Poultry Netting - Hawk Protection

[Nifty550]

I have a hawk problem. A hawk or hawks have killed multiple chickens of mine and I'm looking for a better way to protect them. Has anybody use this netting to cover the run? http://www.amazon.com/Best-Choice-Products

-Netting-Poultry/dp/B001W2AG2M Thank you!

 

[woodboat]

Sorry Nifty550 for your loss. Here in central Michigan we have a few American Eagles and lots of hawks. I just returned from Home Depot with a trailer load of wood to build a new run. A solid roof with shingles which I am considering wire under shingles due to the racoon population being high. We live on 40 acres with lots of wilderness close by. A 400 pound bear raiding my neighbors bird feeder so I am going to put electric fence on the outside of run and coop. If he gets through the electric then we will have to build a fort out of 4x6". I seen video of foxes and others pulling off the netting which covered the run and coop. Hope the netting works out in your area.

 

[UrbanFarmOC]

I think that netting would definitely work across a run. I'm sorry to hear about your losses.

I have netting hung across about 1/4 of my backyard, which has about 8000SF of space chickens who free range from dawn to dusk. My net is not as robust as the net in your link. Mine is just regular bird or deer netting. We have many resident and migratory Hawks in the area. They've attempted many attacks on my chickens. However, thus far, the net has helped deter them and has bought my chickens valuable 3-10 seconds of time to hide. We've had many close calls recently. I think the hawks have found the weakest point from which they can start their attack. We're planting some more vegetation in those areas. I could also hangz more netting, but I also want local wild birds, hummingbirds and insects to be able to visit the garden. I also know it's a game of probability and one day I will lose a chicken to a hawk. However, it's a risk I'm willing to take after weighing many factors.