Integrating a cockerel into a flock of mature hens

[aart]

How big is your run, feet by feet?
Pics from far enough way to see all around?


Roof Rake:
All this stuff I had laying around.
piece of 3/16 thk plastic about 18" x 9".
old window squeegee bracket
piece of thin plywood, couple bolts, nuts, washers, and lock washers.
extendable handle about 7' long, screws into squeegee bracket.
14 gauge wire, Z-bent to go thru holes in plastic
hose clamp.....is actually clamped to bracket handle now.
Was going to take new pics, but can't find it... yikes....that's gonna bug me all day!
Hope I find it before snow flies!


Shed had held up all winter, last snow 8-10" very wet, did it in.
I noticed a dip, should have cleaned it off but didn't.


Was able to push roof up with some joist jacks and rig some framing underneath to hold roof up.
Added a tarp and it's been like that for 2-3 years now, needs a new tarp this year.
This shed is probably 30+ years old, was here when I bought the place 17 years ago.
I have another metal shed that I put up, it's beams were bowed too but I got it cleaned off before any damage.
I keep them both cleared now...... we can get up to 15 feet of snow a year.


Snow, after some freezing rain, stuck to mesh and started to accumulate.
This incidence not as severe as first time when it was bowed so low I could barely get in there and was wading thru knee deep snow.
I now shovel a path all the way down center of run for access....and for birds, helps during thaw too.


Mesh bowed but did not bend/kink and popped back up after snow removal.
Mostly I use roof rake on sheds (tarped one in foreground),
and bang snow off run roof with snow shovel from below(sounds like fun, huh?) before it gets too heavy,
but I have raked it off from outside.

 

[islandgirl82]

That's some serious bowing!

The main part of the run is 12x12 plus there's an additional 6x6 area in front of the coop where the chicken door is located that is open to the main part. I was thinking of putting a solid but hinged-to-the-coop roof so it can fold down against the side of the coop when I need to move it to cover that 6x6 area so that leaves the extra 12x12 area to figure out.

 

[lazy gardener]

Our friends sadly lost 3 of 5 hens to their excitable female Jack Russell. Russells were bred to catch small animals and are still used to catch rats in some countries today -- Russells catch prey amazingly fast and shake to death biting the back of the neck. They are bred to love the chase and not to eat their catch but to kill quickly and move on to the next kill. It's not the Russell's fault that this is what they were originally bred to do. Sounds like you have a LOT of work ahead of you. Personally, as much as I loved my Rotts who were command-trained herding dogs, I still would never trust them as bird guardians. There are specific guardian breed dogs specially-trained to be good poultry guardians. Unfortunately the more trusted guardian breeds are mostly long or thick-haired breeds and weigh 100+ lbs needing lots of exercise - neither trait is suitable for our hot climate or tiny suburban backyard.

Before getting her, I did homework on the breed. They were bred by the peasants in Europe (not sure which country) b/c they were not allowed to use fire arms to hunt large animals. So the JR was used as a hunting dog: bring home the rabbits and squirrels for the stew pot. I find this knowledge of her breeding gives better understanding into her behavior. Now, when she finds a tasty sock, or other bit of laundry

she'll come and drop it at my feet instead of devouring it. I wanted a terrier, b/c of the smaller size, and less hair to clean up. Also like their personality. Had a Black Lab as our first dog, and know that a lab would have been a better choice around chickens, but OH THE HAIR!!! And, I was prepared to cut down flock size and keep them cooped if necessary. She's already paid her keep. Tossing poo into the woods has kept my garden coon free. Nice corn crop this year! And, she's a mix. No idea who Daddy was, and he could have been an equally prey driven canine, or not. But... my puppy is cute, and she's working her way through her most annoying habits!

Thank you for your suggestion. With Maine winters and water winds, I was planning on covering the whole run this fall anyway so they still have a dry, snow/sleet/freezing rain etc. place to be outside during the winters and any inclement weather really. With the hawk getting more and more bold, my timeframe just seems to be rapidly getting shorter.

I found myself scrambling like mad last summer to get my covered run in place for the same reason. The predation seems to have lessened within the last few weeks, but migration season is not far away.

Do you have a photo of your diy roof rake?

