Will this reduce my risk of an aerial attack?

[ChixPix]

I have 18 chickens, 4 ducks. Right now they are all cooped up together, but soon the ducks will have their own coop/run (attached to the chicken coop/run.

I will be putting everyone up at night, so right now, I'm not majorly predator proof. I just have 2x4 welded wire on 2 ends, and a regular 6' fence on the other 2.

When visiting a trout hatchery, I noticed that they had wires that were strung across the ponds to keep birds from swooping in and taking trout. I'm wondering if I ran a few wires across the run if that would cut down on the chances of hawks coming in. I was thinking of tying a bit of fabric onto it so they could see something was there. If I had a problem, then I'd already have a support in place for some deer netting.

I live in the country, we see hawks around, but I haven't seen any *here* We actually have a flock of buzzards up the road but I don't think they are interested in the chickens.

Really stupid idea? or plausible?

Hubs thinks stupid and gives me the "you're a crazy chicken lady" look when I say it.

 

[pkforever]

I heard you can string cds around the coop and run. I guess the reflection deters the hawks.

 

[calista]

I've been researching using wire strung over a run, too, and you might be interested in this excerpt from a government site discussing ways of deterring bird predation at fish hatcheries:

"Overhead Wire Systems--Overhead wire systems, consisting of monofilament and stainless steel wire, can be a durable, all-weather alternative to netting for excluding aerial avian predators such as gulls, ospreys, and cormorants from both ponds and raceways. However, when combined with perimeter fencing or netting, a durable, all-weather, cost-effective system can be created to deter herons as well. For example, the Limestone Springs hatchery in Pennsylvania has successfully excluded both great blue herons and black-crowned night herons by using a perimeter chain-link fence to support an overhead monofilament line system spaced at 6-inch intervals. Wire spacing of 10 inches may be adequate. To prevent these birds from landing on the chain-link fence and dropping through the wires, an electric fence was installed along the top of the chain-link fence.

Where a chain-link fence is cost prohibitive, some barrier such as netting at the sides and ends is recommended for preventing both herons and aerial predators from entering to enhance the barrier's effectiveness and to minimize bird injury, streamers or other materials should be hung from lines to make them more visible."

So you might invest in a few spools of monofilament fishing line and experiment using their placement guidelines, as I figure hawks can be excluded this way just as well as herons.

http://www.aphis.usda.gov/ws/birdpred.html#prevent

 

[ivan3]

CD's/DVD's are very good: https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=44145

 

[ChixPix]

Thank you all for the links! I'm going to give it a try for sure now.

I like the CD's too, and I'm thinking I'll try making something that attachs to the fenceposts on the run (I have fence on 2 sides) out of cd's. Maybe a round large bead, then a cd screwed into the top of the post... so it wobbles in the wind.
Interesting.

My neighbors are gonna think I'm crazy.