sick of hawks killing my chickens...

[Silkie2]

i've lost so many chickens due to hawks.. and its honestly getting sad and annoying.. and i can't put a roof on the runs because i live in new england. the heavy snow weighs down any netting or line put up. The dogs can't stay in the backyard 24/7. roosters never seem to help.
i'm so lost as to what to do!?!?

 

[Shadrach]

i've lost so many chickens due to hawks.. and its honestly getting sad and annoying.. and i can't put a roof on the runs because i live in new england. the heavy snow weighs down any netting or line put up. The dogs can't stay in the backyard 24/7. roosters never seem to help.
i'm so lost as to what to do!?!?

I take it they are kept in these runs?
Part of the answer is cover. Not a net over the top but low cover like bushes and shrubs, anywhere they can keep out of sight of the hawks. I see so many bare runs and basically the chickens don't have a chance. If you had the run full of stuff, be it old pallets on stilts, barrels with both ends open, piles of logs with space underneath, anything except plain ground.

 

[The Phantom]

If you are just trying to keep hawks out. This will take care of it. https://www.amazon.com/Poultry-Netting-Gamefowl-Polyethylene-Lifespan/dp/B01I46MYK0/ref=sr_1_2_sspa?ie=UTF8&qid=1545234765&sr=8-2-spons&keywords=Heavy+knotted+netting&th=1
I have this netting here in Wisconsin and it doesn’t hold hardly any snow.

 

[21hens-incharge]

How big is your run?
How many current birds in your coop?

I ask because a well supported hoop run sheds snow and keeps hawks etc out.

 

[Melky]

I have a snow proof tarp over my roofed coop/run. I shake off the ice and snow. So far working. Mine is shingled but others use corregated metal roofing which they think holds up against weather better.

 

[21hens-incharge]

I have a snow proof tarp over my roofed coop/run. I shake off the ice and snow. So far working. Mine is shingled but others use corregated metal roofing which they holds up against weather better.

I like the metal roof idea as well. Depending on run size this could be fairly easy to add on.

 

[Silkie2]

Sorry for the lack of details.
Our run is our own diy run. We use sturdy metal fencing, and a shed to lock them in at night. We have two runs; 1 run for our standard layer hens and a 2nd run for our bantams and ducks. The 2nd run however has been recently targeted the most.. lost two of my favorite bantams (including my very first bantam silkie) seeing it now, yes it could probably use some more shelters. I guess I usually just focus on the main run for shelters and shrubs. The 2nd run is at the edge of the woods (with some tree branches covering it)and you can see bird nests directly above it on those branches which I fear the large ones are probably hawk nests.
Thank you for all the responses so far!
Here are some pics of my setup (the small shed with the green tarp on it is where we lock up our 3 ducks, and currently 2 bantams unfortunately) they’re locked up till I can get this hawk problem sorted out..

Brook and woods behind the coops. Noticing some more deer this year!
White building is our barn and to the left the blue building is our standard chickens coop. We used to have goats so the pen was built to fit dozens of chickens and a few goats. We can also open a back gate of the run to let the standard hens free range in the woods if it’s nice out (usually I’ll do it when I’m home all day) also there’s some old wooden frames in the corner of the second picture. That’s part an old run I’ve yet to take down. We expanded it for when we had meat turkeys. Once we stopped raising meat Turkeys we got ducks and turned it into a duck run (later I added my bantams that we’re getting picked on with the standards)

 

[Silkie2]

My run is fairly big so adding a roof would be near impossible lol maybe netting but could be only on the 2nd run

I always figured the trees might hide the hens a little with their branches but I guess it’s working against me since birds can just make there nests above my free “buffet table” ugh..

 

[21hens-incharge]

WOW that's a lot of gigantic trees!

You are right the hawks could be nesting right above your birds.


A hoop run would be a full redo of your set up but would be very effective.
I wish I could figure out a way to roof your current set up.

You can reuse your metal fencing to cover the cattle panels of a hoop run. That would save a lot of cost.
A hoop run tends to be 8'wide, 6' tall and as long as you make it.

There are quite a few in the coop pages to get inspiration from.

I have a small one on my small coop.



I cover it in plastic in winter.

 

[Saaniya]

i've lost so many chickens due to hawks.. and its honestly getting sad and annoying.. and i can't put a roof on the runs because i live in new england. the heavy snow weighs down any netting or line put up. The dogs can't stay in the backyard 24/7. roosters never seem to help.
i'm so lost as to what to do!?!?

Oh no that's so sad
If I have a gun I will shoot the hawks

I don't know what can make them scared
But if I was there I will not allow chickens to come outfor few days then he might think there's no CHICKENS