My coop was a craigslist find. It had been an ice fishing shack until I converted it to a hen house. It has an insulated metal roof that has enough of a slant that the snow doesn't stick. It's not the most esthetically pleasing structure nor is it the most functional as far as coops go but it was built to last through rough winter weather and it'll do until I get the new one finished.

As for covering the run, I'm undecided on framing. I could go with 2x4 and cover it with clear solid roofing but that makes it more permanent or I could go with cattle panels with center supports and cover it with a clear tarp which makes it far more transportable.

No matter what you use, unless it is very solid and has a high slope, preferably metal, or something else that is slippery, you are going to have to remove snow. You've seen the slope on my coop (pic in my interview at bottom of signature section.) When the weather warms up just a bit in the winter, with the sun beating in that east door and window, it melts the snow on roof just enough so the whole load slides off. When hubby designed the coop, and we were up on that peak, screwing that metal roofing down, I questioned him over and over why he designed with such a high slope! He's a wise man. I only wish I'd had the peak going N -> S instead of E ->W. Would have made the run accessible to the birds year round.

I warn you against the clear plastic corrugated roofing. Unless you put a LOT of solid support underneath it, it will bow and sag just from it's own weight.

That's some serious bowing!

The main part of the run is 12x12 plus there's an additional 6x6 area in front of the coop where the chicken door is located that is open to the main part. I was thinking of putting a solid but hinged-to-the-coop roof so it can fold down against the side of the coop when I need to move it to cover that 6x6 area so that leaves the extra 12x12 area to figure out.

What if you covered just the 6 x 6 area? I'm facing the same dilemma with my winter run. Thinking about doing a hinged roof, using some door hinges with removable pins. May even buy a couple of doors at the Habitat store. Would make it super easy to hinge them to the front section of the run. Cover them with construction poly, and prop them on hay bales or pallets. The biggest issue with that plan is having the back side of the run accessible for "just in case" emergency access when everything is snowed in and frozen solid. And, snow load would need to be pushed off from the high front top, instead of more easily raked down from the lower back section. Cattle panels would be a bonus, b/c they could be covered with clear tarp, then the snow would be more apt to melt and slide.

 

[Sylvester017]

Thank you for your suggestion. With Maine winters and water winds, I was planning on covering the whole run this fall anyway so they still have a dry, snow/sleet/freezing rain etc. place to be outside during the winters and any inclement weather really. With the hawk getting more and more bold, my timeframe just seems to be rapidly getting shorter.

During winter you might find the hawks even more tenacious to seek scarcer food. In SoCalif we have hawks year-round. Our Cooper's Hawks love open area to swoop on prey (or running scared hens) so a lot of shelters spaced around an open area works great for quick hiding places. Our hawk will land in the yard and see our hiding hens under a table or canopy or doghouse but won't go after the hiding hens. Hawks seem to prefer flying in open areas and make swooping attacks with their talons. I've either been incredibly lucky the hawks don't engage in ground combat with our hiding hens or else they have better options to fly off after easier prey like timid Mourning Doves or Field Mice!

 

[Sylvester017]

I find that my chickens love to hide in a nice big cactus. You could plant some of them around the run. Chickens don't get hurt by it and hawks can't get them. Just be careful you don't touch it!

Rose bushes, stickery evergreens, or thorny berry bushes or thistles also are all good hiding places that don't hurt the chickens. I watched a video where a hawk was released in a yard full of chickens - the roo sounded the alarm while the hens all ran to stand under a tree close to the trunk. The hawk flew to the tree but had no open space to swoop down on the flock that was hugging the tree trunk. Just about any plant, wall, fence, building, car, lawn furniture, trash can, wood pile, farm equipment, etc etc, where a chicken can stand next to it or underneath will deter a swooping hawk. Eliminating flat open foraging area and providing plenty of cover is key to keeping the flock safe from raptors who need open flight space for swooping on prey.

