Please advise... :( Chicken killed tonight

[Alhelm]

I put up bird netting on top of my chicken run. Bird netting is pretty inexpensive. I live on a lake and have hawks and Bald Eagles overhead all the time. For the past 3 years I have owned my chickens, there have been no attacks from haws or eagles with my bird netting in place. A solid covered roof for my chicken run would be too expensive because I would have to build it strong enough to withstand our snow loads. Anyway, the bird netting prevents attacks from the sky.

It sounds like you had a hawk attack, but if it was a weasel, then you have other concerns and the only thing I know that can keep out those varmints is 1/2" hardware cloth all around with predator netting on, or in, the ground to prevent digging. But it sounds like you had a hawk attack. Good luck.

I hope that it was a hawk. I honestly don't think I could secure my entire outer perimeter with hardware cloth. The fence maybe but overhead no way. How do you keep the bird netting from sagging and ripping to shreds in the wind? Do song birds get stuck in yours?

 

[Alhelm]

If a hawks sees them he knows they are there. Hawks watch their area all the time. It will keep coming back and trying different times. Do you have hiding spots for your girls to get under when being attacked? Roosters also sound off when he sees a predictor giving or try to give the ladies time to hide.

I have some temporary leanto shelters that I made with t posts and flat wire panel covered with some vegetation . They aren't very wide but I have them within 15-20 feet of each other. Spread out . It is hard to explain where I found the poor girl. The hawk would have had maybe two feet of clearance to fly through. But maybe that's enough. I am seriously considering getting a rooster. I will look into that. Thanks

 

[STACEYH]

You attach the netting to post. I have never had a problem with birds tangling up in it. Many on here have large areas with netting up as well with no issues that I have seen.

 

[LavenderDaFlerf]

That makes a lot of sense. I let them out and watched them the whole time when I got home today. The covered run is 12 X4. Coop is 6x4.

Uh huh, and I don't let them out on days I know I have to go somewhere. That's a okay size for seven birds, though its nice to let then out to run around sometimes.

 

[Alhelm]

You attach the netting to post. I have never had a problem with birds tangling up in it. Many on here have large areas with netting up as well with no issues that I have seen.

That's good to know. Just to confirm you use that super lightweight stuff that is thin like monofilament?

 

[CoconutCoffee]

Ive seen a hawk flying around a few times. Once it was low enough that I could clearly tell it was a coopers hawk. Another time it landed several feet away from my run assuming it grabbed a lizard or something. Never had a known hawk attack. I use netting both the thinner one and thicker deer netting. I also have strings up to try to deter sky attacks. Figuring if the openings are small enough then it won't chance it. A hawks wingspan is bigger than I thought.

 

[gtaus]

I hope that it was a hawk. I honestly don't think I could secure my entire outer perimeter with hardware cloth. The fence maybe but overhead no way. How do you keep the bird netting from sagging and ripping to shreds in the wind? Do song birds get stuck in yours?

I can't afford to cover my chicken run with a hard top. So I use the bird netting attached to my 2X4 fencing with zip ties. The netting is so light that I don't need much of anything to keep it from sagging. I just run a rope every 10 feet and that is enough support for the bird netting. Except for the winter when wet snow will freeze on the netting and it all comes crashing down. But my chickens don't go outside in the snow filled run during the winter. They stay in their coop.

I have never had any song birds getting stuck in my netting. They will fly in and out of the 2X4 fencing without a problem,

Also, my 2X4 fencing is 6 feet tall, so I don't have to bend over when I go into the chicken run. If you have a shorter fence, or just need more headroom, you could put up a pole in the middle of the netting and have it taper down to the outside fencing. I might try that next year to see if it helps with the freezing rain and snow that crashes my netting in the winter.

 

[STACEYH]

That's good to know. Just to confirm you use that super lightweight stuff that is thin like monofilament?

I use cheap netting for fruit trees. Part of my run is metal roof but mostly net. I have had a hawk land on the metal roofing and coop roof. He sits and watches my ladies scramble into their coop. He don't mess with the netting. Raccoons, opossums and birds don't mess with my netting. My coop is open day and night in the run area. If I could get a rooster I would have one.

 

[gtaus]

Just to confirm you use that super lightweight stuff that is thin like monofilament?

Not addressed to me, but I use the black netting that is about as thick as string. In the store, they label it bird netting and sometimes deer netting. Another thing, if you do get netting for your run, there are some nets that are diamond shaped and others that are square or rectangular shaped. Last year I bought some netting that was diamond shaped (but not stated on the label) and that was impossible for me to stretch out on my fencing. I ended up returning that and got a different brand netting and that was actually square like I thought I was buying.

 

[ViciousLizardEaters]

I'm sorry for your dear loss. It's great to know someone's taking great care of their flufs!