My husband made a wire contraption for our fake owls, whenever a slight breeze comes along the owls spin and move easily. Helps not only with the predators but with the pesky squirrels! Its not a solve all but it has helped!
That sounds awesome. Id like to learn more about that. If your willing to email or dm our Facebook or instagram with a photo of it that would be much appreciated. Thanks for the tip
As an added tip he said he used 556 spent shells in the bottom of the owl that the rod slides in to, for the owl to spin freely on the metal rod. I hope that makes sense.
None of your suggestions have worked for us. I have 6 hens, down from 9 due to 3 attacks in 3 days from redtails. I also read that black chickens keep hawks from attacking. Also, not helpful. One of the hens killed was a black Australorp. Scarecrows wouldn't work for us because the hawk made an attempt to kill a 4th hen and I was standing right next to it as I was crisscrossing string over the area, another suggestion I had read about. By being right there, I was able to knock it off the hen and save her life. A fake owl is not helpful because we have the real thing that sits in a tree above the henhouse, just waiting for a moment to attack. So, after this background, I'll tell you what has worked for a few months now and I have seen hawks parked right outside the run many times, but no attacks. Bird netting. It is a pain to get up but the only thing I tried that actually works. Hope you found the perfect solution for your birds.
Unfortunately we only had temporary success with our attempts. What seemed to finally work was our rooster fought the hawk off and we have since added a goose as well. I agree that netting is the only true guarantee to eliminate the risks.
Invest in a huge nylon net. Sink posts with plastic caps on top to prevent tears and increase the life of the netting. Secure it to the fencing and you’ll eliminate hawks from being able to attack your hens.
I don't have my chickens yet..But I do have hawks in the area and neighbor lost her whole flock. I've been doing research and will be trying the owl decoy and also accompanied with taking my mini speaker (hooked up to my phone) to play screech owl noises several times a week to see if I can chase the hawks away from area before we have the chickens to place in our yards. Our flock will be small enough to have an enclosed run but maybe with the above method of visual decoy of an owl and noise will take care of issues before we have them.
I didn’t think about the noise aspect 🤔. Thanks for sharing. We’ve since added a goose and that seems to have helped a lot. Wishing you best as you begin the chicken journey
For that very reason I put bird netting up over the entire chicken yard. I had a pair of hawks in the area, so I set up a bunch of easy-up type canopies without the tarps, and just used them to hold up the netting. The bottoms of the netting connected to my fencing around the yard. Haven't had a problem yet.
Man it’s been a rough week or two. We will keep on keeping on though. It’s all part of life when you have animals. Hopefully I’ll get some time freed up from work soon and can really rig something up.
It’s not quite a foot high but it does sit on blocks and they go under sometimes. If it was a little higher they could get under quicker. Thanks for the tip
Nice farm my friend, I like the black rooster and the hens are beautiful and healthy!!!As for the hawks , sorry for the loss of the chickens.I lost one hen from hawk and covered the yard with protective net.
Its heart breaking loosing your flock one by one. A couple years ago I had a racoon taking mine out. It was so frustrating. I had to start a new flock. I only have 6 hens so they are now in a large dog kennel with a cover. So far no problems. I hope your hawk problem goes away. Can you do something also to deter it from landing in it's favorite tree..break that routine also. Good luck Stan. Ya'll Stay Safe and God Bless.
It has been very frustrating that’s for sure. Working full time and coaching has limited my free time to address it as quickly as I’d like which was the most frustrating part. I’m going to work on a plan to provide better overhead protection and hopefully this will combat the issue long term
@@RockyCreekHomestead pleasure....we lost 6 baby chick's to either magpie kookaburra or wedgetail eagle this season (I'm downunder), can't be sure but like you say it's a part of keeping animals.
Oh wow. It becomes quite frustrating. Fortunately things have been much better now and we haven’t lost any for a couple months. Hopefully we’re past the issue for now at least.
just found this after having my baby silky murdered by a hawk. It's so sad I watched it happen then 2 hours later I lost my favorite grey baby I only had for 4 weeks. Never had this issue in my life and only a new chicken owner so seeing this and now knowing of the dangers is very stressful
Ah man sorry. I’ve dealt with several predators but this was definitely the most frustrating. It was day after day of them being picked off. Fortunately one of my roosters finally fought it and that seemed to help. I’ve also since added a goose to the flock in hopes it will help. Thus far we’ve made it about 4 months without an issue. Fall and winter will be the ultimate test time.
@@RockyCreekHomestead ah goodluck. hopefully no more issues over there. I'm working on building a roof and a run, mine was free roaming so I guess it's my fault
I'm so sorry. My daughter got 4 baby chickens the beginning of summer and tonight one got killed by a hawk. She had been so carefull watching them. I am just sick as I love those little guys. Whenever I go viist they come running up to me when I get out of the car. They are so cute. I thought I would look up ways to keep those awful birds away.
@@roberta58952 That's how mine were too. Out of the 4 the one that always ran up to me like a dog ended up being murdered. so now they're locked in the shed for a few days until I finish building something
I'm going to get a guardian pup the same time I start my flock in hopes that it will, at least help, prevent hawks. Man I'm sorry for the loss. It's terrible because they are part of the family and fixtures of the homestead. It hurts to lose animals.
I’m not sure that one thing has kept them away but a combo of the handing reflective tape, owl decoys, rooster and a guard goose has now allowed us to make it almost a year without an attack. I do believe a guardian dog would be a solution. Our family dog is quite old now and once she’s no longer with us, we plan to explore that option as well. Although the LGD would be outside all the time, our family dog would still be real worked up about another dog on the property. Our current solution seems to be holding up for now. Thanks for watching
I hope it helps. It’s worked for a week so far. I doubt it will be a forever fix but hopefully it will buy me time until I can come up with something more long term.
Thank you, I appreciate the recommendations. I’m actually planning out a covered roof area for the feeder and waterer. Figured it would give them protection and help to keep food dry on rainy days. Thanks for watching and for the suggestions. Much appreciated.
Oh man that’s crazy. They’re relentless predators. One thing for sure is every predator around tries to get chickens. It takes a lot to keep them safe and secure. I’ve since added a guard goose in with the chickens and it’s been one of the neatest and greatest things I’ve done yet.
