds. I love it, but it's coming with a bit of a price.

Rest in peace little Pepper!

 

[hayley3]

Sadly, til something tragic happens we have all been guilty of some ignorance causing harm to our chickens. I know in the beginning, I lost a few birds cause I wasn't aware they had so many predators.
So sorry about your birds, he was a beauty.
But wasn't that door just to keep out sparrows and such? And my barn swallows would still be able to use that door.