Stake out a fake owl?

[henney]

I've heard if you put out a plastic owl decoy it will keep away hawks? We have a Sparrow Hawk that flys around the bird feeders and is not scared of my dogs. We are getting chickens as soon as the hen house is finished, of course it will be well fenced and covered but I'd like them to free range sometimes. Thanks, Judy

 

[CMV]

I have a fake owl. It doesn't really work all that well. You need to move them around every few days to get the maximum benefit from them. I'm honestly too lazy to move it around often enough for it to be really effective. It's also hard to find new perching areas for it and requires hauling out a ladder each time it needs to be moved. I decided it's easier to just hang out with the chickens when they want to free-range.

 

[vpeterson]

My fake owl has works really well. We had an awful problem with hawks. I have one plastic owl on top of the fence and several homemade plywood owls scattered here and there. I also have one of those yellow plastic beach balls that have large scary eyes on them. I have that hung right outside the run. I took it down one day and we had a hawk immediately attack. I put that ball right back up and they have staye away. I do not move any of my owls around much.

 

[MMPoultryFarms]

Quote:
X2 keep moving them daily. and hang some CD's up and move them daily as well.