Protecting Chickens From Hawks With Safety Zones

[Paula321]

I spent years evaluating risk for a living before I retired to my dream life as a farmer. I guess the threat analysis is still on my brain because I look at my hens' safety much like a risk assessment. I started with the strategic goal of having very happy hens who do not feel threatened, live a long life, lay a lot of eggs and go about their business enjoying making rich compost and fertilizer.

There are many threats to chickens in my area associated with predators. We have black bears, panthers, bobcats, neighborhood dogs and cats, coyotes, hawks, racoons, eagles and possums. They also have threats related to a dirty coop, cold, overheating, and from each other. I mitigate risk from all but hawks and eagles by having a fenced yard, trimming one wing and having a large safe coop with abundant resources.

The hawks in particular are a very threatening predator. I see them fly over daily and they will often sit on my fence watching the hens. My hens though really go about their business because they have numerous safety zones. Each area relates to an area my hens enjoy. Their coop is completely hardened with hardware fabric 1/4-inch with 1/2-inch fabric underground. The run is fully protected with bird netting and fully fenced.

The areas in the fully fenced acre do not lend themselves to having bird netting overhead. Instead, I use plants. I get down to chicken level and make sure all overhead trees, rooflines and open sky areas do not have an easy way to attack the hens. Cattle panels bent into trellises, a bushy island oasis near the pasture, a nesting box area that has large protective shrubs. All of these serve to protect the hens from dangerous overhead threats.

 

[casportpony]

Thanks for sharing this!

 

[Paula321]

You’re welcome. Ok

Thanks for sharing this!

Thanks for sharing this!

 

[Paula321]

You’re welcome. I’ve heard great ideas for deterring hawks.

 

[cmom]

Eventually a bird may get caught off guard and a hawk gets a bird. It has happened to me a couple where the hawk seeming appears out of nowhere and it happened so fast I didn't have time to react. I have netting covering my nice large pens. Good luck...

 

[centrarchid]

This very much my approach even in a more temperate environment where there is less floliage during the winter. I also invoke the term "layers of protection" where there is a core area that is far more protected by in my case fencing and dogs. Modest loss of birds is tolerated as I like for cost effective approaches, not simply zero loss.

 

[Paula321]

Eventually a bird may get caught off guard and a hawk gets a bird. It has happened to me a couple where the hawk seeming appears out of nowhere and it happened so fast I didn't have time to react. I have netting covering my nice large pens. Good luck...View attachment 2961169

This looks like a great setup!

 

[Paula321]

This very much my approach even in a more temperate environment where there is less floliage during the winter. I also invoke the term "layers of protection" where there is a core area that is far more protected by in my case fencing and dogs. Modest loss of birds is tolerated as I like for cost effective approaches, not simply zero loss.

This makes sense except they have become pets to me now. I would definitely feel this way about the meaties but would lose my mind to lose one if my little ladies.

 

[raingarden]

Uh-oh. When they become pets their value for the risk assessment goes WAY up. Otherwide, you can buy a lot of chickens for the price of a roll of wire.

 

[centrarchid]

Uh-oh. When they become pets their value for the risk assessment goes WAY up. Otherwide, you can buy a lot of chickens for the price of a roll of wire.

I raise all my own replacements. Some are very much pets, but they have preferences of their own when it comes to getting out and about.