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

[AntiqueB]

I have apple trees, a peach tree, and a maple in my yard, and swamp maples and sycamores across the street. The hawks generally like to sit on trees across the street to eye my chickens. I rarely see them in my trees. I think they prefer to swoop in, rather than swoop straight down. Breaking up their line of sight with shrubs, vines, or even our metal arbor seems to work well, too.

 

[TheAlrightyGina]

Trees help break up a hawk's line of sight while they're soaring around looking for food, if nothing else. I have several with low hanging branches in my backyard, and while I've seen plenty of hawks, I've never lost a bird to one. My chickens don't free range all the time, but when they do, I'm generally not supervising (though I am usually in earshot). Sometimes I put my dog out there to keep an eye on them (Great Pyrenees/Anatolian Shepherd) if I'm feeling nervous. There always seems to be one or two chickens with their eye on the sky, and they duck and run under the deck or into the bushes when they see a shadow.

I've planted an Osage Orange screen to shade my run (and muffle that glorious egg song). They grow fast, and once they get tall and dense enough, ain't nothing coming through 'em, and I'll be keeping them trimmed around the base so both my chickens and I can safely pass under. Closer to the run I'm slowly adding Barberry bushes. The chickens don't bother them, and I figure they'll discourage anything from trying to get through the fence.

 

[JessicaDotta]

I watch It if you got a cherry tree. When they get stressed they produce cyanide and their pits cant be eaten in excess. I recommend huckleberry bushes. I have my chicken coop underneath a large maple tree. I’m in Tennessee and it’s necessary to keep them under a tree for the shade. Mine free range, too and hide from hawks beneath bushes and trees.

 

[TooCheep]

I have a mini orchard- 6 fruit trees all 8-10' tall. Never seen any hawks on them, but they provide nice shade and cover for the girls. I have seen hawks perched in taller trees on the neighbors property. When mine spot a hawk, they usually run under some nearby berry bushes.

 

[The Kooky Kiwi]

I'm in NZ and I have an orchard of very neglected fruit trees directly next to my chicken run. For a time my flock were housed IN the orchard and I can say the trees all provided GREAT protection from our predatory birds on the wing (We have harrier hawks and NZ Falcon).

I found my chickens loved the Avocado tree the most - it is very green and leafy from above and sides but quite open with spaced out branches inside. Bonus is our Avocados are evergreen so provide protection all year around.

Their second favourites were the apple and apricot trees. They didn't roost in these like they did with the Avo's but they definitely used them for shade and as cover from aerial attacks.

My trees are all relatively close together, room to get a ride-on mower between them but not much more.

I'd say heck yeah plant those trees!!

 

[rosemarythyme]

Don't know about fruit trees, but trees in general can go either way. I have a willow tree overhanging my run, which provides some shade, leaf litter in the fall, and the birds even nibble the new leaf buds. Downside is I need to prune it back twice a year as the weight of all the new growth puts strain on the netting.

As the run is now fully netted the issue of birds of prey is moot.

 

[PatinOxford]

I don't know necessarily about hawks in fruit trees, I feel like they generally prefer higher nesting grounds.

You will likely get a higher concentration of rodents (mice, rabbits, rats) eating the fruit off the ground along with increased insect activity.

Well, that will be a nice protein source for the chickens. Ours chase, catch, and eat mice, toads, and any insect they can get their beaks on.

 

[Let There be farms]

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.

If this can help, we have trees all around the chicken area but it actually helps. Yes the hawks come on the trees but that means we get to "deal" with them from our bedroom window. So unless your against "protecting" your flock this way, it actually makes it easier for us to protect our chickens and loose less or them. We also have little bushes/trees under the bigger trees where the chickens flock too when there's a hawk and the hawks cant get them under there so that helps them also.

 

[MusicDude]

My wife planted forsythias beside the coop inside the chicken yard and the hens seem to enjoy the shade they provide. Plus the bushes are too flimsy for anything to perch there.

 

[Sierra G]

"Compromise" with him and plant dwarf fruit trees. They're too short to appeal to hawks, will still give some shade, produce sooner, and are easier to maintain. Also, since they're smaller you can get more variety in the same amount of space.