Natural hawk protection

[texas hiker]

It was probably a year ago I read an article on this website about growing a type of weed or bush that when planted somewhat close together provides a cover for chickens.

I spent the last 30 minutes searching google with all different types of keywords and can not find that article.

My wife and I are getting ready to expand the chicken yard. When it is done we are looking at around 200 X 100 feet. I thought about planting some cover plants around the yard so the chickens can have places to run to if the see a hawk.

Is there a type of shrub I can plant to provide protection? Covering the whole yard with netting is not an option.

Over the past 6 months my wife and I have lost 3 full grown hens and 3 six - eight week old chicks to hawks.

Lost so far:

2 year old Jersey giant, found half eaten
2 year old speckled sussex, disappeared
2 year old Rhode Island Red, disappeared

7 week old barred rock, disappeared, I found just a couple of feathers
7 week old australorp, half eaten
7 week old buff orpington, disappeared

Surely there is some kind of bush, such as a hedge type of plant we can uyse to give the chickens some kind of protection?

 

[centrarchid]

Blackberries are great. You can even pick and eat them. My only problem with them would be trying to catch a chicken that didnt want to get back where I want them.

That is where trainability of a backyard flock comes in. Invest a little time in training birds to come when you hold a particular and distinctive container. I use live mealworms. I have multiple free-ranging flocks scattered currently over 3 acres that can be called up with such. If I had to chase them down life would be miserable for all.

 

[Feather Friendly]

Greetings to a Fellow East Texan!

As a chicken owner and a wife to a Certified Wildlife Biologist I would like to add a couple of things to the conversation. First let me say I have had my battles with a red fox so my thoughts are coming from experience. Second, before you take any drastic measures please remember that fox currently has young who will slowly starve to death without the adult. Saying that I do however COMPLETELY understand your dilemma. The very best defense against a fox is a dog in the area where your chickens are located. The fox is most likely getting the chickens between dusk and dawn. My last encounter was at 6 a.m. last December.
A healthy non diseased fox will not cross a medium to large size dog. Unfortunately chihuahuas and toy breeds, as cats, can be meals for desperate wildlife. A dog is also a great alert for something occurring or approaching your flock. As my dogs are not always outside I have also incorporated the following: a radio left on 24/7 and a flashing red predator "eye" - the one I have is the Nite Guard Solar NG-001 Predator Control Light and I ordered it through Amazon, I also keep a light on in the area but not in the coop or pen. There are also some great battery powered motion sensor LED lights now available if you don't have power in the coop area. One of the other really beneficial deterrents is the odor of human urine. As far as foxes are concerned humans are their predators and they are wary of our presence, especially in "marked" territory, as any other mammal. Foxes, as canines, have super sensitive smell capabilities so we are not talking about outhouse level odors. Replenishing once a week or so is usually plentiful depending on the current amount of rainfall. If you have nearby neighbors just take it outside in a container to spare them the sideshow.

One of the last suggestions I have is an electric fence surrounding the coop area. However bear in mind that a fox can jump up to 6 feet from a standing position. A cheaper pet deterrent fence is sufficient and significantly less expensive than a livestock version.

Of course the best deterrent to predators is a very secure coop and fenced area. There is a reason for the saying "smart as a fox" as they definitely consider your actions to exclude them as their next mental challenge. My last experience with my problem fox was after it had leaped on top of my 6 ft tall chicken enclosure and managed to find a space about 6 inches wide where the roof wiring/netting was joined and squeezed in. Now that is determination!

One last thought, it terms of "alarm systems", nothing can compare to a few guinea fowl. They miss nothing and will let you know when anything changes. Also SUPER foragers that require very little upkeep.

I wish you well and hope you are able to solve your predator issue. It's just my personal ethics to consider the consequences (suffering and death of unattended young) of ultimate actions. I do understand your predicament. I lost my favorite 6 yr. old hen last year to the same fox.

Good luck!

 

[chickengeorgeto]

Greetings to a Fellow East Texan!

..... I would like to add a couple of things to the conversation. First let me say I have had my battles with a red fox .... Second, before you take any drastic measures please remember that fox currently has young who will slowly starve to death without the adult.....

That is why I would recommend taking drastic measures AT this time. When keeping chickens remember that at this time that a dead fox in the hand is worth 2 dead foxes in the brush. The same math is not true of chickens. Also I have yet to see either a fox or a vixen adopt an orphaned clutch of chicks and raise them for you.. You must decide which you desire most, chickens or foxes.