Okay, im kinda newer to this whole chicken thing and kinda didn't have a choice but to "adopt" them and take over caring for them. Ive only had 4 for a little less than a year now. I've came a long way and learned a lot and mine seem to be happy and productive with laying eggs. However, I just walked outside and heard a crow hovering around their fenced pen area and "screaming" at them. My biggest chicken "the leader of the group" was standing on the back of a chair "squaking" back at the crow with the other chickens kinda gathered around their leader on the ground. As soon as I started walking back to their pen area, the crow flew away. I've heard and read multiple times that crows are not a threat to adult chickens and in fact, they actually look out for chickens and warn them of danger or predators so they can get to safety. I've never had this happen before and I read again just a few mins ago that it's extremely rare for crows to attack adult chickens and they will warn them of predators. But, then I see this video and now I don't know what to think? My research does say they will attack baby chics, but not adult chickens. Are my chickens safe from crows?!? I lock them in the coop at night, but I let them out into their small fenced in yard. It's not a very strong or sturdy fence. It's just held up by a couple of wooden steaks I've woven through a couple of the fence openings. I just set that up to keep them from getting out and roaming around and going into the woods where I'll never catch them again. So, it's not a fence to keep them safe, but I've never had any issues. But, now I'm worried about crows attacking them. Are they safe from crows?!?
Generally speaking crows are not a concern for chickens. I’ve never seen a crow attack a chicken and welcome them on my property as they will fight a hawk ferociously. I could see a crow maybe bothering a small chick, but I personally haven’t experience that either. I’d not be concerned about the crow.
Haha we’ve had a heck of a time with hawks this week and I had to try to do a quick fix. Long term fix is in the plans but I wanted to share what we’ve had occur and how we’re trying to deter them for the short term until I can get time to do a long term solution.
Insert a wooden dowel into the top of the post with a length sticking up long enough to go up into the hole in the bottom of the owl to support it and keep it from falling over - also suspend some bird netting over the area where the chickens roam - I feel so sorry for that poor little white hen - she was so pretty 😢😢😢
ugh, I am sorry to hear you're having all these issues with predators. It's so frustrating. I am glad to see Q-TIP is okay! Those polishes have a hard time seeing with their cute hair doo's. Might I suggest you trim them up a little so they can see better, Im sure that may have been a factor that worked against foxy lady!
Thanks, we actually trimmed the original q-tips head feathers last summer but I’ve yet to do it on the others. That’s a good point that I overlooked. Appreciate it
A black bantam non frizzle, buff or polish mimics a crow in which they never like dealing with. I'm surprised the black Australorp or whatever that is didn't deter it. Good luck 🤘.
Thanks for sharing. Surprisingly our Ayam Cemanis haven’t deterred them. We’ve since added a guard goose and haven’t had any further attacks. Hopefully we’ll stay that way. Take care.
I have 10 roosters situated in different areas, they also communicate with the neighbors' roosters. They keep me and the hens alerted 24/7. I've had as many as 8 hawks circling at the same time, as recently as yesterday. They make their rounds. Pretty nerve wracking watching them circle, closer and closer!! I'm putting up netting to help aid in security.
The beach umbrellas is a good quick solution I hadn’t thought of. Fortunately since the addition of a feed cover, goose and another rooster we’ve been attack free for about a year now. Hopefully we can stay that way.
You should put up netting so the hawks learn that they’ll get caught up in something if they approach your open yard. You can get something stronger later. I didn’t lose any hens as they ran under a cedar with low branches but the hawks were a real problem and I like to give the hens free range time so I started wearing a brightly colored shirt and carrying a long stick. I read that the owls (we have the huge horned owls here naturally) don’t work. The hawks are too smart and watch from afar. Likewise with the tape and cds. So, at first I was even dive bombed but I whirled the stick - didn’t hit the hawks but they gave up. I kept at it for weeks at different times of the day so the hawks wouldn’t figure out a schedule. I could hear them nearby but couldn’t see them. Eventually, the golden eagles came to hunt the property and the vultures to pick up the spoils. We feed the rabbits to encourage the foxes to hunt here. We also have field rats. Yuck! But, the eagles like the quick snack for their young. The eagles chased the hawks away. Sometimes, the eagles come low to check out the chickens but they move away because I’m there. Vultures I’m told by a bird expert won’t hurt the chickens as their feet aren’t strong enough to hold live prey. It’s funny that after the coyotes make a kill, the vultures are here the next morning. Hawks don’t seem to like vultures. I also like to let our four dogs out in the fenced yard nearby. The big birds and even the Cooper’s Hawks (we have a ton of them) will move away even though the dogs can’t get them. Cooper’s Hawks are too small to kill chickens. Well, that’s my story. I can now do my work and keep moving through the property and the chickens know to stay in the wild areas with small trees or under the cedar until I’m in the open and they follow me around.
Thanks for sharing your experiences. Thankfully since this video we added a cover for the food area and a guard goose and we’ve made it a year now without an attack. Not sure if it’s been luck or the goose has done that great of a job.
Oh man these names are awesome and hilarious! I’ll have to share them with my daughter and one will probably be a keeper. Thanks for the recommendations!
They’re relentless once they find the chickens. Fortunately we’ve finally got past our issue and have since added a guard goose too. Hopefully yours will go away
Can home today to find a smaller size hawk in the grass behind my house and realized it was on one of my chickens. I ran so fast to help her. The hawk flew up into a nearby tree. She was still alive but he had ripped out her eyes and the top of her beak. I had to put my precious girl out of her misery. What that hawk did was horrible. My dog was in the house so he couldn't help her and the rooster ran and hid in the barn with the other chickens. My motto has always been "live and let live". Hate to say it but "locked and loaded" is now my motto. No mercy for that killer. My Ashley, a beautiful steel gray Americana, didn't deserve to have her eyes ripped out...sickening memory.
Please get some netting and put all over the top of your run or just in different places. I am in south Texas and I lost a chicken to a hawk. We have a 25’ by 80’ run and we put up a few tall poles in the center of the run and put netting over it and now I have a few hawks but they just sit in the trees and looks. The netting is great protection. I got it at Tractor Supply and the internet. 😊
Thanks for sharing and sorry about your loss. Thankfully since adding a goose and an overhead coverage of the feeding area, the hawk attacks seemed to have ceased. I’ve had a hawk try to get a chicken that was free ranging away from the coop / run area but no issues while within. Hopefully things will stay that way
I have only the number of chickens that I need, (6) and I have built two huge runs with the cheap electrified fencing. For two to three weeks they are let into one run, for two weeks they go through a chicken tunnel to the other. It's not quite free range but it is all fenced in, and I bought huge fishing nets to keep hawks out, we have a family of hawks that live close to the house and plenty of great owls. I have not lost any chickens though I occasionally have to let racoons out of the runs. I don't shoot or poison wild animals, we should use our intelligence to solve problems, the animals can't.