 

[Birdydeb]

When I still lived in the city, one time I was sitting in traffic ona four lane road divided by a median. To my immediate left and across those two lanes was a fast food restaurant with an awning out front over an eating area with some 2-3 foot bushes along the end of the awning. A Coopers Hawk swooped right over the hood of my car and made a straight shot for those bushes which were full of sparrows. Sparrows scattered in all directions and he banked and flew up and over the tables. I am always reminded of this when I hear a hawk must have a straight flight way. This guy didn't and it left me with my mouth hanging open to see what he attempted. Of course this was a Coopers Hawk....never underestimate them. They are agile and fast, their purpose is to be able to give chase through the forests after birds. Their meal of choice is birds. I had a juvenile stalking my coop two days ago. We had just put up a new gate last weekend and my run had a gap in its covering wire of about 1'x2' right over the new gate. I know he was contemplating that gap. He definitely could have done it and been met by my roosters. And he would have found it difficult if not impossible to get back out. Since he was a juvenile I didn't know if he had the maturity to realize all of that. So I fixed the gap since I just didn't need to take a chance on the headache of having him get in my run. He hasn't been back but he was only sitting about 6 feet away from them when he was eying the gap. Amazed me that within 48 hours he had discovered it. Coopers Hawks and Sharp Shinned Hawks are smaller and built for agile flight. I use to watch them stalk my bird feeders and fly into the bushes after birds. But after seeing this guy up close and personal I have to ask....are they really big enough to be a problem for a full grown chicken? The bigger Hawks, yeah but this guy was so small. Just throwing that out there.

 

[islandgirl82]

Quote:
The coop is shed style which I really don't like and the high side faces North - terrible decision on my part. This is also the side with the chicken door and where the 6x6 run area is. The 12x12 area extends to the East. Covering only the 6x6 area means that the Nor' Easters will still be able to blow right in through the North East corner and still into coop through the chicken door. At the very least I need to cover the sides of both the North and East sides of the run to stop the snow from blowing into it and put a roof over that 6x6 but I'd like the whole thing to have some sort of roof, even if it is a clear tarp over a gable frame (thinking that could be done fairly easily with a couple of cattle panels and 2x4s).


This photo was taken in Feb. 2015 as I was shoveling my way to the coop. The run fencing is 6' high...you can barely see the top of it. When we had all that snow, I didn't even bother with the run...I just left the human door open for them to use and shoveled a path with every storm that hit...which was pretty much every other day. They really need to have that area sheltered from all weather and now aerial predators that have taken a liking to them.

 

[islandgirl82]

When I still lived in the city, one time I was sitting in traffic ona four lane road divided by a median. To my immediate left and across those two lanes was a fast food restaurant with an awning out front over an eating area with some 2-3 foot bushes along the end of the awning. A Coopers Hawk swooped right over the hood of my car and made a straight shot for those bushes which were full of sparrows. Sparrows scattered in all directions and he banked and flew up and over the tables. I am always reminded of this when I hear a hawk must have a straight flight way. This guy didn't and it left me with my mouth hanging open to see what he attempted. Of course this was a Coopers Hawk....never underestimate them. They are agile and fast, their purpose is to be able to give chase through the forests after birds. Their meal of choice is birds. I had a juvenile stalking my coop two days ago. We had just put up a new gate last weekend and my run had a gap in its covering wire of about 1'x2' right over the new gate. I know he was contemplating that gap. He definitely could have done it and been met by my roosters. And he would have found it difficult if not impossible to get back out. Since he was a juvenile I didn't know if he had the maturity to realize all of that. So I fixed the gap since I just didn't need to take a chance on the headache of having him get in my run. He hasn't been back but he was only sitting about 6 feet away from them when he was eying the gap. Amazed me that within 48 hours he had discovered it. Coopers Hawks and Sharp Shinned Hawks are smaller and built for agile flight. I use to watch them stalk my bird feeders and fly into the bushes after birds. But after seeing this guy up close and personal I have to ask....are they really big enough to be a problem for a full grown chicken? The bigger Hawks, yeah but this guy was so small. Just throwing that out there.

I hadn't really worried about hawks...I've seen Bald Eagles, hawks, peregrine falcon, osprey...you name it but only recently did the flock start venturing into the wide open area between the house and the water. They typically stayed right around the house amidst all the benches and shrubbery and would take shelter on or under the front porch or my car, etc. Even so, the Red Shouldered Hawk, which is large got Amelia under large, low growing pine branches. There are two pines are full, healthy and growing fairly close to each other with overlapping branches. I can mow between them (on a riding mower) but not without getting smacked in the face with each pass around them. I was really surprised it got here where it did. She was staying under cover but it just wasn't enough. It had been perched in one of them.

