Who Knew I'd Love Raising Chickens?

[Chapel Oak Farms]

We currently have 8 laying hens and Buster, the rooster, along with the fourteen little ones. They tend to stay very near the house during the afternoons. Our a/c unit has a fence around it and that is their favorite hiding place. Before we built their coop they would roost on the fence, which of course made us very nervous. We had a resident bald eagle but a new housing development is being built behind our property and we haven't seen it in quite a while. It may have relocated. The hawks have stayed.

 

[drumstick diva]

Thank you for joining us at Backyard Chickens. Have you checked out the "predator threads," for advice on protecting your flock? One of our members Dobie Lover seems to know the right things to do, to keep her flock safe. You may want to tap into her advice.

 

[Fuchsia]

Hello and welcome to BYC!

 

[sourland]

Hello, Colleen, and welcome to BYC.

 

[Chapel Oak Farms]

Thank you for joining us at Backyard Chickens. Have you checked out the "predator threads," for advice on protecting your flock? One of our members Dobie Lover seems to know the right things to do, to keep her flock safe. You may want to tap into her advice.

I will check those out, thanks!

 

[N F C]

Hi Colleen, thanks for joining us! A secure, covered run is the best protection from hawks in my opinion. Free ranging does have it's benefits, but it also has risks.

Best wishes!

 

[DobieLover]

Hello, Colleen, and welcome to BYC! Glad you joined.
Good luck keeping your flock safe from the hawks.

 

[Isaac 0]

Hello, and welcome to BYC.

 

[chrissynemetz]

Hi and welcome to BYC! We're glad you joined us! Good luck with your flock.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Hi Colleen and welcome to the flock. We have hawks occasionally, I think they migrate through. We have close to 30 birds including 2 roosters. I lost one rooster to a hawk this past spring. One roo led the hens to the coop and safety; the other stayed behind and did battle, sacrificing himself. I replaced him with a Black Jersey Giant. Half my flock is Black Australorps (the rest are Easter Eggers). I heard and have seen that crows chase hawks away. These BA hens look like big black crows. Have not seen hawks in months, so maybe they are effective deterrents!