Trying to Foil a Red-Tailed Hawk

[BigBlueHen53]

Birds are in migration right now. Keep your eyes open, but it could be a week or so before THAT HAWK moves on. Others may still be around for a bit.

Thank you, @igorsMistress. I will keep our chickens up each day until they are done laying, then turn them out to free range. They are much safer out tgere than in their big yard where there is no place for them to hide.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

If you are persistent, the hawk should move on. But if you are persistent, the hawk might just be patient and wait for you to move on. Could you erect posts that are slightly taller than you guys? If so, you could hang twine just overhead. I netted my run last year, but I would keep tearing it down every time I went in. It’s such a hassle I put it in my basement and will not even look at it anymore, so I definitely get where you’re coming from.

Thanks for the suggestion. This would definitely be more hassle than it's worth! Posts are not practical, even (or especially!) T-posts... DH is 6'2, do they even make t-posts long enough to be taller than him once they are driven in? They would have to be 8 or 9 feet tall. How would you drive them? Especially in rocky soil. And what would something like that cost? Just not practical. I have thought of all kinds of solutions. Just waiting him out is all I can think of.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

I had my first run in with a hawk, and it's not going away. I also have a large run that can not be covered 100%. Just hope I have smart enough chickens, but they have proved to me they aren't already lol.

No... chickens are just about smart enough to be chickens, but that's about it. Is why we love them so much.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Even if this one moves on, if you have hawks in the area and your chickens are out in the open like that, no trees or shelter, expect losses. If you want to save your birds you will need to build a bigger run and keep them confined in a safe place. Fence as large of an area as you are able and put bird netting over it. People who free range expect losses from time to time. We have some small hawks, not big enough to take on a chicken, who go after the doves in our yard. It is so easy for them, even with trees...especially with trees...they sit on a branch, wait for the doves and robins to start pecking at the ground and simply drop on them. It's a smorgasbord of wildlife birds for them here. They also get the occasional squirrel.

Sure am sorry you have to deal with this.

Thank you for your sympathy and support. Again, we have a very large area fenced in but it is not practical to cover it with bird netting. We have free ranged for 9 years with no losses to hawks until now.

 

[ValerieJ]

Thanks for the suggestion. This would definitely be more hassle than it's worth! Posts are not practical, even (or especially!) T-posts... DH is 6'2, do they even make t-posts long enough to be taller than him once they are driven in? They would have to be 8 or 9 feet tall. How would you drive them? Especially in rocky soil. And what would something like that cost? Just not practical. I have thought of all kinds of solutions. Just waiting him out is all I can think of.

When I say pvc t-posts, I mean some my DH made with pvc pipes. Yes they are tall enough for my 6'5" DH to walk under. We bought the netting on Amazon about $38 for a 50' x 50' net, best deal I could find. He tied them off to the fence line using tension on both sides. We have been having heavy winds here lately and they are standing quite sturdy. You wouldn't have to put them that far in the ground, just enough to help with the stability.

 

[ValerieJ]

Thank you for your sympathy and support. Again, we have a very large area fenced in but it is not practical to cover it with bird netting. We have free ranged for 9 years with no losses to hawks until now.

I understand. Our area is only 4,000 sq ft, which I think is considerably smaller than what you are talking about. We also have all the trees that you can see there, which helped with our project, while also presenting challenges. LOL But, we are not dealing with hawks. If we were, they would just land in the trees and drop down on the chickens. We do have a different situation.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

I did find a pile of BO feathers in a corner of the chickens' big yard, so apparently the hawk did come back when I wasn't watching.

All the chickens are remaining huddled in the hen house, not even coming out into the little yard, so they know the hawk is out there. Egg production has been down for two days. So yeah, I'll be keeping them close for a while. Poor things. Better hunting elsewhere, RTH!

 

[BigBlueHen53]

We are definitely going to have to provide cover for them in their fenced yard!

