We have heavy hawk predation here.I went to all black chickens. Australorps, Black jersey giants and Marans. I also put up white poultry netting, making a long narrow run to make it harder for hawks to dive in and get out. I bought a few crow decoys and owl decoys with the heads that move in the wind. I put them on the fence near the chicken run. Its been about 3 months since I changed the setup. So far so good.
First time here, I did hit the like for ya! But gotta question for you hopefully you can help me out. I hatched some French Black copper Maran chicks 3 to 4 weeks ago. Have to look at a calendar to know for sure. But how can I know which are roo's and which are pullets! Just by looking at them, or wings n legs or whatever. So if you want a suggestion on how to keep all your birds safer . When I let my chickens free range I either do so when I can stay sitting outside with them or I put them in a chickens tractor. The chickens tractor I use is mostly wire and 1x1 framing so very very light. & my wife and daughter move it wherever they want them moved to. I move the chicken trail . That's hard chicken wired from the attached chicken run to the coop. It's super simple design. That is a bunch of maybe 3 foot sections of chicken wire & old cedar picket fence boards . Can add or subtract to get the length needed to the chicken tractor. But haven't lost a single bird to a predator in 12 years of keeping chickens
So there are all kinds of ways I’ve heard of determining whether or not you have a hen or rooster the only two that I use is either when they start crowing lol or you can normally tell by their saddle feathers I believe is what they are called. Either way they are the feathers that run down the neck and stop about where a saddle would lay. If the feathers are very pointed then you have a rooster if they are rounded then you have a hen. With black coppers the hens have a large comb so you can’t really tell bases off their combs. My first batch I thought I had all roosters lol.
I don’t know if you have Osprey they have no mercy on taking out every single bird they can. Don’t matter about color. I have new maran hens and the hawk not Osprey had 5 trapped under my pine tree. And I’m glad they saw him in time. They’re copper and majestic maran. They know it’s a chicken. My eastereggers two died of Osprey. I had to just build fences and covers due to Osprey
Oh, my easteregger went down by who was a slow runner. The Osprey fly faster than hawks they picked off the biggest hens first. Color of egger was Dark brown and black. Whatever can’t get out of the way the hawk aims for the Head.
Yeah I’m not sure which type of hawk. All I know is that I went a long time without aerial predator problems. And then once they started, they would not stop until the buffet ended. I finally got the remaining birds in a pen with a cover, Fort Knox. 😂
Yeah since day light is shorter I noticed hawk back by my pond at day break hunting then about noon I can let my chickens out. But, I wish I had a better pen set up. Right now I’ve got a couple chicken hawks and one sparrow hawk sneaking around .@@HolloHomestead
So we have had some chicks hatched but I haven’t bought any. I am planning on redoing our chicken runs to be more secure so I haven’t wanted to load up with the predator pressure that we have right now.
We had a fenced in area and a smaller about 8 week old chicken got killed and now we have a net over the area but our chickens really want out but I'm afraid to let them free range cause the hawk is still around, not sure what to do. I looked it up and hawks can see color which makes sence
Yeah hawks have been the worse to try and deal with. I am in the process of trying to put shade cloth over a large section so I don’t feel as bad about locking them up. But the hawk was going to take them all out 😂
We have heavy hawk predation here.I went to all black chickens. Australorps, Black jersey giants and Marans. I also put up white poultry netting, making a long narrow run to make it harder for hawks to dive in and get out. I bought a few crow decoys and owl decoys with the heads that move in the wind. I put them on the fence near the chicken run. Its been about 3 months since I changed the setup. So far so good.
I have wondered if this owls actually worked hopefully it stays that way.
💜
Thanks
I agree with you from my experience
Thanks for watching
First time here, I did hit the like for ya!
But gotta question for you hopefully you can help me out.
I hatched some French Black copper Maran chicks 3 to 4 weeks ago. Have to look at a calendar to know for sure.
But how can I know which are roo's and which are pullets!
Just by looking at them, or wings n legs or whatever.
So if you want a suggestion on how to keep all your birds safer .
When I let my chickens free range I either do so when I can stay sitting outside with them or I put them in a chickens tractor. The chickens tractor I use is mostly wire and 1x1 framing so very very light. & my wife and daughter move it wherever they want them moved to. I move the chicken trail . That's hard chicken wired from the attached chicken run to the coop. It's super simple design. That is a bunch of maybe 3 foot sections of chicken wire & old cedar picket fence boards . Can add or subtract to get the length needed to the chicken tractor.
But haven't lost a single bird to a predator in 12 years of keeping chickens
So there are all kinds of ways I’ve heard of determining whether or not you have a hen or rooster the only two that I use is either when they start crowing lol or you can normally tell by their saddle feathers I believe is what they are called. Either way they are the feathers that run down the neck and stop about where a saddle would lay. If the feathers are very pointed then you have a rooster if they are rounded then you have a hen. With black coppers the hens have a large comb so you can’t really tell bases off their combs. My first batch I thought I had all roosters lol.
@Hollo Homestead thank you looks like we have 4 hens & 2 rooster 🐓
Crows make them live hard. Makes sense they might pass over black birds.
Yeah that’s my thoughts too.
I don’t know if you have Osprey they have no mercy on taking out every single bird they can. Don’t matter about color. I have new maran hens and the hawk not Osprey had 5 trapped under my pine tree. And I’m glad they saw him in time. They’re copper and majestic maran. They know it’s a chicken. My eastereggers two died of Osprey. I had to just build fences and covers due to Osprey
Oh, my easteregger went down by who was a slow runner. The Osprey fly faster than hawks they picked off the biggest hens first. Color of egger was Dark brown and black. Whatever can’t get out of the way the hawk aims for the Head.
Yeah I’m not sure which type of hawk. All I know is that I went a long time without aerial predator problems. And then once they started, they would not stop until the buffet ended. I finally got the remaining birds in a pen with a cover, Fort Knox. 😂
Yeah since day light is shorter I noticed hawk back by my pond at day break hunting then about noon I can let my chickens out. But, I wish I had a better pen set up. Right now I’ve got a couple chicken hawks and one sparrow hawk sneaking around .@@HolloHomestead
I had a white Americana that got killed by a hawk
It seems to me that the hawks did go for the lighter colored birds.
Wow ....I have always heard that black chickens were safer from attack bc they resemble crows. Go figure. 🙄
I have lose some black ones but the majority have been every other color.
You must be in a bad place for hawks ! Sorry about that! Have you got more chickens back since this video?
So we have had some chicks hatched but I haven’t bought any. I am planning on redoing our chicken runs to be more secure so I haven’t wanted to load up with the predator pressure that we have right now.
We had a fenced in area and a smaller about 8 week old chicken got killed and now we have a net over the area but our chickens really want out but I'm afraid to let them free range cause the hawk is still around, not sure what to do.
I looked it up and hawks can see color which makes sence
Yeah hawks have been the worse to try and deal with. I am in the process of trying to put shade cloth over a large section so I don’t feel as bad about locking them up. But the hawk was going to take them all out 😂
@@HolloHomestead yeah we have a fenced in area, but my family wants to let them free-range but I'm afraid they would get killed.
It's difficult 😕
I went a long time with out losing birds. Just lock them down if you start getting unwanted visitors