Trees next to run? I want to tell my husband he is wrong

[Birdsonghill]

I have lots of hawks and owls around my homestead. I would rather have the trees and lose some chickens occasionally, but actually only allow my birds to free range in a limited area only when I can be out with them. For a very good summer time shade, Hops vines (Cascade hops are especially vigorous and heat resistant here) can likely not be beat! They grow extremely fast each early spring and quickly reach 10 to 20 feet long/tall on a coop. Planted a couple of years and prospering, they cover the side and grow over the top each spring within weeks of coming up! By mid summer my hops vines cover about 5 to 6 feet wide and 15 to 20 feet long! They die down with a freeze to the ground and let warm winter sun come in later(when it is available). They smell pleasant, were used in old times in satchet's and pillows to make pleasant dreams at rest! That is besides the usefulness in homebrew beer! I grow Liberty and Cascade hops here in the mid south zone 7b were it is very hot and humid, making some varieties difficult here, that have not prospered as well. Good luck with your chickens!

 

[Birdielee]

I'd be more worried about raccoons having easier access, and the fence becoming harder to maintain because of branches.

 

[Mountain Roost]

I have mature fruit trees and large fir trees and the red tail hawks still get a chicken once and a while. Mostly in the late fall/early winter when the chickens are slow moving.

The chickens and geese love the apples. The hawks do sit in the fir trees. The chickens do hide and roost (daytime) in the fir trees.

A hawk will learn your daily habits and routines and wait for you not to be around and wait for the chickens to be occupied eating and then come in for a kill. We let the golden rod and other vegetation grow up in some areas as extra cover during summer.

 

[Liz Birdlover]

I want to plant fruit trees next or near my chicken run to help provide shade for the run and protection when free ranging. My husband thinks the fruits trees will give the hawks somewhere to hide and hunt. Pro or Con having fruit trees next to or near chicken run.

I have 1 Magnolia tree by my chicken pens, it provides nice shade at times. I keep the lower part of the tree pruned clean so roaming cats won't hide in it.

For more shade, each of my chickens' pens has a shade gazebo with a perch & provides a dry dustbath spot towards the back (not under perch part obviously).

I do shape & trim the Magnolia tree. When I 1st moved here it was 30' tall and very scraggly, a tornado took it out, but it grew back nice and thick, so I trim & prune to keep foliage thick. There are a lot of hawks where I live because it's the migratory flyway. I've seen just about every variety Hawk there is, as well as Peregrine falcons, but they're more interested in my homing pigeons than the chickens. I am not here every moment of the day, so it is possible hawks could perch in the Magnolia. My chickens are safe in their predator proof pens though, not out free ranging. I can't free range anyway because my idiot neighbor feeds foxes and the foxes are in my yard constantly.

There's also a grove of woods with trees next door to my property. Winter when there are no leaves I can see the hawks, I clap my hands & the hawks take off. I am sure there are hawks around my place most of the time. Anyway, the possibility of hawks perching in any tree, Near or far, To scope out your chickens, or any mice, rabbits or snakes out and about, will happen, they gotta hunt to eat. The question is, are your chickens safe? If they are free ranging, there's a risk whether there's a tree or not.

Hawks can spot their prey and zoom in from flying above just as well as from a perched spot, but a spot to perch will allow them to hang out for extended periods. I always know when a Hawk is just hanging out because I will look out and see not one single pigeon or chicken out in their pens, they will go inside the coop or loft. This doesn't happen a lot, mostly in the Winter when finding prey is harder for the hawks.

There are pros And cons to the tree idea. If the tree is full with a lot of leaves like my Magnolia is now, the hawks don't really hang out in that tree. If a tree has visibility for the Hawk, not too dense with leaves and you can look at the tree and see some branches, that is the type of tree the Hawks like to sit in.

Fruit trees need regular pruning to produce fruit anyway, so by pruning the tree, it will become more dense in foliage. What type of fruit trade are you thinking of? Some fruit trees attract other wildlife. I had a fig tree that was Always being visited by possum and raccoon & foxes as well as lots of bees & wasps. It was a mess. I got rid of the fig tree. If I ever plant another fruit bearing tree, it will be far from my chickens and pigeons, but that's just my experience here, lots of predators at my place.

 

[upinrunnin]

We have apple trees in our chicken area as well as other trees and my experience is that hawks like to swoop in and out easily and the trees are more of a deterrent. Someone mentioned vines and we had some with out last run and one of the chickens got caught up in it so we don't do that anymore.

 

[Liz Birdlover]

Forgot to mention, the types of hawks that can really zoom & maneuver well through trees & hang out alot in trees are the long tailed Cooper or Sparrow hawks.

The bigger hawks, such as Red Tailed, usually soar around high in big circles, and often join their cousins, the Buzzards, in the leisurely gliding flights. I've seen Red Tails zoom down for snakes or fat rabbits often, but they never seem interested in my pigeons or chickens, and they are here on a regular basis because they live here year round.

Red Shoulders visit as well, but not very often, & they only hang out a day or 2 then move on. There are lots of field mice here, so if hawks are catching mice, they will hang out until there aren't anymore mice or rabbits to catch, then usually they will move on.

