This hawk is making me go insane...

[otis7]

He killed my little buddy a few days before Christmas.
Mr. Boh, we miss you everyday. He was a sweet and gentle soul. Protective, loving towards his hens, respectful to us. Great little man. He was a fairly large bantom, not sure what he was. Barred rock? we bought him for 4 dollars from a byb, thinking he was a hen.

He was our first loss from a predator.

Anyway, my four hens have been couped/runned since. The hawk comes back every **** day. I know now when he's here even when I can't see him. The wild birds leave the feeder, everything gets still and quiet and the hair stands up on the back of my neck. One of the blue jays starts alerting, and generally about 5 minutes after that he does a pass over the yard. We don't have crows here unfortunately, but occasionally I hear one caw in the distance and within a few minutes I see the hawk. I'm amazed he finds anything to eat, because it seems like he's always here! Needless to say, my hens are going crazy. I rigged up a little four foot high pen that leads out from their 6 by 10 covered run. I have to sit out there with them since they could jump it and it's
uncovered, but at least they get some grass! I can't do anything else but sit on a 5 gallon bucket and watch them desperately slurp down grass, because as soon as I open that run door the hawk does a fly by within 5 to 10 minutes. He is NOT afraid of me, at all!
I ordered a bird banger pistol with screamer rounds for a whooping $150 dollars. I'm so looking forward to repeatedly scaring the crap out of this guy. I'm so over it. I feel like I myself am being hunted. Thankfully now when I yell "HAWK!" all the girls run into the coop.

 

[foreverlearning]

I feel your pain, I lost my best rooster and my only broody 2 days after Christmas to a hawk. Then when I hadn't seen him for a few days, 3 of my chicks got out of the run and he got all three. My girls are mad at me for having to pen them up, they are used to free ranging 3 acres. That being said I should warn you that it is illegal to kill a hawk, so don't get caught! I wish you peaceful days to come.

 

[otis7]

I wouldnt hurt the hawk, he's just doing what he does. It's my choice to keep fat feathered little birds. The bird banger is just a scare gun for agricultural use. Shoots off a fire work sounding pellet.

Sorry for your losses, it's so frustrating!

 

[aart]

I would suggest losing the wild bird feeder as it attracts hawks who are after the wild birds you are feeding.

 

[otis7]

Thats probably true, but I am also quite attached to my wild birds. Some are such regulars I've given them names!

 

[Stephanie-hall]

My hens are free range I've got an assortment of hen breeds a few months back we lost one of the 2 remaining silkies we had to a hawk. We thought it was over because we didn't see it again for a while after I chased after it one morning and spooked it. Well long story short yesterday the huge hawk came back to kill the last silkie we had (the daughter of the first kill) and no more then 10 minutes later killed my youngest but adult light brahma hen. My step dad was home heard the commotion and came out shooting paintballs around the hawk to scare it off not actually hitting the hawk. I would have been less kind if I was home illegal or not (the hawk isn't eating them it's just killing them) we have seen this hawk before killing squirrels when our little ones where outside to begin with when we got our first flock do not know what has changed with this hawk other then it grew up we have an abundance of squirrels for the hawk they are a flippin plague here this hawk is by far the biggest hawk I've ever seen myself it's got to have a flippin 4 foot wing span I've got no idea what it is breed wise but I need it gone. We don't have a run for our girls we used to have roosters but have passed away last year either to old age, being killed by other roosters or cancer/tumors. When our hens have hopefully lived a full life and pass away we don't plan on getting any more we can't handle the losses of our little feather babies. Any help or suggestions would be much appreciated as we live in a neighborhood with only one other house with chickens down the street and another neighbor feeds pigeons which I have also seen the hawk munch on a couple years ago.our house has a funny set up and we are going to build a higher fence around where our hens are so they can't jump out of our little chicken yard we are turning into a little run.

 

[Munching]

Bottle Rockets that Whistle and have a Report (Boom) work very well in scaring Birds of Pray including Bald Eagles.

 

[aart]

The only way to really protect your chooks from hawks is to keep them in a mesh covered run.....

......free ranging is romantic and can be practical as far as food procurement, but the reality is it's very risky.

 

[otis7]

I finally got my scare gun in the mail. After two days of sitting out in the rigged up uncovered run I never saw the hawk once. Previously he'd come within 5 minutes. The good news, a flock of crows has taken up around our property. For four whole days I didn't see him once. This morning I walked outside and the **** hawk flew over, hovered about 15 feet above me with his little head cocked down just checking me out. Of course, I didn't have my "gun.". I was so mad! I think the crows have him riled up. I want to scare the poop out of that **** hawk!

 

[aart]

If the crows stay around, some folks feed them so they will, that is probably the best 'natural' deterrents to hawks.