Sounds like a cool set up, thanks for sharing. Fortunately we added a goose over a year ago and have been hawk free since. Hopefully we can stay that way
So...did that cure your hawk problem. I have (4) Red Shouldered Hawks that have taken at least 7 chickens this past year. I tried the owl...didn't work. I believe you have to move it frequently. My Rooster (Ayam Cemani) does a pretty good job sounding the alarm. And he resembles a huge Crow.
Unfortunately the owl and reflective tape provided relief for only a couple weeks. Our rooster ended up finally attacking the hawk while it was trying to attack a hen. After than happened I haven’t had an issue since. I’ve since added a goose to the flock as well. I’ve now been several months without an issue. Hopefully it’ll stay that way.
The original Q-Tip is okay and is the other black one. It’s just the grey one we lost. Hopefully I will get a more permanent solution done sooner than later.
Do you have an update on how these methods worked for you? I came out of my house yesterday and heard some squeeling. I walked to the back of the coop to see a hawk sitting ontop of my chicken! I luckily walked out at the perfect time, because I was able to get the hawk off of her before she died. When I went to go to work this morning he was sitting on a tree above the coop waiting for his breakfast, so i left them in their coop while im at work. So im in a desperate need for a quick fix.
I did in later videos. Basically each method worked for a few weeks and then it returned. The thing that finally seemed to work permanently was I learned about a “guard goose” concept and eventually added a goose to my chickens. Since doing so, I’ve been greater than a year without a hawk.
Oh man that stinks. Adding black chickens doesn’t seem to work. The final answer for us so far has been adding a goose and covered areas for feeding. Since doing these, we’ve been over a year incident free. Hopefully we’ll maintain that
I used some netting that I got at Lowes in the garden center used for keeping birds off your garden , just hung it up to where I had enough room to walk under it comfortably and never had an issue , if I did the idea was that the hawk would get trapped in the netting before it got the chance to get the chickens ...worked well never lost one outta that pen ....now I had another one where we lost 80 chickens in 2 weeks due to racoons
I’ve seen the netting. I have made a temporary set up with some over the top and it is working well. My only concern with using it across my whole 50x50 run is we have a ton of other non predatory birds and I was concerned they’d get caught up in it. Have you had this issue? I remember how bummed I was to loose 15 chickens in one night, I can’t imagine losing 80! Thanks for the information and for watching.
@@RockyCreekHomestead never had an issue with the other birds getting caught in it , our main issue with it was in the fall it would catch all the leaves and create a canopy and eventually would weight it down and begin to tare it, but that particular run wasn't as large as yours either , when we had the 80 plus birds we were raising specific breeds of silkie, polish, game birds etc ...but they were all in separate coops and runs to prevent cross breeding ... we're in nw Tennessee next to Reelfoot Lake and we have alot of larger predatory birds
Bought owl decoy with moving head. 32.00. Worthless so far. Immediately a sparrow hawk was overhead. It left. Then the Cooper Hawk about 20 in tall. Gave the owl the you're number 1 sign and attacked the birds on the feeders. ???
Sorry for your problem. We had a some relief for some time but eventually had an issue again. We’ve since added a cover to the feeder and a goose. Since we’ve made it about a year without a problem. Hopefully it’ll stay that way.
Yes, I’ve heard great things about donkeys being great protectors. I unfortunately don’t have quite the space for that. My goose has proven to work great
i had thesame problem as you but i lost more...i put up a fake hawk and that was it ...it seamed to work avent seen hawk in a wile ...it kept flying at the hawk at first ...looked like trying to make it fly away...and then i guess it finally gave up and left....so i ordered anothe but this one is an owl and the head moves...gonna put it up on my pig fence....the fence is in the wide open...so any bird should see it flying threw my field
I’m glad it worked for you. Id suspect the moving head should appear more realistic to a hawk. I think putting ours up helped at least for a bit so I’ve continued to leave them. Thanks for sharing.
Oh my, thankfully I haven’t had any issues with snakes yet. We’ve had many black snakes on our property and I found a rattle snake skin once. I’m sure we will eventually
how about a dog? My standard poodle , believe it or not, has been protective of my small flock of 7 hens. Fall and winter are more concerning. Pray for protection for your flock, but there is no Once Saved Always Saved.
We have a family dog but she’s getting up there in age. We want to get a livestock guardian dog one day, but with our long time family dog getting old, we’ve decided to hold off on adding another dog until after she’s gone.
@@RockyCreekHomestead I understand- my female standard is VERY jealous- she wants to be the only dog. A dog would be a good deterent, though; that's what the man from the hatchery told me- the one who sold me my pullets. - maybe you could have an outside dog for the chickens and your old dog could maintain her status as the house inside dog??? I hate to see you lose more hens when a dog might really do it for you.
@@RockyCreekHomesteadUpdate- my standard poodle killed one of my chickens late this afternoon - I am crushed- SO, if you get a livestock dog, need to research breed and all- not just any old dog) looking back in hindsight, there were signs- but I really thought she was doing well there for a while- I will have to keep them separate- no mistakes- she was eating the chicken and there feathers everywhere- the other chickens were eating the carcass too- it was horrible-
Rooster can offer protection. In my experience our rooster’s personalities have varied greatly though. I had a rooster fight a hawk as it tried to attack a hen. Unfortunately that same rooster became too aggressive towards and eventually had to be given away. I now have a rooster that is vocally alert and warns the chickens, but I haven’t seen him physically try to protect them. I’ve since added a goose to my chicken flock and I think it’s really taken to is roll as a “guard goose”. It’s been once of the coolest birds I’ve added to the flock
Im sorry but I don’t currently have any for sale. The local company who makes them for me is having an awful time getting in hats with the national supply chain issue. I’m not sure when we’ll have more. I will be posting on a video and social media whenever I hear of them coming in.
I think “chicken hawk” was actually a nickname given to many hawks as most or all attack chickens quite often. I’m not 100 percent sure. We have 7 different hawks in VA but this one I believe was a red tailed hawk.
hawks are relentless with my 8 lb morkie. i've had them come in arms length. we live in the suburbs of florida . i have to stand outside with a broom. i cant shoot them. but if it falls into my broom many times. thats the hawks fault. our neighbor feeds the squirrels. there for attracting hawks. i had them tag team her a lot. one flew over my screened pool to get her . didnt see the screen til last minute. i use owl calls apps . yet i heard from a wild life preserve place to not use them because it encourages them . i am gonna just try a raven in distress next time. i saw one hawk get pummeled by 50 billion ravens. i mean it was screaming. then i guess it got close to its nest. it kept calling its brother its brothers brother. its brothers brother from another mother twice removed. the list goes on. i want to get a high powered water gun w/ range.
