I know now what killed my bird. What next?

[SarahLadd]

I was in the yard today, sunbathing 3 feet from the coop, when I saw it. A hawk came over the house, barely visible because it was so high. And then it circled around. And again. And kept coming lower until I could really see the detail on it. Taking no chances, I ran to grab my birds. I must have looked insane hugging six birds in my arms running like a madman across my yard, but they're all safely inside and the hawk took off.

So, that kind of confirms my suspicions. I have two things that are excruciatingly detrimental going on with my flock; one is that my d'anvers are snack size, two is that they're nearly white and stick out like delicious sore thumbs on my green grass. Seeking answers to my problem, the solutions provided have many mixed reviews. A few current topics on hawks suggest owl decoys are worthless, and I am worthless to try and protect them by being in the yard with them. I'm unsure about the efficacy of things that glitter and shine, such as strung up CD's/mirrors, any commentary on this is helpful.

My question is, I watch crows, blue jays and ravens bully the snot out of hawks and eagles on the regular. The aerial catfights are interesting to watch (when you're not worried about your pets becoming snacks). I have never, ever seen an owl attack a hawk. So why are owls even a suggestion as a decoy to deter hawks? Would raven/crow/jay decoys not be better? Has anyone tried this? I don't know that they exist, but I'm crafty and I know I can "nail it" for accuracy if that's what I gotta do.

Besides keeping them penned in for the rest of their lives, is there anything that works? Like, actually works?

Thanks everyone.

 

[SarahLadd]

I kinda wanna make a decoy pullet that's got a speaker and a sensor inside that would blast a foghorn when the sensor senses a presence. Or get a midget to sit in my yard wearing a rooster suit armed with a machete. (this is a joke I will not harm any birds)

 

[McChooky]

I was in the yard today, sunbathing 3 feet from the coop, when I saw it. A hawk came over the house, barely visible because it was so high. And then it circled around. And again. And kept coming lower until I could really see the detail on it. Taking no chances, I ran to grab my birds. I must have looked insane hugging six birds in my arms running like a madman across my yard, but they're all safely inside and the hawk took off.

So, that kind of confirms my suspicions. I have two things that are excruciatingly detrimental going on with my flock; one is that my d'anvers are snack size, two is that they're nearly white and stick out like delicious sore thumbs on my green grass. Seeking answers to my problem, the solutions provided have many mixed reviews. A few current topics on hawks suggest owl decoys are worthless, and I am worthless to try and protect them by being in the yard with them. I'm unsure about the efficacy of things that glitter and shine, such as strung up CD's/mirrors, any commentary on this is helpful.

My question is, I watch crows, blue jays and ravens bully the snot out of hawks and eagles on the regular. The aerial catfights are interesting to watch (when you're not worried about your pets becoming snacks). I have never, ever seen an owl attack a hawk. So why are owls even a suggestion as a decoy to deter hawks? Would raven/crow/jay decoys not be better? Has anyone tried this? I don't know that they exist, but I'm crafty and I know I can "nail it" for accuracy if that's what I gotta do.

Besides keeping them penned in for the rest of their lives, is there anything that works? Like, actually works?

Thanks everyone.

Everything works until it doesn't as you've already found. Sorry .Watching for predators and intervening on their behalf won't always work. Sooner of later you'll lose one or more to predators if you free range your flock.There are ways you can"intervene" so a birds of prey can't dive down and carry one away but it can still get a chicken thats not under the net.

 

[SarahLadd]

Hawks aren't afraid of other birds, they just put up with them. Watching a bluejay act up on top of a platform bird feeder, that was six feet off the ground, one morning got really interesting. While I was watching the Jay showboat there was a blur and a sudden plume of blue feather drifting to the ground where the Jay had been standing. Following the blur I identified it as a large red tail hawk with something hanging out of its talons. Pretty sure it was mister showboat. A blink of the eye and it was over.

edit: oops quoted the wrong post ... Meant to quote SarahLadd

I think the reason jays and crows attack hawks is because they are natural prey for hawks. A single jay is asking for it. I think I'd need to attract a family unit. They attack in groups to defend themselves.

