Protection Against Hawks

[ducks4you]

The pheasant hatchery 10 miles from us uses poultry netting, which is what I use. I also copied their design and planted 4 x 4's 6 ft high, two have a two by four in between on top, to keep it from sagging. It also is kept up by the top of the coop, an additional 4 x 4 and the 6 ft sides of the dog kennel enclosure (12' x 30').

ALSO, very important, train your birds to go into the coop at dusk!!! Owls can fly 3 ft over your head and you won't hear it! Owls, like everybody else and hawks, love chicken!!

 

[meetthebubus]

you have to be close to hear the roosters warning of a hawk, its urgent, quiet and serious, one that no chicken ignores, they also have prewarning sounds that alert the chickens and they start looking around too, then the serious one comes and they run for cover
my bubus also growl at the small birds kind of like bullies saying "move along" they ignore the tiny birds, and are quiet with birds that are as large as a blackbird.

also i have to disagree that full netting coverage is expensive, i mean i've seen those tiny coops at tsc, etc and they are around 300 dollars and 3 rolls of fenceing is 300 dollars so i think its worth it, we really have peace of mind, the bubus though are still cautious and still put out a warning

 

[Wandercreek]

FWIW, I have a pair of Red Shoulder Hawks that nest in a huge Cedar Elm right outside the coop. The chickens are constantly under and around that tree and the hawks haven't bothered them at all.

We had a biologist out here one day looking at the property to develop a wildlife management plan for us and I asked him if I needed to worry about the hawks. He told me that they chose to nest in that location because it is on the edge of the creek, which is where the hawks preferred food comes from. I was surprised to hear that their preferred food is crustaceans (like crayfish), fish, frogs, and lizards. Since the creek provides plenty of those things, my chickens aren't so appetizing.

Another thing that he told me about the hawks is that they will keep owls away. This is because owls prey on hawk chicks and will take them right out of the nest. At our previous ranch, we had terrible problems with owls. We started losing a chicken a week to an owl that had taken up residence nearby, then it became a chicken a night, then multiple chickens each night. I don't know how many owls decided to move in with us, but you could hear them from every direction at night. Those owls also took a full grown tomcat and paralyzed another tom in a failed attempt to take him. Owls are protected at the state and federal level here in Texas, so there was really nothing we could do about them.

All that said, I am THRILLED to have a pair of hawks living in the tree outside my coop. As I sit typing this, I can see them circling in the sky above the barnyard and creek, presumably looking for a meal with the chickens below confidently going about their business. It makes me wonder if they somehow know they are safe?

 

[meetthebubus]

thats interesting about the live in hawks! I think they know they are safe, chickens are intelligent and i've noticed that if they see somthing often enough that never does anything to them, they are never scared. I have 2x4 planted all around them and they arent scared but if i pick up a loose one and they see me they run scared to death, but once it's planted they are fine. funny creatures

 

[Red5]

Found an article today....
"Hawks attacking residents in Oviedo neighborhood".
At first one might think this was reminiscent of a scene from "The Birds" and of course, that is not the case. Typical fear porn from the news as it is only one bird doing the attacking.
http://www.clickorlando.com/news/hawks-attacking-residents-in-oviedo-neighborhood

 

[Awestruck]

That's actually not too far from where I live.

 

[Awestruck]

I saw something weird the other day. It looked like the hawk was in our back yard, just a couple of feet away from the rooster. The rooster did not seem alarmed and the hawk flew away.

 

[CochinCuddlr]

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

Yessiree, hawks kill & dine right on the spot:

The best protection we've found in 25+ years of having poultry is our pair of adult peafowl! They are absolutely fearless! When they hear or see a hawk, they RACE directly TOWARD IT & harass the bejeebers out of it. Last summer they kept one youngster trapped in the lower branches of a pine tree for over an hour until I took pity on him & distracted Ricky & Lucy long enough for him to escape.
C.

 

[JaeG]

Yessiree, hawks kill & dine right on the spot:





The best protection we've found in 25+ years of having poultry is our pair of adult peafowl! They are absolutely fearless! When they hear or see a hawk, they RACE directly TOWARD IT & harass the bejeebers out of it. Last summer they kept one youngster trapped in the lower branches of a pine tree for over an hour until I took pity on him & distracted Ricky & Lucy long enough for him to escape.
C.

Now there's a great reason to 'need' a pair of gorgeous peafowl!

 

[Little Fuzzy]

Some people use fishing line strung across the yard , high up of course, with cd's attached so the Hawks can see somethings there.