Man you really have a situation going on. They are relentless. Fortunately for us, one of our roosters ended up fighting the hawk when it attacked one of our hens and I’ve added a guard goose. I’ve also added a covered feeding area. Since then we’ve thankfully haven’t had a hawk attack in almost a year. Hopefully things will stay that way. I hope you find a solution for your issue
@@RockyCreekHomestead I lost 7 chickens to a fox and a husky since June. The fox is pushing daisies and the husky will be the next time I see it in my yard.
Oh my. I’ve heard of magpies but really didn’t know much about them until I looked into them further after reading this comment. Sorry about your loss. It is very frustrating when stuff like this happens.
@@RockyCreekHomestead Thank you. 😢. I never knew they would go after chicken. I threw a rock at one and it divebombed me immediately. I'm concerned for my granddaughters as well they're are several ar I und the house and they're 1 1/2 and 4. My poor rooster is beat up and another hen but they're ok.
Hawks can see 8 x better than any human with perfect eye sight. The reflective tape works but the Owl isn't going to fool him. I had an Owl on the fence by the coop and my horse kept knocking it off then look at me, she likes to be a brat most of the time lol. I still say a dog or some kind of larger animal in the run will be a better deterrent. One of my neighbors has a plastic dog in the grass beside the garage. I can see from the road its a plastic dog so I don't think that would work either. A white fluff ball looking like a dog laying beside the coop would work better. Or a toy that moves with a motion censer, any toy that has sound or movement. Halloween decoration ua-cam.com/video/grCoqDWY_3k/v-deo.html
The video was great 🤡! I figure the owl is only going to give me temporary relief at best. I’m trying to buy enough time until my wrestling season came to an ended and I’d have much more time to come up with a long term fix. I’m exploring a grid fishing line overhead technique. My run is so large so I’m thinking that may be a possible option for some kind of Ariel coverage and protection.
*Long Post Alert* Dang Stan, sorry to hear that things have gone a fowl for your flock. (sorry, it just came to me) You are right about the Crows and I'm surprised you don't have more of them where you are. We have a mess of them here along with a couple hawks. I have vol pressure which attracts the hawks. I see the crows as the avian version of MS13. They are absolutely relentless when the hawk(s) show up. I'm actually a little conflicted because I need the hawks to help control the vols and sometimes wish the hawks were here in slightly greater numbers. I mentioned before that we are planning to get chicks this spring. So, I have been contemplating this scenario for myself and how to navigate a balance. I thought about owl boxes. Owls and crows don't get along. That wouldn't work for you though as you don't have many crows it seems. So, is there anything you can do to attract crows to help run interference with the hawk? How about a guard goose? Another thought I had was to create a bird net canopy. You would need to get 6 -10' 2x2's, attach 3 on each on the two sides opposite each other. One at each corner post and one at a mid point post. Then, take some high tensile fishing line and string it taught between each set of 2x2 posts. That would give you 3 strands from one side to the other. You could even go corner to corner for added stability. Next you'll need some of the nylon bird netting. Stretch lengths across the three strands working from one side to the other until the run is covered. You'll have to figure what to use to attach the netting to the strands and each netting pieces to the other. You could get some black zip ties from the dollar store I'm sure. Just trying to be creative. As always, best of luck brother!!
The netting idea is where I’m headed with a long term solution. I’m debating on trying a grid style fishing line first in hopes I can get by without the netting just because I’ve heard of smaller birds getting caught up in the netting and getting injured. I’ve been researching and many say if you run a fishing line grid well enough it’s often enough. I’m thinking I can run the fishing line first, evaluate and then if needed add mesh. I really appreciate the time you took to give a detailed response. Crows come and go, but this year they seem less abundant.
I didn't understand there was an issue with Hawks being under assault. I look forward to finishing the video and I would like to subscribe to your newsletter.
Thank you for taking the time to watch. Thankfully our hawk problem seems to have passed for now. We’ve since added a covered shelter for where the chickens eat along with a guard goose and that seems to have helped a lot
My husband made a wire contraption for our fake owls, whenever a slight breeze comes along the owls spin and move easily. Helps not only with the predators but with the pesky squirrels! Its not a solve all but it has helped!
That sounds awesome. Id like to learn more about that. If your willing to email or dm our Facebook or instagram with a photo of it that would be much appreciated. Thanks for the tip
@@RockyCreekHomestead I sent pictures to your email, I dont have facebook or instagram, I’m sorry. Hope his simple idea helps you guys!
As an added tip he said he used 556 spent shells in the bottom of the owl that the rod slides in to, for the owl to spin freely on the metal rod. I hope that makes sense.
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True Value I went to this past weekend was out of owls. They had Hawk decoys....plastic hawk,deters real ones? Tired of getting ripped off....
None of your suggestions have worked for us. I have 6 hens, down from 9 due to 3 attacks in 3 days from redtails. I also read that black chickens keep hawks from attacking. Also, not helpful. One of the hens killed was a black Australorp. Scarecrows wouldn't work for us because the hawk made an attempt to kill a 4th hen and I was standing right next to it as I was crisscrossing string over the area, another suggestion I had read about. By being right there, I was able to knock it off the hen and save her life. A fake owl is not helpful because we have the real thing that sits in a tree above the henhouse, just waiting for a moment to attack. So, after this background, I'll tell you what has worked for a few months now and I have seen hawks parked right outside the run many times, but no attacks. Bird netting. It is a pain to get up but the only thing I tried that actually works. Hope you found the perfect solution for your birds.
Unfortunately we only had temporary success with our attempts. What seemed to finally work was our rooster fought the hawk off and we have since added a goose as well. I agree that netting is the only true guarantee to eliminate the risks.
Invest in a huge nylon net. Sink posts with plastic caps on top to prevent tears and increase the life of the netting. Secure it to the fencing and you’ll eliminate hawks from being able to attack your hens.
I don't have my chickens yet..But I do have hawks in the area and neighbor lost her whole flock. I've been doing research and will be trying the owl decoy and also accompanied with taking my mini speaker (hooked up to my phone) to play screech owl noises several times a week to see if I can chase the hawks away from area before we have the chickens to place in our yards. Our flock will be small enough to have an enclosed run but maybe with the above method of visual decoy of an owl and noise will take care of issues before we have them.
I didn’t think about the noise aspect 🤔. Thanks for sharing. We’ve since added a goose and that seems to have helped a lot. Wishing you best as you begin the chicken journey
For that very reason I put bird netting up over the entire chicken yard. I had a pair of hawks in the area, so I set up a bunch of easy-up type canopies without the tarps, and just used them to hold up the netting. The bottoms of the netting connected to my fencing around the yard. Haven't had a problem yet.
