How to protect from hawks free range chickens?

[Shadrach]

Any other true and tested deterrents or protection against hawks?

No, not even trying to supervise ranging chickens is always going to work.
What improves their survival chances is having the right environment and experience of living in it. Cover is the key. Lots of cover, from blackthorn bushes to dwarf Christmas trees. The chickens learn. It takes time and some or many will die if the predator load is heavy. Those that survive and produce offspring teach the next generation how to survive.

A rooster is a must in my opinion. No, he won't fight off every, or even any predators but should at least keep the hens grouped, escorted and alerted; most roosters run.

Free ranging sounds wonderful until the reality kicks in. Some places are more suitable for than others and more importantly, some keepers are more suited to it than others. Free ranging chickens, unless one is talking about a very small area within a boundry, needs a very different approach than ranging a few hens in a small back garden.

 

[Perris]

Perris, are those Nestera coops? Do your chickens use them to hide?

We just received ours, not yet assembled, and I was shocked how small it is, less than 8 sq ft/ less than 3/4 m sq. in floor area. And it’s a large. We bought it as a temporary coop to be replaced by a bigger one in time, and I’ve been trying to figure what to do with it.

Your pic has made me consider using it as an emergency shelter when we let the hens out of the run, but I don’t know if they would use it in that manner.

yes they are Nestera coops and no the chickens don't hide in them; they use them just as safe clean places to roost and to lay (well, most of them most of the time; I do have some occasional tree-huggers and secret-nesters amongst the flock).

That's what they are designed for - just sleeping and laying in; they are not the sort of coop chickens are locked in to all day long. My birds are wandering freely round the garden dawn till dusk.

In terms of sizing and space per bird, welfare guidelines are minima designed for situations where birds have no choice, no alternatives. Sometimes one or other of my 4 coops are empty overnight because they've all decided to pile in together into the other 3 (I have on occasion counted up to 15 in my large coop, for example), and my Animal and Plant Health Inspector assures me that that is fine, because they are choosing it.

I have a wooden coop too, but it is completely redundant because none of my flock ever choose it in preference to the Nesteras.

If you don't want to use it as a principal roosting and laying place for them, I would recommend using it as a broody or hospital coop, since it is so easy to clean thoroughly and without any chemicals.

 

[ChaosMom]

yes they are Nestera coops and no the chickens don't hide in them; they use them just as safe clean places to roost and to lay (well, most of them most of the time; I do have some occasional tree-huggers and secret-nesters amongst the flock).

That's what they are designed for - just sleeping and laying in; they are not the sort of coop chickens are locked in to all day long. My birds are wandering freely round the garden dawn till dusk.

In terms of sizing and space per bird, welfare guidelines are minima designed for situations where birds have no choice, no alternatives. Sometimes one or other of my 4 coops are empty overnight because they've all decided to pile in together into the other 3 (I have on occasion counted up to 15 in my large coop, for example), and my Animal and Plant Health Inspector assures me that that is fine, because they are choosing it.

I have a wooden coop too, but it is completely redundant because none of my flock ever choose it in preference to the Nesteras.

If you don't want to use it as a principal roosting and laying place for them, I would recommend using it as a broody or hospital coop, since it is so easy to clean thoroughly and without any chemicals.

Thanks! They will be out in their run all day plus a few hours in the back yard (garden) when we’re out there, so I look on coops as for strictly nesting/ roosting. But even the roosts seem short!

Trying to visualize 15 in a large: it must look like the clown car at the circus when they come out.

 

[McChooky]

An established flock will teach the babies where and when to run. Hatchery chicks are at a clear disadvantage so. Please protect them. Hawks have to eat too

 

[Sic]

Guys, I know this item has been discussed, but I wonder from your personal experience, what if anything worked for you to protect your free-range chickens from hawks?
I've tried tying up CDs to nearby trees, and tried putting other reflective and wind-sounding tapes on the branches. Tried scarecrow, but none of this works in the long run. Hawks get used to it all of it and attack my chickens on a somewhat constant basis. I also have guinea fowl that raise an early alarm when they spot a haw, and that helps a little, but still loosing too many birds to hawks.
I understand that the best thing would be to have a guard dog that lives outside, but my wife would not go for it (especially since we have other dogs living inside).

I heard a good rooster can do some protection, but it seems it is a hit or miss and sometimes roosters themselves can become prey of the hawks.

Any other true and tested deterrents or protection against hawks?

Can't say whether this will work for hawks, don't have them, but it does work for Bald Eagles. Buy a spool of monofilament fishing line and string it up overhead wherever you need protection. My lines are about 3-4 feet apart. The eagles can see the lines, and they will not attempt to fly through them. It's much cheaper than aviary netting, and you can stretch across long distances, crisscross or however you need, works like a charm.

 

[Altairsky]

This is my hawk police.

We have many hawks here because I live near a national park.
He's a nice aggressive boy who has no fear of picking fights. He even challenged my friend's rottweiler.
I have no cover during the winter, so the flock protection in winter is all on him. Though I witnessed hawks chasing swallows UNDER my property netting in summer.
The downside is that he's also aggressive with any foreigner that came to my property. So he needs to stay locked if there are workers or friends around. But that's a very little price to pay.

 

[Perris]

This is my hawk police.

very handsome he is too. I notice he also has lemon earlobes; I've been trying to find some/any info on that; do you know how they arise?

 

[Altairsky]

very handsome he is too. I notice he also has lemon earlobes; I've been trying to find some/any info on that; do you know how they arise?

Unfortunately I can't help. I hatched him from eggs that I purchased from this breeder https://maps.app.goo.gl/eqiiV82eHECXk7Uc7
Since I'm very lucky I hatched all cockerels. They all had lemon ears.

 

[Bawkbok]

What a gorgeous fellow!

 

[McChooky]

This is my hawk police.

We have many hawks here because I live near a national park.
He's a nice aggressive boy who has no fear of picking fights. He even challenged my friend's rottweiler.
I have no cover during the winter, so the flock protection in winter is all on him. Though I witnessed hawks chasing swallows UNDER my property netting in summer.
The downside is that he's also aggressive with any foreigner that came to my property. So he needs to stay locked if there are workers or friends around. But that's a very little price to pay.

I'd be crushed if anything happened to my rooster .Hes very gentle and eats out of my hand .Your rooster is gorgeous!