Terrorizing my chickens.

[HeritageGoose13]

Oh, I see. Well said.

 

[Big Head Boy]

The pic was taken by a game camera, while I was sleeping. Been working night for a week. Put it up to keep an eye on them.

 

[Cacique500]

Can't tell very well from the pic but it looks like you've got chicken wire only around the bottom. Maybe think about adding a few feet of hardware cloth and either bury or apron a foot or two of it around the perimeter. If you look around you can find a 4'x50 ft roll for about $50 to $60.

 

[chickengeorgeto]

In the not so distant past a hawk would refuse to sit on the power lines while a car drove down the road. The reason was that every one in the country carried a shotgun in their car and it was just too easy to do a drive by shooting on every hawk you saw.

Now a days hawks are fat and sassy. Someone here even reported one passing between their legs in an effort to kill a chicken not 3 feet away. Hawks have become complacent but it is your chickens who must pay the ultimatum price.

 

[123RedBeard]

Put up a piece of mirror where it sits ...

 

[tjo804]

Good luck to you sorry if I offended with the fox thing. Wild animals that close to humans generally are not in a completely "wild" state. They have become desensitized and that could be dangerous for all. Even though you are working odd hours there is still daily activaty with feeding and watering so your scent is all over the place. Live and let live is great, Someone should sit down with that hawk and have the conversation.

 

[Liberator]

It's a federal offence to kill or harass any raptors here in the USA.

This is not true. You can purchase a depredation permit to protect your livestock or prevent property damage. You must show that you harassed the predator before applying for a permit as a last resort. Please see fws.gov for a list of permits and qualifiers.

 

[ExBattChicks]

@Liberator, the name of this site is BackYardChickens, right? Most people here have chickens (or other birds) as something like pets and are not 'livestock' as such....IN THEIR BACK YARDS. Do you propose getting your gun out and shooting at a hawk and risk shooting someone or something else accidentally?

Actually, how many birds/animals must one have to qualify them as having 'livestock'? I don't trust the government with their permits and I don't trust trigger-happy people with having permits to kill based on the fact that they must protect...what...oh, 10 chickens?

Yes, hawks and other birds of prey have become bold, desensitised and so forth, but turn it around and look at how many...HOW MANY of them were hunted relentlessly in the past and how many were killed in 'drive-by shootings' or by idiots that just wanted to 'have some fun' doing some target shooting.

Humans are supposed to be intelligent. We should be capable of finding ways to protect without anyone getting killed. Just because you have a permit and a gun, doesn't mean you have to use it/them or that you should.

 

[shortgrass]

The pic was taken by a game camera, while I was sleeping. Been working night for a week. Put it up to keep an eye on them.

Good job with the game cam I'm gonna stay out of that whole kill/ let it be thing... I'm NOT a backyard chickener lol, I'm a rancher with some chickens, in Colorado,...so um, yeah... Don't worry, I don't waste any meat that trips on my 12 gauge

Sorry lol, seriously.... They sell a hose attachment/ sprayer that runs on motion detectors.... It should help, especially since nobody wants to stand outside waiting for a hawk to spray lol

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B004Y...+water+jet&dpPl=1&dpID=31qp7DJ+ddL&ref=plSrch

Voila, save your sleep

 

[HeritageGoose13]

Hawks aren't "fat" or "bold" in our habitat... we're fat and bold in theirs! Just use a mirror/disc and hose, that will be enough. If I see a hawk in a tree in my yard I just shoo them off. Works fine. After a while they move on.