Thankfully since adding a goose over a year ago, we’ve not had any further issues. Hopefully it’ll stay that way
I had an owl like that in the garden, one day there was screeching and commotion and a kestrel attacked the plastic owl!
Oh wow, that would’ve been a site.
You are really having a time of it. All great ideas and I hope that hawk finds a different place to hunt!
Man it’s been a rough week or two. We will keep on keeping on though. It’s all part of life when you have animals. Hopefully I’ll get some time freed up from work soon and can really rig something up.
Raise your coop up about a foot. Gives them an easy, quick place to duck under.
It’s not quite a foot high but it does sit on blocks and they go under sometimes. If it was a little higher they could get under quicker. Thanks for the tip
Nice farm my friend, I like the black rooster and the hens are beautiful and healthy!!!As for the hawks , sorry for the loss of the chickens.I lost one hen from hawk and covered the yard with protective net.
Thanks for watching and thanks for the tip. Do you have issues with other birds getting caught in the net?
@@RockyCreekHomestead The net covers all the yard and is for the hawk not to enter the yard not to catch it
Its heart breaking loosing your flock one by one. A couple years ago I had a racoon taking mine out. It was so frustrating. I had to start a new flock. I only have 6 hens so they are now in a large dog kennel with a cover. So far no problems. I hope your hawk problem goes away. Can you do something also to deter it from landing in it's favorite tree..break that routine also. Good luck Stan. Ya'll Stay Safe and God Bless.
It has been very frustrating that’s for sure. Working full time and coaching has limited my free time to address it as quickly as I’d like which was the most frustrating part. I’m going to work on a plan to provide better overhead protection and hopefully this will combat the issue long term
A good cheap reflective material to make tree hanging/fence line spinners are used soda cans, Cut them with wind wings and mount on fencing wire
Thanks for the help. Appreciate it.
@@RockyCreekHomestead pleasure....we lost 6 baby chick's to either magpie kookaburra or wedgetail eagle this season (I'm downunder), can't be sure but like you say it's a part of keeping animals.
Oh wow. It becomes quite frustrating. Fortunately things have been much better now and we haven’t lost any for a couple months. Hopefully we’re past the issue for now at least.
Crow decoys and shotguns are great deterrents.... #4 high brass in 12ga 3" Mag ....
It's illegal to kill birds of prey. They are actually more important to the ecosystem than your chickens =)
@@beernbashrc79 but not as important as my food supply
just found this after having my baby silky murdered by a hawk. It's so sad I watched it happen then 2 hours later I lost my favorite grey baby I only had for 4 weeks. Never had this issue in my life and only a new chicken owner so seeing this and now knowing of the dangers is very stressful
Ah man sorry. I’ve dealt with several predators but this was definitely the most frustrating. It was day after day of them being picked off. Fortunately one of my roosters finally fought it and that seemed to help. I’ve also since added a goose to the flock in hopes it will help. Thus far we’ve made it about 4 months without an issue. Fall and winter will be the ultimate test time.
@@RockyCreekHomestead ah goodluck. hopefully no more issues over there. I'm working on building a roof and a run, mine was free roaming so I guess it's my fault
I'm so sorry. My daughter got 4 baby chickens the beginning of summer and tonight one got killed by a hawk. She had been so carefull watching them. I am just sick as I love those little guys. Whenever I go viist they come running up to me when I get out of the car. They are so cute. I thought I would look up ways to keep those awful birds away.
@@roberta58952 That's how mine were too. Out of the 4 the one that always ran up to me like a dog ended up being murdered. so now they're locked in the shed for a few days until I finish building something
I'm going to get a guardian pup the same time I start my flock in hopes that it will, at least help, prevent hawks.
Man I'm sorry for the loss. It's terrible because they are part of the family and fixtures of the homestead. It hurts to lose animals.
I’m not sure that one thing has kept them away but a combo of the handing reflective tape, owl decoys, rooster and a guard goose has now allowed us to make it almost a year without an attack. I do believe a guardian dog would be a solution. Our family dog is quite old now and once she’s no longer with us, we plan to explore that option as well. Although the LGD would be outside all the time, our family dog would still be real worked up about another dog on the property. Our current solution seems to be holding up for now. Thanks for watching
I'm gonna try this I have the same issue. Thank you!
I hope it helps. It’s worked for a week so far. I doubt it will be a forever fix but hopefully it will buy me time until I can come up with something more long term.
I have two suggestions, put up chicken wire over the feeding area, have plywood or something on blocks for quick escape for the chickens.
Thank you, I appreciate the recommendations. I’m actually planning out a covered roof area for the feeder and waterer. Figured it would give them protection and help to keep food dry on rainy days. Thanks for watching and for the suggestions. Much appreciated.
What a wholesome video man
Whenever you seen the hawk the 1st time don't shoot it off do the right thing And you would have more chicken Get you a watchdog called 12 gauge
The chicken hawk CAME INTO MY COOP AND WAS EATING MY CHICKEN!! I was in shock !!in the coop !! Ugh thank you for your info
Oh man that’s crazy. They’re relentless predators. One thing for sure is every predator around tries to get chickens. It takes a lot to keep them safe and secure. I’ve since added a guard goose in with the chickens and it’s been one of the neatest and greatest things I’ve done yet.
Okay, im kinda newer to this whole chicken thing and kinda didn't have a choice but to "adopt" them and take over caring for them. Ive only had 4 for a little less than a year now.
I've came a long way and learned a lot and mine seem to be happy and productive with laying eggs.
However, I just walked outside and heard a crow hovering around their fenced pen area and "screaming" at them. My biggest chicken "the leader of the group" was standing on the back of a chair "squaking" back at the crow with the other chickens kinda gathered around their leader on the ground. As soon as I started walking back to their pen area, the crow flew away.
I've heard and read multiple times that crows are not a threat to adult chickens and in fact, they actually look out for chickens and warn them of danger or predators so they can get to safety.
I've never had this happen before and I read again just a few mins ago that it's extremely rare for crows to attack adult chickens and they will warn them of predators.
But, then I see this video and now I don't know what to think?
My research does say they will attack baby chics, but not adult chickens.
Are my chickens safe from crows?!? I lock them in the coop at night, but I let them out into their small fenced in yard. It's not a very strong or sturdy fence. It's just held up by a couple of wooden steaks I've woven through a couple of the fence openings. I just set that up to keep them from getting out and roaming around and going into the woods where I'll never catch them again. So, it's not a fence to keep them safe, but I've never had any issues.
But, now I'm worried about crows attacking them. Are they safe from crows?!?