The fastest & most aggressive is the Cooper hawk, they fly like jet pilots through tree branches, and they will go after anything and everything if they're hungry. If they miss meals for a few days they get very weak. I've actually caught a few, scooped them up at dusk in a towel and took them up to the bird rescue 2 hours North, so they could feed them a few days, then release them up there.

Usually, if there's a food source of mice, snakes or whatever, they will hang around, but if they don't get to eat they will move on as they do need to eat something daily. They often make the rounds of areas at certain times, so your place might be a pit stop along the route, but if they don't catch anything to eat, they may drop your place as one of their regular pit stops. I see most hawks early morning & an hour before dusk.

I want my birds to be safe, but as you can tell I also love the wildlife and I have great admiration and respect for the birds of prey. Is interesting to learn their habits, and it's a gift to be able to admire their beauty and catch a great photograph once in a while.

If I do let my chickens free range with me as I garden, I can sort of wave a predator off. Many times I have waved my rake or shovel in the air to deter a zooming hawk Lol. When my young pigeons are flying, I let the more experienced racing pigeons out with them to teach the young to fly & be wary. They'll all fly in beautiful formation, but when a hawk shows up they'll scatter, confusing the hawk. If I'm there I can confuse hawk more, clapping hands loudly, yelling, throwing my work glove or a Frisbee towards hawk to confuse him. A more experienced Hawk will fixate on 1 pigeon & sometimes have a hit, but most times my pigeons get away.

In a perfect world we would all like to free range our chickens, it is healthier for them, but the reality is, you have to adjust to where you live, and with predators, as in my case, I have to have secure pens here, or I would have no chickens left at all.

 

[Birdsonghill]

I tried free range here for years. I lost about 50% of my birds some years to hawk, owls, dogs, fox, mink and unknown animal attacks. That was using electric fencing around the perimeter to attempt keeping some predators out. I found I had to be willing to kill neighbors pets (repeatedly a problem over the years), endangered , protected and beautiful species of raptors and keep traps out and maintained/moved/checked regularly. I killed raccoons, fox and minks occasionally for doing what they must to live. I found I would rather have more secure runs than the constant vigilance and killing required to maintain free ranging chickens. Trees are neither a help nor a overwhelming problem in the protection of chickens from predators. However, they provide necessary shade here in our hot climate. I have used tall and narrow, fenced runs with strings attached across the top every 15 feet and with tape/rags attached, fluttering every few feet on the crossing strings to discourage raptors(electric wires to stop dogs on the outside of the fence) with good success.( works best on runs no more than about 15 feet wide and at least 6 feet tall, but runs can be as long as you need, some of mine 100 plus feet long at times) My fully covered run (fully enclosed is the most effective and I use it mostly) attached to the coop is the only way chickens will likely die of old age here! Chickens can find as many ways to die as you can imagine. You can not make them 100 percent safe anymore than you can be 100 percent safe from all causes of accidents or infectious diseases! We must consider our location and circumstances to protect our chickens. That is very different for some people living in more urban or rural natural but hostile environments that has less predatory wildlife per square mile. Shade can be just as important to your flocks health as predator protection! Make plenty of shade for them somehow! Chickens health and comfort requires shade to not suffer, to survive and to prosper.

 

[spaceylocust]

I've been debating trees by my run as well. I have an evergreen which they love the overhang but I don't let them free range especially now with leaves just coming in on other trees. They love my elm tree but I've been thinking bamboo behind my run between the back and my fence. Would probably get a low grower and "fluffy" version of thin branches variety so nothing can nest above

Before planting bamboo, please check your state's ag website to see if it is considered invasive. It spreads by underground runners, can get seriously thick and nearly impossible to eradicate. When it gets out of hand, you can always clear cut it and replace your home flooring with beautiful bamboo flooring!

 

[spaceylocust]

If I were you, I'd plant the trees. We planted several fruit trees last year, although they aren't near the coop area. We plan to use them for extra food for the birds. I do plan to plant some fruit bushes closer to their area for cover and food.

All of these are wonderful cover suggestions. We free range our birds and they have cover of large walnut trees, wild blackberry brambles with wild grapes mixed in, and whatever else is growing wild in there.

No matter what you have for the chickens to hide under, a hawk, who is determined, can get them. Last year, I interrupted a Cooper's Hawk who was ON THE GROUND heading into the brambles to get the chickens. It was early fall, if memory serves, so the trees still had leaves. The hawk didn't get a meal that day. The rooster was raising the alarm which is what sent me back there.

We've lost 14 chickens and 2 roosters in the past 1 1/2 years so we now have a large dog and a .22. I also added a guardian goose to the mix (she's only a month old now but an excellent mother to the chicks and very protective). No losses since we got the dog (Feb.) and I have seen the hawks riding the air columns since we got her.

Let us know what you end up doing!

 

[Cj Tracker]

Before planting bamboo, please check your state's ag website to see if it is considered invasive. It spreads by underground runners, can get seriously thick and nearly impossible to eradicate. When it gets out of hand, you can always clear cut it and replace your home flooring with beautiful bamboo flooring!

Yes I've heard that and getting familiar with different species of them
I planted some large ferns for little cover for now as a quick fix. Thanks for the reply