Should we free range if we have hawks?

[Backyard Bruce]

I’ve trapped both bobcat and coyotes during daylight hours though mostly they hunt at night.

 

[Tesumph]

That CD chime will be a bobcat magnet if you have them in your area.

Why is that?

 

[Backyard Bruce]

Bobcats and of course cats in general are attracted to those shiny flashes that you use to scare birds of prey.
Trapper’s would hang cd’s, cassette tape pulled out of the cassette up it tree branches directly under their trap sets.
The idea is to use the flash off the shiny object to attract them to the trap set.
It works very well in my opinion.

 

[Tesumph]

Bobcats and of course cats in general are attracted to those shiny flashes that you use to scare birds of prey.
Trapper’s would hang cd’s, cassette tape pulled out of the cassette up it tree branches directly under their trap sets.
The idea is to use the flash off the shiny object to attract them to the trap set.
It works very well in my opinion.

Interesting, the more you know!

 

[RWise]

I have hawk nests within eye site of the coop, we free range without problems from the hawks. Here we have many squirrels, that's what the hawks go after, letting me have the chickens. The one time they were eyeing my flock was a new hatch, I went out and yelled at them, they left.
We also have crows, bobcats, fox's, coyotes, owls, snakes, skunks, opossums, raccoon's, and the worst of all house cats and dogs. (I may have missed a couple)

 

[peachyduckies]

As @lazy gardener has stated in an earlier post, do not free range any birds you’re not willing to lose. There are other options rather than free ranging. I recently bought electric netting and put it around my finished interior pen, you may want to invest into electric netting. I had talked to many of my poultry friends who use electric netting to protect their birds before I bought my own netting, and they really didn’t have a single complaint, except for how costly it can be. My netting and solar panel costed about $600 (which I didn’t find that bad of a price) all together, but I believe it will be worth it in the long run.

I have also read that geese can sound an alarm if predators are nearby, and sometimes that alarm can scare away predators, including hawks. You may want to invest in a couple geese, too.

 

[SueT]

Nocturnal predators can and do come out in the day. We have seen, in the daytime, bobcats, coyotes, foxes, raccoons.....

 

[Birdsong 82]

Nocturnal predators can and do come out in the day. We have seen, in the daytime, bobcats, coyotes, foxes, raccoons.....

This is very true. Even though they’re nocturnal and their normal hunting times are going to be late evening and early morning they can still be around during the day for sure. Doesn’t happen around here in the day time that I see them too often but I’m sure another places it’s different. I think no matter what free ranging always comes with some sort of risk The risk may be higher or lower depending on where you live and such but no matter what there’s always some kind of risk

 

[Birdsong 82]

And you could just free range in certain ways. I know a friend who will only let her free range when she’s outside. Mine only get to free range if I’m going to be here. I might run out for an hour but if I’m going to be gone gone all day then they stay in their big run. Plus if I hear anything funny while I’m home I do have two large dogs to alleviate that situation if need be. LOL. And I think they’d have Fun doing it

 

[Birdsong 82]

Our squirrels will only go in the goat shelter where the cats can’t go because the cats chase them out of the yard. Now the chickens like to go into the shelter and I’ve seen them several times chase the squirrels down. Those Rd., Island reds are feisty

I have hawk nests within eye site of the coop, we free range without problems from the hawks. Here we have many squirrels, that's what the hawks go after, letting me have the chickens. The one time they were eyeing my flock was a new hatch, I went out and yelled at them, they left.
We also have crows, bobcats, fox's, coyotes, owls, snakes, skunks, opossums, raccoon's, and the worst of all house cats and dogs. (I may have missed a couple)