Generally speaking crows are not a concern for chickens. I’ve never seen a crow attack a chicken and welcome them on my property as they will fight a hawk ferociously. I could see a crow maybe bothering a small chick, but I personally haven’t experience that either. I’d not be concerned about the crow.
Thank you for your info yes these chicken hawks have been getting my chickens and bob cat ugh and coyotes ugh
The suspense on waiting for days on end for this video to premier is killing me 😃
Haha we’ve had a heck of a time with hawks this week and I had to try to do a quick fix. Long term fix is in the plans but I wanted to share what we’ve had occur and how we’re trying to deter them for the short term until I can get time to do a long term solution.
I'm giving up.
Insert a wooden dowel into the top of the post with a length sticking up long enough to go up into the hole in the bottom of the owl to support it and keep it from falling over - also suspend some bird netting over the area where the chickens roam - I feel so sorry for that poor little white hen - she was so pretty 😢😢😢
I like idea with the dowel. Thanks for sharing
ugh, I am sorry to hear you're having all these issues with predators. It's so frustrating. I am glad to see Q-TIP is okay! Those polishes have a hard time seeing with their cute hair doo's. Might I suggest you trim them up a little so they can see better, Im sure that may have been a factor that worked against foxy lady!
Thanks, we actually trimmed the original q-tips head feathers last summer but I’ve yet to do it on the others. That’s a good point that I overlooked. Appreciate it
So sorry for the loss of your Chickies. ☹️
Thank you. It’s been a bit frustrating but hopefully new measures were taking will reduce the chances of it happening again.
A black bantam non frizzle, buff or polish mimics a crow in which they never like dealing with. I'm surprised the black Australorp or whatever that is didn't deter it. Good luck 🤘.
Thanks for sharing. Surprisingly our Ayam Cemanis haven’t deterred them. We’ve since added a guard goose and haven’t had any further attacks. Hopefully we’ll stay that way. Take care.
I have an owl that moves 1/4 turn every si often and is solar operated
Oh wow that’s a cool owl decoy. I’ll have to look into one of those
@@RockyCreekHomestead ya . I got lucky ... it was at a yard sale... 8 bucks. ... they are pricey new
I have 10 roosters situated in different areas, they also communicate with the neighbors' roosters. They keep me and the hens alerted 24/7. I've had as many as 8 hawks circling at the same time, as recently as yesterday. They make their rounds. Pretty nerve wracking watching them circle, closer and closer!! I'm putting up netting to help aid in security.
Also, get some beach & patio umbrellas, gives instant shade and cover. I have 6 plus shade cloths and sails!
The beach umbrellas is a good quick solution I hadn’t thought of. Fortunately since the addition of a feed cover, goose and another rooster we’ve been attack free for about a year now. Hopefully we can stay that way.
You should put up netting so the hawks learn that they’ll get caught up in something if they approach your open yard. You can get something stronger later.
I didn’t lose any hens as they ran under a cedar with low branches but the hawks were a real problem and I like to give the hens free range time so I started wearing a brightly colored shirt and carrying a long stick.
I read that the owls (we have the huge horned owls here naturally) don’t work. The hawks are too smart and watch from afar. Likewise with the tape and cds.
So, at first I was even dive bombed but I whirled the stick - didn’t hit the hawks but they gave up.
I kept at it for weeks at different times of the day so the hawks wouldn’t figure out a schedule.
I could hear them nearby but couldn’t see them.
Eventually, the golden eagles came to hunt the property and the vultures to pick up the spoils.
We feed the rabbits to encourage the foxes to hunt here. We also have field rats. Yuck! But, the eagles like the quick snack for their young.
The eagles chased the hawks away. Sometimes, the eagles come low to check out the chickens but they move away because I’m there. Vultures I’m told by a bird expert won’t hurt the chickens as their feet aren’t strong enough to hold live prey.
It’s funny that after the coyotes make a kill, the vultures are here the next morning. Hawks don’t seem to like vultures.
I also like to let our four dogs out in the fenced yard nearby. The big birds and even the Cooper’s Hawks (we have a ton of them) will move away even though the dogs can’t get them. Cooper’s Hawks are too small to kill chickens.
Well, that’s my story. I can now do my work and keep moving through the property and the chickens know to stay in the wild areas with small trees or under the cedar until I’m in the open and they follow me around.
Thanks for sharing your experiences. Thankfully since this video we added a cover for the food area and a guard goose and we’ve made it a year now without an attack. Not sure if it’s been luck or the goose has done that great of a job.
@@RockyCreekHomestead Fantastic! I would love to let the chickens out to free range every morning. But, I’d have no chickens.
Duke, Handsome, Larry Bird, Roo Paul, Red Ryder, Apache! Just a couple of names for the good looking rooster!!
Oh man these names are awesome and hilarious! I’ll have to share them with my daughter and one will probably be a keeper. Thanks for the recommendations!
4th get a .22 pellet $200 rifle with a decent scope! Not may hawks will fight with that!
Or better yet an m&p 15/22
That was certainly becoming an option has it not finally gone away.
Thank you for this vid! I am on my 5th attempt by a Hawk to get my chickens!
Oh man sorry. Hawks are such a pain and hard to rid
I'm battling with one right now hate that suckered
They’re relentless once they find the chickens. Fortunately we’ve finally got past our issue and have since added a guard goose too. Hopefully yours will go away
Can home today to find a smaller size hawk in the grass behind my house and realized it was on one of my chickens. I ran so fast to help her. The hawk flew up into a nearby tree. She was still alive but he had ripped out her eyes and the top of her beak. I had to put my precious girl out of her misery. What that hawk did was horrible. My dog was in the house so he couldn't help her and the rooster ran and hid in the barn with the other chickens. My motto has always been "live and let live". Hate to say it but "locked and loaded" is now my motto. No mercy for that killer. My Ashley, a beautiful steel gray Americana, didn't deserve to have her eyes ripped out...sickening memory.
Please get some netting and put all over the top of your run or just in different places. I am in south Texas and I lost a chicken to a hawk. We have a 25’ by 80’ run and we put up a few tall poles in the center of the run and put netting over it and now I have a few hawks but they just sit in the trees and looks. The netting is great protection. I got it at Tractor Supply and the internet. 😊
Thanks for sharing and sorry about your loss. Thankfully since adding a goose and an overhead coverage of the feeding area, the hawk attacks seemed to have ceased. I’ve had a hawk try to get a chicken that was free ranging away from the coop / run area but no issues while within. Hopefully things will stay that way
I have only the number of chickens that I need, (6) and I have built two huge runs with the cheap electrified fencing. For two to three weeks they are let into one run, for two weeks they go through a chicken tunnel to the other. It's not quite free range but it is all fenced in, and I bought huge fishing nets to keep hawks out, we have a family of hawks that live close to the house and plenty of great owls. I have not lost any chickens though I occasionally have to let racoons out of the runs. I don't shoot or poison wild animals, we should use our intelligence to solve problems, the animals can't.
