Lost 2 birds to hawks in a month

[raskal825]

We believe we have lost about 1/2 of our flock to a red-tail hawk. Only have 7 birds left and lose 1 every couple days. They go out free range in the morning and 1 less comes in in the evening. We want to put the ducks in with the turkeys and then put a door in the coop into the duck pen which is covered with mesh.

 

[galanie]

I was very lucky yesterday. I had been careless about re-attaching the cover on the run just at the gate which is under a roofed "porch" area. The weather was nice so I left the back door open so I heard the girls scream through the screen. A hawk was inside the coop! All I can say is that it wasn't a predator call so much as a scream. I ran out there and the hawk flew away. WHEW. I had to sit with them a while before I could leave without having them start screaming again.

I have four buff orpington pullets that are about 5 months old and they backed against the wall and evidently presented the hawk with four screaming beaks. I don't think any were hurt but I'm watching them.

That cover is now firmly attached!!

 

[gr8ful]

We have had several losses due to hawks. It is always hard on me and the kids. But we do have one "blessed" chicken. She is one of our favorites; a black feather-footed bantam (don't know the actual breed). Her name is Puffy. She has actually survived a hawk attack TWICE! Once, when my oldest daughter was sitting on the back porch, she was looking down towards the coop. She thought the rooster was just "taking care of business," but then she realized that the color of the bird wasn't quite right. She ran down screaming and scared away a hawk. All that Puffy lost was some feathers. The second time, we were all in the living room watching TV and out the back window my son saw the hawk swoop down and land about 30 feet away. He runs out and scares the hawk off. It was Puffy again, and again all she lost was feathers! She did stay hiding in the bushes for rest of the day though.

 

[farmerjan70]

Hawks are getting to be the worst of the predators that I have had to deal with in the last 6 months. I free range 200 +/- layers and have been losing 2-5 per week. WAY TOO MANY. The other morning, I had let out one "trailer" and after filling the waterer, saw the hens running in a dodging pattern and there was a hawk swooping after them. Never saw a bird fly as fast or in such a twisting/turning manner. All the birds have gotten better at watching..... then I went to the second trailer and let them out and the hawk nearly flew into me going after the chickens. Again, nothing..... but they are getting more brazen. I couldn't shoot it, even if it was legal to do so, because of the erratic flight to attack. The only other thing would be to use a heavy poultry netting and try to get it tangled up in the netting as it tries to get at the hens; (a friend said that they used to catch a half dozen hawks every year tangled in netting when they swooped down after their chickens in their 'runs'.) And it will disappear from there. Period. If one gets into your coop, try to get it in some sort of LARGE net/netting and call the game warden. They have to remove it from the area, and you have not "destroyed" it. Personally, SSS or the equivalent is the best way. I have 10-15 roosters running with the hens, and have lost 4 LARGE barred rock males and one Speckled Sussex to the hawk. These are big healthy young roosters, 7-8 months old and weigh in the 6-9 lb. range. I often will take free give away roosters advertised in the paper just to use as decoys.....they keep the hens happy and if the hens are not "squatting", looking for a rooster, they are not as big a target. I must've lost 10-15 in less than 2 weeks because they would squat for anything that came along, before I started keeping extra males. But it is still disheartening....

Our old donkey doesn't bother the hawks, but the llama does keep an eye out for 4 legged predators. The dogs and coyotes are not so big a problem now, but the foxes don't raise the attack response in the llama. Everyone gets locked in at night, so have stopped any opposum and raccoon problems, but have seen foxes in the middle of the day; and they are not sickly or rabid. One day I went up to check on the hens and there was a big grey fox that had killed and left 2 hens and was after another. He nearly did a somersalt when he realized that I was chasing him , and took off like a scalded cat. Several farmer friends told me that it was a male as they will more often kill for fun, whereas the females will grab and go.... I didn't have the gun with me that day. Now I never go anywhere without it. I have gotten 1 grey and 2 red foxes this year, caught another young one where I was farm sitting in a live trap with some eggs as bait. Broke one and put a couple whole ones in there. But he was a juvenile and hadn't gotten any experience prior to that.....didn't get anymore after that either.

Have had the hawks attack ducks before, but the turkeys are too big I guess. At least after they are pretty well grown. Any 1/2 grown poultry is fair game for any predator.... Never had any chickens attack a hawk though.....

The hens run on pasture and there are 5-25 head of cattle there so the hawks are not detered by the cows. Since the llama will not tolerate any dogs that's out. If you have a dog and it is not a chicken killer, it might be a deterrent to the hawks in some cases....There really isn't any one good solution. And as another reader said, once you get it figured out,....along comes a new twist to it.

 

[Crabman]

Hey, Farmerjan, It looks like you`re getting attacked from all directions! I guess like the old west you`ve gotta keep a gun on the hip with a flock that size. I hear you on the roosters. I have 2 large Ameraucana roos and they did nothing to try to defend the flock, even from the small hawk. I think they must be a couple of big wimps. Sorry for your extensive losses.

 

[tbarbee]

I feel for your hawk problems I had some start poking around my coop and tried to pick up one of my big ol barred rocks one day to remedy this while they are in there pen I have several runs of netting at about 8 feet high this keeps them from swooping in at speed my rooster helps if they were to try and land. I did this when they got real bad and they dissappeared for a while I took several mylar ballons the ones you get at the store for birthdays and stuff and tied them with fishing line around my pen and they stayed away for a good while when I see them now I just keep mine in for a day or two they dont think there is a meal here anymore might take longer once they have gotten one or two chickens but the trick with the balloons is that they think something bigger than them is circling the coop it worked for me hopefully it will be effective for you.

 

[Aimless Farmer]

Lost two hens within the last month to a hawk. The second was just today. Lost one last March, too. That puts the hawks in the lead for worst predator at our house now. All three under 1 year old, too. My stomach is in knots all over again. Get to go to work tomorrow and just prey I have the same number of live chickens as when I left. I feel so helpless...and also that I've let my flock down.

BTW...our new, young rooster flew clear OUT of the electro net fencing each of the last two strikes (he wasn't around for the first). November, he stuck to the forsythia hedge next to the chicken yeard. Today, I found him in the woods heading back home from half way to the neighbor's house, hours after the strike. Two hens that flew over with him were even farther. Took me two hours to round the last one up. I had given up on finding her, and closed up the coop. She was at the neighbor's across the street!

I have hawk "dazzlers" which I made from old tomato cages, with silver mylar "Happy Birthday" streamers, tin pie plates and CD's. I can't move them around any more because the ground is frozen, but we don't have enough snow yet.

Damn hawks!