This is actually the next thing I'm going to try for now. It's playing the long game, but if I can lure jays and crows to the area I think it's my best bet. In the background I'll be building a chicken tractor covered in hardware cloth. If what I'm reading is true, my redtail will come back again and again daily forever and given the draught conditions we're experiencing, it won't stop for my dogs, for me, for decoys, for jack shit and I'm hosed. Now I just need to figure out how I can feed the corvids without feeding the squirrels, too. I don't need any more of those stupid things burying my neighbor's acorns in my grass.

 

[saysfaa]

I think people say "owl" instead of "crow" because owl decoys are readily available and crow decoys aren't.

I also think nothing works dependably except a good fence and everything else works until it doesn't. Basically, other things work as long as the hawk/deer/whatever isn't hungry/curious/whatever enough to bother defeating whatever it is.

 

[HeatherKellyB]

I have a murder of crows that patrol my property. Problem is that they also patrol many other properties. I make sure to feed the crows every day. We have A LOT of hawks in the area. My roosters free range throughout the day and they keep an eye on the sky to alert for a mere butterfly or anything that moves in the sky. They tend to freak out anytime they see a hawk so I'm assuming they know their predators. Do you have a rooster? They won't always alert and I believe they rarely protect, but there are some amazing roosters out there. Sadly, everything likes a chicken meal, so short of keeping them up in a secure coop and run, I'm not sure that anything is 100%

Edited to add: Another helpful tip, make sure you have a lot of low things for the birds to hide under. Shrubs and bushes, leaning shelter (secured so they don't get crushed), etc just things they can easily and quickly hide under

 

[BigBlueHen53]

When I saw crows harass a hawk away from my chickens and run it completely off, a lightbulb went off in my head: what I needed was a flock of resident crows. Or barring that, a flock of black chickens that look like crows! So that spring I ordered Black Australorp chickens. It seems to have paid off: my 8 BA hens free-ranging with my EE and Brown Leghorn hens apparently look enough like a flock of big black crows on guard that I have not seen or heard a hawk in a year. I will always have BA hens in my flock now!

 

[McChooky]

The ONLY reason I'm not seeing More predators is they're passing up the chickens behind a fence for the chickens that are easier to catch across the street. I just had a conversation with my neighbor this week trying to convince him to put an electric fence around his run and coop .Owls and Coyotes have killed at least 20 out of his flock .

 

[45lk9p459gm-w]

Everything works until it doesn't as you've already found. Sorry .Watching for predators and intervening on their behalf won't always work. Sooner of later you'll lose one or more to predators if you free range your flock.There are ways you can"intervene" so a birds of prey can't dive down and carry one away but it can still get a chicken thats not under the net.

Hawks aren't afraid of other birds, they just put up with them. Watching a bluejay act up on top of a platform bird feeder, that was six feet off the ground, one morning got really interesting. While I was watching the Jay showboat there was a blur and a sudden plume of blue feather drifting to the ground where the Jay had been standing. Following the blur I identified it as a large red tail hawk with something hanging out of its talons. Pretty sure it was mister showboat. A blink of the eye and it was over.

edit: oops quoted the wrong post ... Meant to quote SarahLadd

 

[Aunt Angus]

I live in a heavily wooded, heavily predator-ridden area. We're talking hawks, owls, fox, raccoon, skunk, possum, coyote, bobcat, wolf, bear, mountain lion. Here's what I do...

My flock us housed in a coop with an attached run. The run is a welded wire dog kennel. I wrapped that in hardware cloth. There's an anti-dig apron around it, too. That is surrounded by 162 ft of 4ft high electric poultry netting. Over the top of that is heavy duty bird netting. They've got about 2000sq ft of roaming space. It's not free ranging by any means, but at least they've got room and grass and bugs and sunshine. I can sit with them and feed them treats. It's a good compromise, and it's served me well so far.

If I see signs that one of the BIG predators have been around, I do lock them up. There's enough juice in that fence to deter a bear, but if a bear or a mountain lion were desperate enough, there's nothing I can do to stop either one.