Sounds like a cool set up, thanks for sharing. Fortunately we added a goose over a year ago and have been hawk free since. Hopefully we can stay that way
@@RockyCreekHomestead Is it a male or a female goose? Or does it not matter for flock protection?
Take care and God Bless.
So...did that cure your hawk problem. I have (4) Red Shouldered Hawks that have taken at least 7 chickens this past year. I tried the owl...didn't work. I believe you have to move it frequently. My Rooster (Ayam Cemani) does a pretty good job sounding the alarm. And he resembles a huge Crow.
Unfortunately the owl and reflective tape provided relief for only a couple weeks. Our rooster ended up finally attacking the hawk while it was trying to attack a hen. After than happened I haven’t had an issue since. I’ve since added a goose to the flock as well. I’ve now been several months without an issue. Hopefully it’ll stay that way.
You need more cover for them like bushes or put cover between structures. We got pop up green house. Hawk go into coop
Was that Q-tip 2.0 that passes away?
I saw Qtip, glad he is okay
The original Q-Tip is okay and is the other black one. It’s just the grey one we lost. Hopefully I will get a more permanent solution done sooner than later.
Do you have an update on how these methods worked for you? I came out of my house yesterday and heard some squeeling. I walked to the back of the coop to see a hawk sitting ontop of my chicken! I luckily walked out at the perfect time, because I was able to get the hawk off of her before she died. When I went to go to work this morning he was sitting on a tree above the coop waiting for his breakfast, so i left them in their coop while im at work. So im in a desperate need for a quick fix.
I did in later videos. Basically each method worked for a few weeks and then it returned. The thing that finally seemed to work permanently was I learned about a “guard goose” concept and eventually added a goose to my chickens. Since doing so, I’ve been greater than a year without a hawk.
We added black Jersey Giant mixes to our flock under the crow-hawk adversary theory. Hawks took them.
Oh man that stinks. Adding black chickens doesn’t seem to work. The final answer for us so far has been adding a goose and covered areas for feeding. Since doing these, we’ve been over a year incident free. Hopefully we’ll maintain that
I used some netting that I got at Lowes in the garden center used for keeping birds off your garden , just hung it up to where I had enough room to walk under it comfortably and never had an issue , if I did the idea was that the hawk would get trapped in the netting before it got the chance to get the chickens ...worked well never lost one outta that pen ....now I had another one where we lost 80 chickens in 2 weeks due to racoons
I’ve seen the netting. I have made a temporary set up with some over the top and it is working well. My only concern with using it across my whole 50x50 run is we have a ton of other non predatory birds and I was concerned they’d get caught up in it. Have you had this issue? I remember how bummed I was to loose 15 chickens in one night, I can’t imagine losing 80! Thanks for the information and for watching.
@@RockyCreekHomestead never had an issue with the other birds getting caught in it , our main issue with it was in the fall it would catch all the leaves and create a canopy and eventually would weight it down and begin to tare it, but that particular run wasn't as large as yours either , when we had the 80 plus birds we were raising specific breeds of silkie, polish, game birds etc ...but they were all in separate coops and runs to prevent cross breeding ... we're in nw Tennessee next to Reelfoot Lake and we have alot of larger predatory birds
Thank you for the information. My daughter wants to raise silkies at some point. Eventually I plan to make a separate area for her to do that.
Bought owl decoy with moving head. 32.00.
Worthless so far. Immediately a sparrow hawk was overhead. It left. Then the Cooper Hawk about 20 in tall. Gave the owl the you're number 1 sign and attacked the birds on the feeders. ???
Sorry for your problem. We had a some relief for some time but eventually had an issue again. We’ve since added a cover to the feeder and a goose. Since we’ve made it about a year without a problem. Hopefully it’ll stay that way.
In one spot I feed the hawks and they never get my chickens
Put a couple cattle panels between ur a frame and the coop
Ive heard getting a donkey will protect your chickens
Yes, I’ve heard great things about donkeys being great protectors. I unfortunately don’t have quite the space for that. My goose has proven to work great
@@RockyCreekHomestead I'm glad no more hawk attacks geese are so cool I love geese your goose is a sweetheart I love her personality she's tough
She’s awesome. Definitely one of the best additions we’ve done. I’ll definitely always have one on the property. Such a funny personality
i had thesame problem as you but i lost more...i put up a fake hawk and that was it ...it seamed to work avent seen hawk in a wile ...it kept flying at the hawk at first ...looked like trying to make it fly away...and then i guess it finally gave up and left....so i ordered anothe but this one is an owl and the head moves...gonna put it up on my pig fence....the fence is in the wide open...so any bird should see it flying threw my field
I’m glad it worked for you. Id suspect the moving head should appear more realistic to a hawk. I think putting ours up helped at least for a bit so I’ve continued to leave them. Thanks for sharing.
texas prepper 2 show how to take care of the snakes getting in your nest
Oh my, thankfully I haven’t had any issues with snakes yet. We’ve had many black snakes on our property and I found a rattle snake skin once. I’m sure we will eventually
how about a dog? My standard poodle , believe it or not, has been protective of my small flock of 7 hens. Fall and winter are more concerning. Pray for protection for your flock, but there is no Once Saved Always Saved.
We have a family dog but she’s getting up there in age. We want to get a livestock guardian dog one day, but with our long time family dog getting old, we’ve decided to hold off on adding another dog until after she’s gone.
@@RockyCreekHomestead I understand- my female standard is VERY jealous- she wants to be the only dog. A dog would be a good deterent, though; that's what the man from the hatchery told me- the one who sold me my pullets. - maybe you could have an outside dog for the chickens and your old dog could maintain her status as the house inside dog??? I hate to see you lose more hens when a dog might really do it for you.
@@RockyCreekHomesteadUpdate- my standard poodle killed one of my chickens late this afternoon - I am crushed- SO, if you get a livestock dog, need to research breed and all- not just any old dog) looking back in hindsight, there were signs- but I really thought she was doing well there for a while- I will have to keep them separate- no mistakes- she was eating the chicken and there feathers everywhere- the other chickens were eating the carcass too- it was horrible-
Question ..having a rooster works as protection or he gets scared as well..i am thinking to get one
Rooster can offer protection. In my experience our rooster’s personalities have varied greatly though. I had a rooster fight a hawk as it tried to attack a hen. Unfortunately that same rooster became too aggressive towards and eventually had to be given away. I now have a rooster that is vocally alert and warns the chickens, but I haven’t seen him physically try to protect them. I’ve since added a goose to my chicken flock and I think it’s really taken to is roll as a “guard goose”. It’s been once of the coolest birds I’ve added to the flock
I really do like your hat where could I find one to purchase.
