Rooster vs Hawks

[Hilfox84]

I’m fairly new to chickens. I’ve had my flock for almost a year now. This is my second go around though. The first flock I had was completely wiped out by hawks. Like nothing left at but some feathers. I had 4 hens survive out of the 15. I got some more chicks and now I have 11 hens a little over 6-7months old. I would like to free range them this summer but I’m so afraid I will lose them to hawks again. I see several of them flying over all the time every day. I want to get a rooster to help protect them.

Any suggestions on good gental rooster breeds? Or other ways to protect my flock from the hawks? I thought about getting a Brahma just because they are so big I thought they might deter the hawks but I don’t want them to hurt my girls being so much bigger (my flock is several average sized breeds).

 

[A_Fowl_Guy]

I deal with hawks by using a hose. They are federally protected so you can’t kill them. Roosters sound the alarm for then to scatter, make sure you have safe areas they can get to.

 

[centrarchid]

I’m fairly new to chickens. I’ve had my flock for almost a year now. This is my second go around though. The first flock I had was completely wiped out by hawks. Like nothing left at but some feathers. I had 4 hens survive out of the 15. I got some more chicks and now I have 11 hens a little over 6-7months old. I would like to free range them this summer but I’m so afraid I will lose them to hawks again. I see several of them flying over all the time every day. I want to get a rooster to help protect them.

Any suggestions on good gental rooster breeds? Or other ways to protect my flock from the hawks? I thought about getting a Brahma just because they are so big I thought they might deter the hawks but I don’t want them to hurt my girls being so much bigger (my flock is several average sized breeds).

What you describe above where nothing left but feathers does not agree with hawks being the culprit. If I am correct and same type of predator comes back, then rooster will make no difference. I do use roosters but only against predators targeting immature chickens during the day.

 

[Kessel23]

Short shrubs or large leafed plants to hide under are helpful. Rooster alarm calls are useful and do save hens but not all the time. I have not had a hawk kill one of my birds in a long time. The last time I can remember was when I only had leghorns so over 5 years ago. I free range throughout the day during the spring, summer, and fall months here. I have had sharp shinned hawks catch a cockerel a few times in 2018, when they did it was either me or my Muscovy drake that stepped in to save the bird and in one instance a cockerel. I had 21 cockerels and roosters in the flock this summer so they were hard for the hawks to sneak up on, as you could imagine. I am not sure how effective one rooster can be at preventing hawk attacks but the last time I had birds killed by a hawk I only had two roosters and around 20 hens, for a while I had 1 RIR rooster and 8 hens and the hawks were picking those hens off until there was only 3 left.