Trying to Foil a Red-Tailed Hawk

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Oops! My finger accidentally tapped Post before I was ready. I wanted to say, I'm glad the RTH was foiled in his attempt to reduce your flock! Good roosters! Good fat hens! Lol!

Yeah, we thought about the criss-crossed fishing line, but could see it just wasn't practical. I've heard the hawk but haven't seen or heard him come close again. I think he's a little frustrated.
 
Shadrach said:
The general idea is you have a few of these constructions in a large run. Bushes are better, but these will offer some protection.
You need to make sure your chickens can get through the gaps. These constructions allow a chicken to go in and out at multiple points.
The stock net fence circles are the easiest to make. The wooden palisade type can look reasonably attractive, especially if the tops are covered in branches.
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Thanks, @Shadrach , I see now what you are saying. We have evergreen conifers so that might work for us. I also have some skinny little branches I can put over what I have that will help for now. We use it for kindling but I have way more than I need. Thank you for sharing your ideas!

I will have to get some fencing with the bigger openings, though. Right now what we have has the smaller openings. They can only get in from the ends.
 
RTHs have to swoop in / down to get their strike fast enough to make the kill (which is why they love it when a chicken goes out in the open field). If you have obstacles that they judge their wings won't fit through (like tree branches, etc) generally you will be ok. That said- they're industrious creatures designed to survive, so you never know what they'll do. I've read a few posts on here where they've gotten stuck in coops sneaking through little openings! Never seen anything like that, but yeah... yikes.
 
Thanks for all this information. I got my chickens June 2018 so it hasn't been long. Just a few weeks ago there has been a hawk (or something) that has swooped down ~15ft from the ground. Sounds like a red tail hawk from watching You Tube. We were near by enough to run out there and chase it away. I have been afraid to let the chickens out alone. We only let them out if we are out with them and then we take a dog or two - a Golden Retriever and a Cattle Dog mix. There are at least 2. We saw one swoop through the yard and heard another calling in the trees. This is a backyard situation and there are several trees and a playset and lots of bushes. I have lived here for over 20 years and haven't seen a hawk and used to feed the wild birds a lot. I hope they are passing through!
 
Thanks for all this information. I got my chickens June 2018 so it hasn't been long. Just a few weeks ago there has been a hawk (or something) that has swooped down ~15ft from the ground. Sounds like a red tail hawk from watching You Tube. We were near by enough to run out there and chase it away. I have been afraid to let the chickens out alone. We only let them out if we are out with them and then we take a dog or two - a Golden Retriever and a Cattle Dog mix. There are at least 2. We saw one swoop through the yard and heard another calling in the trees. This is a backyard situation and there are several trees and a playset and lots of bushes. I have lived here for over 20 years and haven't seen a hawk and used to feed the wild birds a lot. I hope they are passing through!
 
BigBlueHen53 said:
Survival is a strong instinct. I really respect all God's creatures and try to live in balance with them.

(Not ticks, though. Ticks are an aberration. Did I spell that right?)
Click to expand...
I think you mean abhorred...ie "ticks are abhorred" "I abhor ticks (something like that) :p

Have you looked into the migratory pattern of red tailed hawks in your area? That might give you an idea if they will continue to hang around or if they are just passing through. I wish you much luck with your new found predator and was sorry to read about your BO :hugs

ETA: Maybe you meant abomination? I don't know why I'm stuck on this...don't mind me!
 

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