Im sorry but I don’t currently have any for sale. The local company who makes them for me is having an awful time getting in hats with the national supply chain issue. I’m not sure when we’ll have more. I will be posting on a video and social media whenever I hear of them coming in.
My fake owls aren’t working
Shotguns are a good fix for hawks.
15,000 fine, year in prison
So is that like a chicken hawk or do other hawks eat chickens too?
Or is a chicken hawk a hawk that looks like a chicken?
I think “chicken hawk” was actually a nickname given to many hawks as most or all attack chickens quite often. I’m not 100 percent sure. We have 7 different hawks in VA but this one I believe was a red tailed hawk.
Guard Goose?
After a few of you have mentioned it, I’m looking into that as a possible addition this spring. Thank you.
Has this helped your chickens? Any recent hawk attacks?
hawks are relentless with my 8 lb morkie. i've had them come in arms length. we live in the suburbs of florida . i have to stand outside with a broom. i cant shoot them. but if it falls into my broom many times. thats the hawks fault. our neighbor feeds the squirrels. there for attracting hawks. i had them tag team her a lot. one flew over my screened pool to get her . didnt see the screen til last minute. i use owl calls apps . yet i heard from a wild life preserve place to not use them because it encourages them . i am gonna just try a raven in distress next time. i saw one hawk get pummeled by 50 billion ravens. i mean it was screaming. then i guess it got close to its nest. it kept calling its brother its brothers brother. its brothers brother from another mother twice removed. the list goes on. i want to get a high powered water gun w/ range.
Man you really have a situation going on. They are relentless. Fortunately for us, one of our roosters ended up fighting the hawk when it attacked one of our hens and I’ve added a guard goose. I’ve also added a covered feeding area. Since then we’ve thankfully haven’t had a hawk attack in almost a year. Hopefully things will stay that way. I hope you find a solution for your issue
Bird shot 😁
That could help 😆
@@RockyCreekHomestead I lost 7 chickens to a fox and a husky since June. The fox is pushing daisies and the husky will be the next time I see it in my yard.
Stretch a tarp over those 2 structures. So they're hid while they eat
We recently just added a covered shelter for while they eat. It’s working well.
Clicked on the video about protecting chickens from hawks and the first minute is feeding pigs. Ain't nobody got time fo dat
Have a good day
@@RockyCreekHomestead can do! Good attitude gets a like and subscribe from me :)
😆 I get it. I don’t get fired up by comments on here. I’ve had far worse said to me in person as a police officer for 17 years.
Magpies attacked my bantam. Killed and took a polish bantam last week
Oh my. I’ve heard of magpies but really didn’t know much about them until I looked into them further after reading this comment. Sorry about your loss. It is very frustrating when stuff like this happens.
@@RockyCreekHomestead Thank you. 😢. I never knew they would go after chicken. I threw a rock at one and it divebombed me immediately.
I'm concerned for my granddaughters as well they're are several ar I und the house and they're 1 1/2 and 4.
My poor rooster is beat up and another hen but they're ok.
I never knew they were so awful
Wow that’s crazy. I hope you find a remedy sorry
Hawks can see 8 x better than any human with perfect eye sight. The reflective tape works but the Owl isn't going to fool him. I had an Owl on the fence by the coop and my horse kept knocking it off then look at me, she likes to be a brat most of the time lol. I still say a dog or some kind of larger animal in the run will be a better deterrent. One of my neighbors has a plastic dog in the grass beside the garage. I can see from the road its a plastic dog so I don't think that would work either. A white fluff ball looking like a dog laying beside the coop would work better. Or a toy that moves with a motion censer, any toy that has sound or movement. Halloween decoration ua-cam.com/video/grCoqDWY_3k/v-deo.html
The video was great 🤡! I figure the owl is only going to give me temporary relief at best. I’m trying to buy enough time until my wrestling season came to an ended and I’d have much more time to come up with a long term fix. I’m exploring a grid fishing line overhead technique. My run is so large so I’m thinking that may be a possible option for some kind of Ariel coverage and protection.
Put up crows Halloween decorations
*Long Post Alert*
Dang Stan, sorry to hear that things have gone a fowl for your flock. (sorry, it just came to me) You are right about the Crows and I'm surprised you don't have more of them where you are. We have a mess of them here along with a couple hawks. I have vol pressure which attracts the hawks. I see the crows as the avian version of MS13. They are absolutely relentless when the hawk(s) show up. I'm actually a little conflicted because I need the hawks to help control the vols and sometimes wish the hawks were here in slightly greater numbers. I mentioned before that we are planning to get chicks this spring. So, I have been contemplating this scenario for myself and how to navigate a balance. I thought about owl boxes. Owls and crows don't get along. That wouldn't work for you though as you don't have many crows it seems.
So, is there anything you can do to attract crows to help run interference with the hawk? How about a guard goose? Another thought I had was to create a bird net canopy. You would need to get 6 -10' 2x2's, attach 3 on each on the two sides opposite each other. One at each corner post and one at a mid point post. Then, take some high tensile fishing line and string it taught between each set of 2x2 posts. That would give you 3 strands from one side to the other. You could even go corner to corner for added stability. Next you'll need some of the nylon bird netting. Stretch lengths across the three strands working from one side to the other until the run is covered. You'll have to figure what to use to attach the netting to the strands and each netting pieces to the other. You could get some black zip ties from the dollar store I'm sure. Just trying to be creative. As always, best of luck brother!!
The netting idea is where I’m headed with a long term solution. I’m debating on trying a grid style fishing line first in hopes I can get by without the netting just because I’ve heard of smaller birds getting caught up in the netting and getting injured. I’ve been researching and many say if you run a fishing line grid well enough it’s often enough. I’m thinking I can run the fishing line first, evaluate and then if needed add mesh. I really appreciate the time you took to give a detailed response. Crows come and go, but this year they seem less abundant.
Beauty Boy
so sad
It was very frustrating time for sure. Hates to lose so many birds to one
Scarecrows are a joke
🔫🔫🔫
I didn't understand there was an issue with Hawks being under assault. I look forward to finishing the video and I would like to subscribe to your newsletter.
Thank you for taking the time to watch. Thankfully our hawk problem seems to have passed for now. We’ve since added a covered shelter for where the chickens eat along with a guard goose and that seems to have helped a lot