Protection Against Hawks

[Awestruck]

Thanks for the help here. I was just talking with someone who just got 40 baby chickens. She said she will let them out in the open once they are big enough to not be taken by hawks. So, do hawks leave chickens alone once the chicken reaches a certain size?

 

[bobbi-j]

Thanks for the help here. I was just talking with someone who just got 40 baby chickens. She said she will let them out in the open once they are big enough to not be taken by hawks. So, do hawks leave chickens alone once the chicken reaches a certain size?

No. They just don't carry them off if they're too big. They kill and eat them on the spot.

 

[Duckymomlol]

I let my chickens (silkies and barred rocks) loose in a fenced yard. BUT they were locked in the coop before sunset and let out after sunrise and had plenty of trees and bushes for cover. I lost one chick that got out of the fence to a dog, and one to a possum (she hid from me at night time lockup). Never lost one to a hawk, but they need lots of hiding holes and cover.

 

[Angels Eggs]

I lost 3 hens to a pair of hawks. One of them went right into the coop. I covered the entire area with netting, my chickens free range in a fenced area of my yard. About 1/2 an acre. I am on a 27 acres with half trees and half mowed. The coop is moviable, so is the fence. I love my chickens, and not happy with the hawks.

 

[chickengeorgeto]

Thanks for the help here. I was just talking with someone who just got 40 baby chickens. She said she will let them out in the open once they are big enough to not be taken by hawks. So, do hawks leave chickens alone once the chicken reaches a certain size?

No.

 

[Angels Eggs]

No.

No, my three hens were very large girls.

 

[Teri09]

Do buzzards take live chickens? There's a pair of huge birds circling my place 3-4 times a day. To cover a 10x10 dog kennel. I took plactic chicken 'wire' cut it into 10' strips. Put them side by side and used a ton of zip ties to sew the panels together to make a 12x12 net held on with bungee cords. The neighbors on both sides of my house and I each lost a cat and I lost a chicken too. The hens have learned to take cover in the underbrush when out during the day.

 

[bobbi-j]

Do buzzards take live chickens? There's a pair of huge birds circling my place 3-4 times a day. To cover a 10x10 dog kennel. I took plactic chicken 'wire' cut it into 10' strips. Put them side by side and used a ton of zip ties to sew the panels together to make a 12x12 net held on with bungee cords. The neighbors on both sides of my house and I each lost a cat and I lost a chicken too. The hens have learned to take cover in the underbrush when out during the day.

We have buzzards circling here all the time and have never had a problem with them. Buzzards are typically carrion eaters. I highly doubt they took cats or your chicken... I would guess they got snagged by a coyote or fox.

 

[Teri09]

Thanks so much. Everytime there's a large bird in the sky my rooster sounds the alarm. Getting tired of running out there, specially when it's a Sand Crane Lol

 

[meetthebubus]

I have hawks raptors and eagles we designed a 360 coop/run and no bird is getting them here is a video with a tour of it and you can see a hawk fly past too!