Severe hawk problems, help!!

[Folly's place]

In my experience, a visiting hawk will give up and move on after ten days to three weeks of zero success. Having a safe coop and run is essential! We learn this through having bad experiences with predators, loosing birds, and upgrading the facilities. Seven in one week sounds like more than one hawk, or other predator, to me. Set live traps for any ground varmits you haven't seen, and keep the birds in until your hawk is gone. In the long run, a couple of guard dogs would be nice, but that's an expensive, time consuming, far from instant fix. Mary

 

[centrarchid]

I can have a predator, including a hawk coming in for months at a time without taking a chicken. They are getting something else making the effort worth while leaving chickens as targets of opportunity.

A serial killer may take a bird a day if carcass policed up after hawk gets its fill. Typically hawk would keep working carcass until it is gone or rots to much before taking risk of making another kill. That is very much how Great-horned Owls operate which I have had fun watching.

 

[Folly's place]

That makes sense; usually I'll find a partially eaten bird, or a pile of feathers, rather than catching the hawk during a kill. I have both standard and bantams, so some juvenile bantams just get carried off. The hawk gets a meal, and returns in three days or so, not the next day. Mary

 

[Stinkerbella]

So sorry been there my first killed was my beloved miss henny peck then lost another juvie buff - got a goose which helped but she was very quick I ended up enclosing my entire chicken area no more free ranging right now even if I killed that hawk another would fill her place - I did get a LGD but until he grows my birds will be in lock down and I will keep making their enclosure bigger- all I could come up with

we have lost 7 out of our 25 hens this week, yes, 7 in one week. They used to free range but now they have to stay inside their run so no more get attacked. The first 4 were killed in the run, before we filled in the gaps with more netting, but we can't keep them locked up forever. 2 days ago we put a net over their yard, the one they free range in, but no luck, the hawk pried it off and killed my roosters. Quite honestly, I want that hawk dead. Is there anything else we can do? We haven't gotten very many eggs because my girls are so nervous. Please I BEG you is there anything else we can even try???

o sorry

 

[theuglychick]

My grandfather used to put out owl decoys in plain sight near in the places that the hawks and chickens frequent. It helped keep hawks at bay but not the owls. He'd move them around every now and then.

 

[bcarthen]

My chickens are completly free range with my goats in a 1 acre fence. 95% of it is covered in trees and i have never had an issue. Listening to your case it sounds like you should look into getting a Great Pyranees. Awesome livestock animals.

 

[centrarchid]

You started with 25 hens. How much are you willing to spend on their protection? Dog option that keeps popping up is handily the most expensive if dog acquired specifically to protect chickens. It can work but takes time to everything in place. I use dogs and they are more appropriate for protecting larger flocks and fencing makes everything work better.

 

[K.Riggs]

I have lost one to a hawk and one to a car. I am now pretty much just letting them out for two hours before roosting at night and going in and out with them. I'm working on my fences around the 1.5 acres a bit at a time and have two geese and have also added large fallen tree branches around in the open places and a hutch in the middle of the open top area of their run so they can get access to cover easier.