I'm not sure I'll ever free range again!

[foxypoproxy]

This is why i had to stop free ranging.
The hawks and Eagles in my area are getting worse!
I'm building an enclosure for them because i just can't trust leaving my babies outside anymore.

Yesterday i saw about 7 hawks and 1 Eagle!
They were all trying to hunt in my yard. One would fly away and a totally different one would fly into my yard.
The fact that i'm yelling at them and that my two big dogs are out meant nothing to them.
They were not scared one bit.
They were even circling me and the dogs and coming down real low so i went and got a broom stick just in case...
It never use to be this bad. I'm surprised i got away with free ranging for so long and only lost 1 or 2 of my birds to hawks.
Definitely not risking there lives no though, i'm building a predator proof pen.

 

[LilQtBear]

Quote:
I didn't even know they made thornless! I wonder if I can find some in my area

I free range chickens on 5 acres we have lots of trees, bushes and what not but I noticed they hange around my dogs the most, I have 4 border collies...which will sit and watch them for hours if not all day and I noticed when out in the open my dogs are usually real close by...I worrie sometimes about my dogs intentions but the birds seem to trust them...thing is I can't have the dogs around the chickens during the younge flyin and jumping stages...it excites them too much and have been known to attack the younger ones, but don't do anything with my older chickens who crawl all over them out in my pastures and in our large gravel driveway and earlier this year we kept hearing the hawks in the trees above but I have not suffered any losses yet

 

[ChickieBooBoo]

Its the circle of life. I free-range and IMO, the benefits of free-ranging outweight the bad things.

 

[elmo]

Quote:
This natural instinct is stronger in some breeds of chickens and in some individuals. I know that my flock of mutt bantams keep a watchful eye out towards the sky and move around the yard by darting from bush to bush, avoiding the open. When an airplane flies over, they even duck for cover.

A raptor might still sneak up on them, though, despite their caution. I don't free range them without supervision, and I always listen when the blue jays in our neighborhood start up a ruckus. Often, they spot a hawk long before I do.

One other thing: I think chickens with natural coloration that provide some camouflage is less likely to be spotted by a raptor in the first place, so that can reduce their risk somewhat.

 

[Nicole01]

The hawks are smart and hungry! Yesterday there was a hawk circling right above our chicken coop and house! Luckily my girls are very well protected. I have a solid steel roof on the run, so I'm not quite sure how the could see my chickens so well. My coop is inside my garage.

The hawk that attacked my neighbors chicken was larger then her EE pullet. She was lucky that it didn't pick it up and carry it away. Once the leaves fall, there isn't much protection for free ranging.

I've also heard the hawks will walk on the ground to kill their prey as well. We have eagles, but lately I've only seen them high above the ground. Hubby saw an owl in the back of our woods perched in a tree during the daytime, so they are around too. For us, hawks are our biggest threat besides stray dogs.

 

[simplynewt]

Quote:
This natural instinct is stronger in some breeds of chickens and in some individuals. I know that my flock of mutt bantams keep a watchful eye out towards the sky and move around the yard by darting from bush to bush, avoiding the open. When an airplane flies over, they even duck for cover.

A raptor might still sneak up on them, though, despite their caution. I don't free range them without supervision, and I always listen when the blue jays in our neighborhood start up a ruckus. Often, they spot a hawk long before I do.

One other thing: I think chickens with natural coloration that provide some camouflage is less likely to be spotted by a raptor in the first place, so that can reduce their risk somewhat.

Thanks for the comment Elmo. My Doms are still at a tender age - 2.5 months so free ranging will be out of the question until Spring any way. When the time comes, I believe supervised free ranging might be in my best interest. Here in Alabama we have hawk and some eagles and vultures galore and a few owls. They are kept in an 8 x 4 run that is totally enclosed with welded wire with bird wird doubled up on it. I may add some more wire to the top after reading this thread.

 

[Nicole01]

Quote:
This natural instinct is stronger in some breeds of chickens and in some individuals. I know that my flock of mutt bantams keep a watchful eye out towards the sky and move around the yard by darting from bush to bush, avoiding the open. When an airplane flies over, they even duck for cover.

A raptor might still sneak up on them, though, despite their caution. I don't free range them without supervision, and I always listen when the blue jays in our neighborhood start up a ruckus. Often, they spot a hawk long before I do.

One other thing: I think chickens with natural coloration that provide some camouflage is less likely to be spotted by a raptor in the first place, so that can reduce their risk somewhat.

Thanks for the comment Elmo. My Doms are still at a tender age - 2.5 months so free ranging will be out of the question until Spring any way. When the time comes, I believe supervised free ranging might be in my best interest. Here in Alabama we have hawk and some eagles and vultures galore and a few owls. They are kept in an 8 x 4 run that is totally enclosed with welded wire with bird wird doubled up on it. I may add some more wire to the top after reading this thread.

My flock does not keep an eye on the sky. I do not have a rooster to watch over them either. My run is fully secured with a solid roof mainly to keep the snow and rain off. We had a welded wire roof previously, but are cutting it off this weekend now that we have the solid roof.

 

[simplynewt]

Quote:
I was under the impression that the run roof had to be opened for ventilation. I considered making it solid but after reading several threads here and looking at many run designs, there aren't many with a solid construction. What are you going to enclose the roof with Nicole?

 

[WoodlandWoman]

Solid roofs are great if you live where you get a lot of snow. Otherwise, you have to shovel all the time. It's even nice if you live in an area that gets a lot of rain or to provide shade in areas that get a lot of heat.

 

[Nicole01]

Quote:
I was under the impression that the run roof had to be opened for ventilation. I considered making it solid but after reading several threads here and looking at many run designs, there aren't many with a solid construction. What are you going to enclose the roof with Nicole?

The sides are secured with welded wire with chicken wire as an apron. Hardware cloth 1/2in is the best to use, but hubby insisted using welded wire. There is plenty ventilation with the sides. We were going to use shingles for better looks, but we went with tan steel corrugated roofing. I'm hoping the lighter color will reflect the sun away from the run during the summer months. We stapled the wire right to the boards just under the roof. Our run size is 22x5x5 along side our house.