Ideas for protecting against hawks WITHOUT covering your run

[TJAnonymous]

I just ordered my netting (before DH changes his mind....ha ha) and saw in the Amazon reviews a really GREAT idea that would keep us from having to rent an auger. This person used T-posts and then put a 10 ft piece of PVC pipe over the T-post. They used a T-connector on top to create a T-support from PVC which holds up the net. Brilliant....and much cheaper & easier than 10 ft wood posts! I like it!

 

[RoosterML]

I’m adding 2 geese to my flock as bodyguards.

 

[TJAnonymous]

Today was NOT a good day. Tried to put up just ONE of the nets (there are 3 total). DH fell off the ladder, not once, but THREE times. Ambulance was called because he passed out after the last fall. He refused to go to the ER though. Going to have to rethink the nets.....

 

[TJAnonymous]

Made big adjustments to the net idea. We cut down the PVC T-posts to 8 ft instead of 10 ft. I also bought some nylon rope and used it to tie down the PVC supports from all directions. This not only stabilized the posts to keep them from twisting but also gave the nets a structure for support too. It was still a MAJOR PITA to put the nets up but no one nearly died in the process this time....

Now my babies are protected from hawks but have also figured out that they can no longer jump the fence and free range without permission. The worst offenders spent the day pacing the fence trying to find a way out.

 

[Bryce Thomas]

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

Owls and hawks are predators of eachother. I dont think it would do a whole lot, but you could get a rooster, as you said you live on the outskirts of town so I dont thinking people would have a noise complaint
Or you could do the screeching

 

[TJAnonymous]

Owls and hawks are predators of eachother. I dont think it would do a whole lot, but you could get a rooster, as you said you live on the outskirts of town so I dont thinking people would have a noise complaint
Or you could do the screeching

Thanks for chiming in! I actually have 3 adult roosters right now. They would sound the alarm but wouldn't probably risk their own lives to save a hen (or one of my ducks) if a hawk attacked. At least the nets would provide enough level of protection that all the chickens and ducks could take cover without being caught by surprise.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

I added Black Australorps to my flock in March of 2020 and have not seen a hawk since. Hawks don't like crows, and I think the hawks think the BA are crows.

 

[Eraser81112]

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

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?

I have lost so many chickens to hawks...it happens any time of the day (moreover on overcast, rainy days) and any season. Once a hawk knows there is easy food, they won't stop. My hens have tons of hiding spots too. I can't cover the run (it is a large fenced in area) because I need to walk inside of it. Owl decoys used to work, but the hawks wised up. I ended up putting ugly wooden stakes all over my yard and stapled strips of bird tape onto them. So far so good although my neighbors probably think I'm a lunatic. The strips create reflections from the sun and make a lot of flapping noise in the wind. I have to remove them when I cut my grass though.

 

[DuckDuckSook]

I added Black Australorps to my flock in March of 2020 and have not seen a hawk since. Hawks don't like crows, and I think the hawks think the BA are crows.

All the chickens I lost to hawks were brown. A hawk did try to take one of my Black Star hens, but didn't succeed. I'd like to think the black ones are safer, but I don't trust hawks. (Also, these attacks all happened in the winter.)

 

[cmom]

I hope you got good netting. As I posted previously I had an owl go through some netting three times. When I replaced it with some good netting it tried again but got caught.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...thout-covering-your-run.1445131/post-24199067