I have a small flock of chickens here in NW Wa. and they have suddenly become attractive prey for a hawk. There pen is partially wooded and partially open. I have a radio playing but that hasn't disuaded the hawk. Would a scarecrow, plastic owl help? What would you suggest? Any help will be greatly appreciated.
2006-08-21 08:56:27 · 13 answers · asked by in the county, northwest 1 in Pets ➔ Birds
Thanks to everyone for all your suggestions. In reality I think it was a falcon passing through rather than a hawk. I have made the pen considerably smaller and I am in the process of covering it with used fish net. Old fish netting is readily available in this area and comes in strips about 13 feet wide and in various long lengths. It is lighter, easier to work with and best of all free. Thanks again for all your responses
2006-08-23 13:14:45 · update #1
If you don't want to build a pen with a fenced in roof, then you can go about it the nature friendly and cost efficient way. Spend some time outside and wait for the hawk to show up but don't stay too close to your chickens. by some small fireworks that pop when lit and when the bird comes throw one on the gorund near it. This should discourage the bird and scare it off without causing any harm ot the animal. It might scare your chickens a little but they should recover. The amazing thing about animals is usually if this happens to the hawk once or twice he will stop attacking and associate that place as a last resort to get food from. Hope that helps. It is a safe, quick, and humane way to keep the bird away without limiting the roam of your chickens. It is also a bad idea to kill the hawk as most of them are protected by federal or state laws and they most often are collecting easy prey for little ones when they get into a flock of chickens. If you kill the hawk that will lead to the little ones themselves getting eaten by predators or starving to death.
2006-08-21 09:08:35 · answer #1 · answered by miloscrack 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
No don't use a scarecrow, or a plastic owl. It never works. This happens to us a lot. Depends how tall and long you have them locked up. What you would do is get a piece of wire and make it as long as like from wall to wall. This would be best when you have someone with you to help. Here what you do, from wire to wire make it small enough that the hawks can't fly through. They have long wings and it expands pretty long, and that's the only way they can't get through if you have the wires close together. Also, make the wires in square forms so they can't fit from head to toe. Other suggestion is you can buy the wires in Hardware stores and ask someone for help and describe them what you're looking for. They'll know specfically which wires would be good for that, if you don't want to make it at home. It's basically how long from wall to wall you have the chickens in.
2006-08-21 09:25:45 · answer #2 · answered by Sonia 1 · 1⤊ 0⤋
A scarecrow/plastic owl most likely wouldn't do much good. Try instead to find a way to cover their pen. I'm sure your hens would rather be in a smaller pen that is safer (with a chickenwire top) than having more space and more predators.
2006-08-21 09:06:04 · answer #3 · answered by rowdy ferret 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The hawks have found an easy food source. I would recommend putting a cover over them. Or a netting of some sort.
2006-08-21 11:47:14 · answer #4 · answered by windandwater 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Once a bird of prey discovers a food source, they WILL return to it whenever they want food. The only way to stop that is to eliminate the predator.
If you were to enclose the cage, even on the top, it would HELP, but the only SURE way would be "bang".
2006-08-21 09:07:52 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Friends in upstate New York had the same problem, they had to build a totally enclosed pen...chicken wire sides and roof.
2006-08-21 09:16:53 · answer #6 · answered by Lee 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Put a net (mesh) over exposed area of the pen.
2006-08-22 07:51:57 · answer #7 · answered by dvilly 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I used to run into this all the time until a very wise man told my father how to get rid of this problem. You must urinate in a circle with a radius of thirty feet around where ever the chickens roam. It is important that this be female urine do to the pheromone composition.
2006-08-21 09:07:08 · answer #8 · answered by boogatt66 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
You need to fence in the top of your chicken yard. We had to fence the top of ours out here in texas and it worked. We never did allow our chickens to run loose in our yard because we lived so far out theyd be gone in the wilderness LOL! So we kept them in a huge pen and my dad had to chicken wire the top of the outdoor chicken yard.
2006-08-23 11:50:44 · answer #9 · answered by reasonable-sale-lots 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
get a gun.
Or, a roof for the pen.
2006-08-21 09:06:16 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