Boppo
Crossing the Road
Glad to meet you. You have been given good advice - that extra strength bird netting (or a solid roof) to cover their run is great while they are in their pen. Be aware that even high quality bird netting does wear out after about 10 years, so you need to monitor the wear on it if you use netting covers.
If you are set on free ranging them, be sure they have lots of bushes, chairs, tables, and such scattered around the landscape to run under. Brush type cover may not be as helpful to your chickens since they won't be able to see a predator coming through the brush. And either be there with them, or check on them very often while they are free ranging. I liked Janie Doe's idea of running a talk radio sporadically while your chickens free range.
Blue Raptor's comment about crows is helpful. We also have very alert colonies of crows in our neighborhood. They hate both hawks and foxes (a fox once killed a crow in their flock and they have never forgotten). I read an interesting post that suggested that having a black hen in your flock might also deter hawks because they see that black bird and read it as a crow! So they avoid that bunch of birds just in case. Hawks HATE to be mobbed by crows. (The video link I give here makes it just balletic, but does not give the sound which can be quite lively as the crows call all their friends and relations to come help give the hawk some holy heck).
If you are set on free ranging them, be sure they have lots of bushes, chairs, tables, and such scattered around the landscape to run under. Brush type cover may not be as helpful to your chickens since they won't be able to see a predator coming through the brush. And either be there with them, or check on them very often while they are free ranging. I liked Janie Doe's idea of running a talk radio sporadically while your chickens free range.
Blue Raptor's comment about crows is helpful. We also have very alert colonies of crows in our neighborhood. They hate both hawks and foxes (a fox once killed a crow in their flock and they have never forgotten). I read an interesting post that suggested that having a black hen in your flock might also deter hawks because they see that black bird and read it as a crow! So they avoid that bunch of birds just in case. Hawks HATE to be mobbed by crows. (The video link I give here makes it just balletic, but does not give the sound which can be quite lively as the crows call all their friends and relations to come help give the hawk some holy heck).
We're so happy you've decided to join us
my girls are almost the size of the hawks.