I think @Shadrach mostly free ranges. Shad, can you help me out here?

 

[Shadrach]

We are definitely going to have to provide cover for them in their fenced yard!

I think @Shadrach mostly free ranges. Shad, can you help me out here?

hello @BigBlueHen53
When the first chicken here died on my watch I was so angry and upset. The hawk didn't even eat much of it. Eight years later when I find yet another limp pile of feathers that earlier that day had been perched on the back of my chair, I just feel sad. Most of the anger has gone.
I know you've seen pictures of the chickens here. I ask you, don't you think they look, well, happy for want of a better description?
I made a conscious decision when I took over the chickens here, no more chickens in cages. If your chickens free range some are going to die. Even in many runs and coops, they don't offer chickens that much more protection than they would have roosting up a tree.

There are things one can do to make a hawks life more difficult. Whether your chickens can learn to use cover fast enough is another matter. Big bushes in their runs work well and I mean big. Palisade type fencing boxes will work as well made 3 foot wide, 3 foot long and three foot tall with slats placed on all sides and top at a distance wide enough for a running chicken to get through but not a hawk with open wings. There are alternatives that can be made using some fencing that you bend into a circle and put a lid on the top.
I've made one using something called Stock Net attached to a couple of stakes driven into the ground and a dustbin lid as the top.
I've found with the Goshawks here that they hang about for a couple of days and hunt elsewhere. They are not open ground hunting specialists and there are easier kills in the woods.
An important point I want to make is for most free range chicken keepers there comes a transition point when you are no longer keeping chickens but more managing a chicken population. You know all creatures die and many not from old age. Here they can do all that normal stuff if they free range. They can pick their partners, sit and hatch the next generation, go where they want. They get housing if they need it, health care as well and get fed and a house cleaner into the bargain. If someone offered me a life like that I would be impressed. It doesn't mean I wont get hit by a bus tomorrow though.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

hello @BigBlueHen53
When the first chicken here died on my watch I was so angry and upset. The hawk didn't even eat much of it. Eight years later when I find yet another limp pile of feathers that earlier that day had been perched on the back of my chair, I just feel sad. Most of the anger has gone.
I know you've seen pictures of the chickens here. I ask you, don't you think they look, well, happy for want of a better description?
I made a conscious decision when I took over the chickens here, no more chickens in cages. If your chickens free range some are going to die. Even in many runs and coops, they don't offer chickens that much more protection than they would have roosting up a tree.

There are things one can do to make a hawks life more difficult. Whether your chickens can learn to use cover fast enough is another matter. Big bushes in their runs work well and I mean big. Palisade type fencing boxes will work as well made 3 foot wide, 3 foot long and three foot tall with slats placed on all sides and top at a distance wide enough for a running chicken to get through but not a hawk with open wings. There are alternatives that can be made using some fencing that you bend into a circle and put a lid on the top.
I've made one using something called Stock Net attached to a couple of stakes driven into the ground and a dustbin lid as the top.
I've found with the Goshawks here that they hang about for a couple of days and hunt elsewhere. They are not open ground hunting specialists and there are easier kills in the woods.
An important point I want to make is for most free range chicken keepers there comes a transition point when you are no longer keeping chickens but more managing a chicken population. You know all creatures die and many not from old age. Here they can do all that normal stuff if they free range. They can pick their partners, sit and hatch the next generation, go where they want. They get housing if they need it, health care as well and get fed and a house cleaner into the bargain. If someone offered me a life like that I would be impressed. It doesn't mean I wont get hit by a bus tomorrow though.

Hi, Shad, thanks for your help and perspective! I can't select and bold the phrases in your post that I want to reference, so I will just have to ask: can you post pics of what you mean by "pallisade" type protection, and also these open-type cages you're talking about with lids? We had bent some 4' sections of fencing into cylinders a few years back as potato and squash cages, but they got so hot they burned the plants. If we can use those, it would be great but I don't quite get what you mean. Thanks!