My chickens are being stalked. :( What to do?

[scooter147]

Quote:
I tried that once, I didn't think of it at the time either but that fake owl scared the bejesus out of my hens. It took me about 30 minutes to figure out why they wouldn't come out of the coop when I opened the door.

 

[Luvs chickens]

I also have a hawk problem> huge one. hides in the trees and swoops down. chased him off a few times but, last week he killed my little duccille boy> now I am paranoid, afraid to let my 26 chicken free range. i heard of some people stringing wire over there yard to prevent them from swooping down> won"t work if you have a large area.

 

[lovemychix]

Quote:
I tried that once, I didn't think of it at the time either but that fake owl scared the bejesus out of my hens. It took me about 30 minutes to figure out why they wouldn't come out of the coop when I opened the door.

I figured they would be scared of the owl too.

 

[imtc]

guess that would make sense...lol. Didn't think of it scaring the chickens.

 

[RanchGranny]

Ugh! I know they have to eat something, but not my chickens! I have six cats & that's why I don't keep any little caged animals in the house; just doesn't seem right to have a predator staring at them all day, seems like they'd get the animal version of PTSD! Is it feasible to put a tarp over the top of the run for awhile? Maybe your girls will be ok if they can't see Mr. Hawk. And maybe Mr. Hawk will get the idea if he can't see them, either.

We free-ranged our hens until recently, when we lost our first chicken. We think it wandered alone out back behind the horses' stalls & got caught by a coyote. It had rained the day before & there were clear big paw prints in the mud among the gazillion feathers. We have lots of hawks around here, too. I've heard that a hawk won't take a full grown big hen over 6 lbs or so, as they can't fly with something that heavy. Seems to me that a hawk could kill first, dine on the spot, reduce the mass & fly off with the left overs if it wanted, though! Anyway, after that experience (RIP, Ruby!) we penned the hens for good. I will occasionally turn them loose the last hour of the day, just so they don't go insane. We have a huge, huge coop (25'x 15') & plan to add a run this spring, but after having the run of the property, 25'x15' still must seem like a prison. I keep replaying the movie "Chicken Run" in my head, lol. So I take an occasional chance & hope the odds of surviving their weekly free hour are stacked in their favor.

Let us know what happens! Good luck!

 

[yodercountrygirl]

I had a hawk come and killed my jap hen Yesterday

He was under my grape vine when I saw him. He must of just got her. I did scare her off. Then he came back to ummm have his fill of her. Well I scared him off pretty good

And I havn't seen him since.

I hope that both of our Hawks go somewhere else.

 

[RanchGranny]

Quote:
~ Sorry for your loss ~

These little guys are pets to us, full of individual personality. It hurts to lose any of them.

I can think of somewhere the hawks should go!

lol. We have a pellet gun ... doubt I could actually hit something with it, but wonder if the noise alone would stick with a hawk enough to help it remember to stay away from our place? Hmmm ....

 

[patman75]

Do you feed any wild birds? If you feed blue jays they will harasses the hawk, and make a ton of noise when they are around. Other birds will harassas them as well. squirrells will make a ton of noise as well.

 

[Rocky Top Chick]

I use a disco ball...........................and the rooster wears a leisure suit........would you attack

 

[wildorchid053]

we have wire over our run but also a shade cloth since we have no trees.. never have had a hawk land . and we live on farm land on acreage... maybe it works to keep them off? shade cloth is pretty cheap and large sizes