Should i worry about hawks?

[Neeci84]

My babies have a great coop now with a large outdoor area to play. My biggest fear tho is a hawk getting them. They are 2 months old. How worried should I be and how can I prevent hawks from coming around?

 

[Bird_Lover_17]

Hawks are predators. There are many ways to prevent them, but in my opinion, if you live in an area with tons of predators, don't free range your chickens.

If you're really worried, add netting above their outdoor play area.

I personally don't worry too much about hawks since the hawks in my area are more after squirrels and fish than chickens.

 

[mcdze]

hawks are afraid of 'people', so be around .. until chickens are fully matured they are 'hawk bait' .. smaller hawks usually avoid full grown chickens until they really scope them out, like a cat almost, but young ones yeah, they'll go straight for them ... hawks usually hunt the early morning hours to so avoid that, and the secondary benefit of that strategy is chickens generally stay out of the sun so if you have cover bushes etc, they'll be under it during the day .. but not in the early hours which just makes them a prime target ..

 

[ChickenFriends234]

You should keep them at home

 

[Aapomp831]

You should keep them at home

No. Chickens need to be outside.... it’s weird to keep a chicken inside your home. There will always be hawks, but like the above poster said - wait until they are bigger then let them out. Trust me, that’s where they want to be.

 

[kelzey]

pictures of your coop/run?

 

[ChickenFriends234]

No. Chickens need to be outside.... it’s weird to keep a chicken inside your home. There will always be hawks, but like the above poster said - wait until they are bigger then let them out. Trust me, that’s where they want to be.

Oh, sorry just keep them inside when the hawk is gone just keep a close eye on the chicken

 

[DesertGrrl]

I have a bunch of hawks in my area and they will kill/eat adult chickens.
Make your coop/run hawk-proof too.

 

[StephanieB1220]

I am on my second batch of chicks (started off with 8 in each) and never had a problem with hawks until today. I was sent this picture after this big ol thing absolutely demolished one of my babies!

Now I'm not going to allow them to free range until they are older/bigger and I'm going to invest in some bird netting for their pen.

 

[ChocolateMouse]

Depends, do you have a lot of hungry hawks in your area? Then they are a BIG problem.

I manage mine by keeping an adult rooster with the flock and lots of hiding spots. He's a good boy and hides the girls and presents himself to fight incoming animals. Someday he will probably lose and lose his life for the flock, but until then he keeps the flock safe. We lose a lot of hens when we don't have a rooster.

If you don't have a lot of hawks, probably not as big of a deal especially if there's other things for them to eat. But they may well still go after young birds.