Ideas for protecting against hawks WITHOUT covering your run

[TJAnonymous]

Twice in the past 2 months, I've walked outside to find a hawk scoping out my flock. The first time, the hawk was sitting on a low hanging branch between my duck and chicken pens. It did not attack, but was just sitting there watching. As soon as I came outside, it flew away. The 2nd incident was a little over a month later. In the 2nd incident, a hawk was sitting high up in a very large oak tree between my barn & coop. On that day, I had actually let the flock out to free range so I had chickens scattered around the acre in front of the barn. When I came out, the hawk started screeching. Several of my girls (not all) began running to the coop for cover. I swear it sounded like a 2nd hawk "responded" to the screeches, but I could not find where it was coming from. After a few seconds, the hawk left and did not return.

I've been nervous as I know it is only a matter of time before a hawk attempts to attack my girls. I live on the edges of a very small town. So kind of a mix of "town" and "country." I think my location has played a role in lowering the number of potential hawks who stick to more rural areas. However, clearly it is not foolproof. My chicken run is rather large....maybe 35' x 150'? I have two goats who have their own shed but share the same chicken yard. My backyard also aligns to one side of the chicken yard and my duck pen. I have a large Husky/Great Pyrenees who acts as a deterrent for hawks (and other critters) when she is outside, but that isn't all the time.

Given the size of my chicken yard, along with the fact that I have some giant oak trees that provide necessary shade to a good portion of the yard, I cannot/will not cover it from above. So I am looking for other ideas/options that can help persuade any potential hawks that my girls are not worth the effort. While it would be GREAT to hear options that will work around the entire pasture in front of my barn (approx 1 acre) where the girls free range the most, I'm mostly focused on the chicken yard itself. If I let the girls out to free range, I'm USUALLY outside with them although not always.

I've seen some people use old CDs. Does that really work? What else do you use? What have you tried that DOESN'T work?

 

[Yardmom]

You said you have a dog. Is it able to be out more? Could you add a roo? My roos screech hide when a hawk comes near. My chickens get completely out of sight when they hear the screech. Do your birds have places to hide under? Bushes or easy coop access helps. The only thing that I know for the ducks is the dog. My ducks don't seem to hide like the chickens.

 

[Byrd gal]

Running rope across spaced out helps. The hawk will not want to get tangled in it. I also seen a hungry hawk fly into a garage door to try to get a meal. Nothing is guaranteed. I just have some strips of fencing across my run and some tin pans til I get back to work no problems so far.

 

[TJAnonymous]

You said you have a dog. Is it able to be out more? Could you add a roo? My roos screech hide when a hawk comes near. My chickens get completely out of sight when they hear the screech. Do your birds have places to hide under? Bushes or easy coop access helps. The only thing that I know for the ducks is the dog. My ducks don't seem to hide like the chickens.

Sorry, I should have clarified that... I have 3 roosters currently. They do keep a lookout but both times I saw the hawks my flock seemed pretty obvious to them. Even after the hawk started screeching in the 2nd incident, only SOME of my birds actually responded.

As for hiding spots, I have some but I certainly could use more. Between my barn & coop is a "grove" of oak trees that grows in a circle. My daughter and I jokingly call it a fairy ring. The trees that the hawks are hiding in are these trees. These trees also provide a lot of essential shade around my barn, duck coop, and a good portion of the runs. Besides these trees, there's a big cage thing (long story about this) that is about 6' x 4' that they hide under. Then a large igloo dog house, their coop, and the goat shed. Outside of the run while they are free ranging, there's the barn, my horse trailer, flatbed trailer, and lots of oak trees here and there.

As for the dog, she will kill a chicken in a heartbeat if she could get to them. I can't actually put her IN the coop itself. But since my backyard aligns to both the duck and chicken pens, she is close enough to discourage any hawks from taking a chance. I had a stray cat that showed up once and was stalking my ducks. I let Freya into the back yard and she went after it in a second. Didn't hurt the cat but scared at least 8 of its 9 lives out of it...ha ha.

I DO put her outside every day from 7 AM to 9 AM. This coincides with the automatic door timers to both coops which open at 7 AM. I set this routine up on purpose to hopefully act as a deterrent to any morning critters like foxes, coyotes, cats, and such... I usually feed everyone between 9 AM and 9:30 AM. After all the outside animals have been fed, I usually bring the dog inside so she can eat her breakfast. Sometimes I will put her back outside afterwards. It just depends on how rambunctous she is acting. We follow the same routine in the evenings around dusk....again, trying to coincide it when critters might come snooping.

But it seems to me that hawks are more of a daytime threat. At least that is when I've encountered them around here.

 

[TJAnonymous]

I thought about getting a motion activated owl....but wouldn't that scare my chickens along with the hawks???

 

[TJAnonymous]

I realized earlier that I took a picture yesterday which shows my backyard and the area in question.

You can't see the entire chicken run.....only half of it. The coop & goat shed is on the other half. But you can see the fairy ring of trees between the barn and run which is where the hawks have been hiding to scope out my flock.

Would it work to put a motion sensor owl up in these trees? Or maybe some CDs? I would like to know what other people have used that actually WORKED for them.....

 

[Byrd gal]

I would put a few escape huts out in the open areas they seem to be pretty exposed to above attacks from those trees. I would hang a few cds cant hurt.

 

[hayley3]

When I had goats I never had a hawk attack. My goats and chickens shared the same pasture for 17 years, until my goat got old and would not go out with them. Also we had red-shouldered hawks because I could hear them calling to each other, although I rarely saw them. One day after my goat was gone, a polish hen flew out of the barn while I was not home and was killed by a hawk.
Do you keep your ducks pastured separately or do they free range with everyone else?

 

[black_cat]

Add hiding places in the run......they can also serve as climbing/hopping spots. Plant some bushes, a pallet up on cinder blocks, a couple of branches tossed together with a way to get under them, some perches at varying heights.....anything that will block a hawk or slow down it's flying. You could also get porch umbrellas meant for outdoor use, as these will also offer shade in the summer, and some protection from rain and snow. It's also a good idea to at least roof or net a piece of the run right in front of the coop.

 

[KyCoop]

I use string for their chicken yard. The picture shows better now that it's frozen and sagging. The girls are never in their chicken yard alone, but I've not seen the hawk on the ground stalking them in their run since I put the string up.