CasaBlancaChickens
Chirping
Recently, all but (2) of my girls (flock of 17) abruptly stopped laying. They’ve already molted and aren’t broody. Then a couple days later I walked outside to discover a large male Cooper’s Hawk standing on top of their run. We live in the city and my birds have a large run (they do not free range). This is not the first time I've seen a Cooper's hawk in the neighborhood, but I'm pretty sure its the first time they have discovered my girls.
My run has hardware cloth on the bottom 4' and then welded wire on the top 4'. The top is entirely fenced in using welded wire. I am pretty confident the damn bird cannot get in, but he was definitely harassing my girls and they were all freaked out and hiding in their coop (other than the two birds who were standing out there like idiots ).
However, now the only birds who are laying are my new Marans. HALP! How do I deter the hawk from coming around and make my birds feel safe so they start laying again? Keep in mind--I'm in the city (crazy urban) so firearms are out of the question.
HALP!
My run has hardware cloth on the bottom 4' and then welded wire on the top 4'. The top is entirely fenced in using welded wire. I am pretty confident the damn bird cannot get in, but he was definitely harassing my girls and they were all freaked out and hiding in their coop (other than the two birds who were standing out there like idiots ).
However, now the only birds who are laying are my new Marans. HALP! How do I deter the hawk from coming around and make my birds feel safe so they start laying again? Keep in mind--I'm in the city (crazy urban) so firearms are out of the question.
HALP!