 

[heartsizedfarm]

That is why I would recommend taking drastic measures AT this time.  When keeping chickens remember that at this time that a dead fox in the hand is worth 2 dead foxes in the brush.  The same math is not true of chickens.  Also I have yet to see either a fox or a vixen adopt an orphaned clutch of chicks and raise them for you.. You must decide which you desire most, chickens or foxes.

I think the point is that you CAN have both. Secure your run, use guardian dogs, add dusk-to-dawn lights to your buildings, urinate around your property boundary, and you can protect your chickens without having to kill the fox cubs' mother. Win win.

 

[americaca jtl]

Are you sure that a hawk is the culprit? full grown RIR being carried off is kinda a big bird for a hawk, even a red tailed. Just wondering if its not a fox or coyote that is also contributing to the problem. Normally a hawk will eat where it kills or move a short distance, also they cannot carry more than their own weight so you probably have a predator problem also.

 

[texas hiker]

Are you sure that a hawk is the culprit? full grown RIR being carried off is kinda a big bird for a hawk, even a red tailed. Just wondering if its not a fox or coyote that is also contributing to the problem. Normally a hawk will eat where it kills or move a short distance, also they cannot carry more than their own weight so you probably have a predator problem also.

A fox or coyote may explain 2 of the missing birds.

Or, the girls went broody and sat on some eggs outside the chicken house.

My girls free range probably 90% of the time. The current yard is small to keep them in there all the time, it is around 75 X 35.

I would like to build a larger yard and keep them confined more often.

 

[Mister B]

In my pasture, we have a LOT of Chinese Privet. This stuff grows fast and takes over. It has some nice blue berries that birds love in the Fall/Winter. I have a goat in the pasture with the chickens and she keeps it mostly mowed down. It has formed three nice thickets that the chickens hang (hung out in, they were recently killed). Provides shade, forage and protection. Just make sure it stays in the pasture.

 

[chickengeorgeto]

Is there a type of shrub I can plant to provide protection? Covering the whole yard with netting is not an option.

Over the past 6 months my wife and I have lost 3 full grown hens and 3 six - eight week old chicks to hawks.

Lost so far:

2 year old Jersey giant, found half eaten
2 year old speckled sussex, disappeared
2 year old Rhode Island Red, disappeared

7 week old barred rock, disappeared, I found just a couple of feathers
7 week old australorp, half eaten
7 week old buff orpington, disappeared

Surely there is some kind of bush, such as a hedge type of plant we can uyse to give the chickens some kind of protection?

It may get you a call from the plant police if you plant privet hedge, its a terribly invasive weed. I think new planting of privet hedge is strongly discouraged in most communities maybe up to and including spending time in jail.

There is a yin yang type of thing in chicken keeping. In large lots a hedge may provide some hawk protection but in an open top pen it may also provide cover for four legged Earth bound predators and allow them to put the sneak on your flock. This only means that there are no absolutes. You do your best to provide a proactive defense for your backyard flock, then you pays your money, and takes you chances. Mother nature doesn't give a plug nickel what humans like. If everything goes right everything goes right. If not... well Southern Fried hawk tastes just like chicken!

It appears to me that you may have two or more predators preying on your flock. The three 7 week old chicks are problematic but full sized chickens just going missing is usually the work of a fox, coyote, bobcat, or some other rather large chicken eating vermin. The one full sized chicken you found half eaten is classic hawk as well as the one half eaten chick. Hawks usually can't or don't behave like flying saucers and abduct full grown chickens, even though both hawks and space invades are able to fly.

Were the bones on the one grown half eaten bird still more or less articulated? The reason I asked is because hawks more or less eat chicken like you or I eat corn on the cob, by stripping the meat off the long bones after eating the head.

I did recommend bamboo in a recent post but like all hedges intended for hawk shelters or chicken foxholes, hedges require time to get big enough to work. Even though bamboo can spread, it can't spread like privet hedge or the even more destructive Bradford Pear.

 

[chickengeorgeto]

In my pasture, we have a LOT of Chinese Privet. ....It has some nice blue berries that birds love... Just make sure it stays in the pasture.

The problem with Chinese Privet is when those birds you spoke of eat the pretty berries and release the seed in them, maybe miles away to sprout and overwhelm native plants, also some types of Privets are poisonous to honey bees.