 

[Sylvester017]

Before getting her, I did homework on the breed. They were bred by the peasants in Europe (not sure which country) b/c they were not allowed to use fire arms to hunt large animals. So the JR was used as a hunting dog: bring home the rabbits and squirrels for the stew pot. I find this knowledge of her breeding gives better understanding into her behavior. Now, when she finds a tasty sock, or other bit of laundry

she'll come and drop it at my feet instead of devouring it. I wanted a terrier, b/c of the smaller size, and less hair to clean up. Also like their personality. Had a Black Lab as our first dog, and know that a lab would have been a better choice around chickens, but OH THE HAIR!!! And, I was prepared to cut down flock size and keep them cooped if necessary. She's already paid her keep. Tossing poo into the woods has kept my garden coon free. Nice corn crop this year! And, she's a mix. No idea who Daddy was, and he could have been an equally prey driven canine, or not. But... my puppy is cute, and she's working her way through her most annoying habits!

U.K. and Australia rural areas have bad rat problems. In the U.K. some Jack Russells have breeders who hire out their Russell packs to root out the rats in barns or harvested grain fields and kill quickly, then go on to the next kill at amazingly high speeds. Amazing little ratters! I had to watch the video twice it was so fascinating watching a dog breed do what it was bred to do! I've known several Lab owners, Black, Yellow, and Chocolate, and they loved the breed and some used them around poultry. But you're right about dog hair. Other than poodle types are there any dogs that don't shed that are also useful working dogs? I think Chesapeake is one and some Poodle designer-mix breeds might not shed. Same with cats - I don't know any that don't shed other than the Hairless or Rex?

 

[Sylvester017]

When I still lived in the city, one time I was sitting in traffic ona four lane road divided by a median. To my immediate left and across those two lanes was a fast food restaurant with an awning out front over an eating area with some 2-3 foot bushes along the end of the awning. A Coopers Hawk swooped right over the hood of my car and made a straight shot for those bushes which were full of sparrows. Sparrows scattered in all directions and he banked and flew up and over the tables. I am always reminded of this when I hear a hawk must have a straight flight way. This guy didn't and it left me with my mouth hanging open to see what he attempted. Of course this was a Coopers Hawk....never underestimate them. They are agile and fast, their purpose is to be able to give chase through the forests after birds. Their meal of choice is birds. I had a juvenile stalking my coop two days ago. We had just put up a new gate last weekend and my run had a gap in its covering wire of about 1'x2' right over the new gate. I know he was contemplating that gap. He definitely could have done it and been met by my roosters. And he would have found it difficult if not impossible to get back out. Since he was a juvenile I didn't know if he had the maturity to realize all of that. So I fixed the gap since I just didn't need to take a chance on the headache of having him get in my run. He hasn't been back but he was only sitting about 6 feet away from them when he was eying the gap. Amazed me that within 48 hours he had discovered it. Coopers Hawks and Sharp Shinned Hawks are smaller and built for agile flight. I use to watch them stalk my bird feeders and fly into the bushes after birds. But after seeing this guy up close and personal I have to ask....are they really big enough to be a problem for a full grown chicken? The bigger Hawks, yeah but this guy was so small. Just throwing that out there.

The Cooper's are smart to scare birds out of the bush -- but he probably knows it's easy to scare birdies smaller than himself. Chickens are different in that they are not tiny and a ground challenge with a hen or roo in the bush may not be to a Cooper's liking. He wants to rustle the smaller wild birds out of the bush or trees so he can catch them easily. I watched one chasing little wild birds in our neighbor's banana tree. Or else he looks for easy chicks or ducklings. In the bush it's not so easy for a Cooper's to overpower a hiding chicken nearly his same size. Cooper's really prefer aerial attacks and in 5 years never saw our resident Cooper's go after anything on the ground unless s/he was swooping down on it to grasp with talons (a docile unsuspecting Mourning Dove).

Young Cooper's often find themselves stuck inside chicken coops that have gaps or openings. They panic so much trying to figure how to get out of the coop they injure themselves or else the roos in the pen make toast out of them. Predator problems whether aerial or on the ground are always discussed on BYC's "post your chicken coop pictures here" thread where owners address different building fortifications depending on the predatory wild life species they have issues with.