How to scare away hawks?

[DLA]

We don’t have a run at all. But thanks for the suggestions. We only have a run for our meat birds. The other birds have a free range of our yard. We have a mixed flock. I guess we’re just gonna have to depend on our roosters and keep a closer eye

You could build a chicken tractor. There are lots of threads on this forum to give some ideas on those.

 

[Member 671655]

I don’t think people with chicken tractors have as many chickens as we do. As fighty as my flock is I doubt that they would allow that comets austrolorps and amberlinks. I’ve got another rooster in training. I think we will be okay! We will definitely be outside more observing this week. Dnr has given permission to trap and shoot if needed as well so there’s that, too!

 

[tlcmurphy]

We just had another hawk swoop through the yard, our girls have been attacked before and now run screaming back to the coop/covered run when they see a large shadow. Once bitten, twice shy. They only free-range when I’m here to keep an eye on the yard.

The comical part is that we live near a regional airport. Sometimes the flight paths go over our neighborhood causing widespread Chicken panic. I now know the chicken word for BIG HAWK, BIG HAWK!!!

 

[SamLockwood]

Has anyone had success? One of my amberlinks at her old home was attacked by an owl and when she sees a hawk she goes insane bawking and tryinf to scare it off, it works, but I’d rather not further traumatize her. Are there natural methods of scaring them away?

Chickens don't really suffer PTSD.

 

[Member 671655]

Chickens don't really suffer PTSD.

Not true

 

[RubelliteRose]

Not true

Agree. We had one girl who witnessed a hawk attack on her flock mate. She spent the next several months keeping under shelter as much as possible and sprinting across any open space no matter how short the distance. She was also the hen who herded my pullets deep into shrubbery the next time a hawk flew over. She kept them so quiet that it took us almost a half hour to find them even though they were fairly close to the house. Everyone else came out of hiding as soon as we came outside.

Has anyone had success? One of my amberlinks at her old home was attacked by an owl and when she sees a hawk she goes insane bawking and tryinf to scare it off, it works, but I’d rather not further traumatize her. Are there natural methods of scaring them away?

We found that the most effective method before we got a rooster was for my daughter and I to run full speed towards the hawk while yelling and waving sticks The catch is, you have to be outside A LOT. It may be a coincidence, but after scaring off hawks several times, they seemed to leave our chickens alone while still going after the neighbors flock. I should note that we seem to be in a sweet spot in the area where we have very few hawks anyway.
Also, the roosters do not scare the hawks, but alert the flock to go into hiding. The best defense is for your flock to have plenty of cover so the hawks never see them.

 

[bhwms]

The only thing that keeps hawks away is a covered run. People have supervised free range time and had coyotes and hawks come right on out and snatch a bird while the person was right there. Black chickens don’t make a difference, I’ve had a hawk in my yard go after them. Build a run, otherwise your hen that screams and hollers is your best weapon, she’s wise to watch the sky and will warn the rest of your flock.

If you go to a run that is uncovered, make the run long and narrow. That makes their "swooping" more difficult.

I lost a couple of roosters (free-ranging bachelors) to hawks. What worked after that was "scare tape" - it's a shiny metallic tape like "Police Line - do not cross" tape. I got some cheap plastic electric fence poles and put 3 foot pieces folded in half attached to the top of each one, placed around the yard. I can see the hawks circling, or watching carefully from high in a tree. But a little wind, the scare tape moves and they take off. I've heard from others that CD's hanging from tree limbs that catch the sun can also scare them.

Search "scare tape bird repellent" on Amazon to see what I mean.

I know other homesteaders who use "attack geese" with their chickens and they seem to like it. I don't know how effective it is. My issue now is raccoons and snakes.

 

[Dgsnchicks]

We have about 1/3 acre fenced for our chickens. I have picked up(for free) several large dog houses and scattered them around the area. I have also put in posts and strung fishing line in random patterns between fence posts and posts in the area. I've read that this doesn't work, but the other day a hawk swooped down and as it got close to the line it flew off. Some of the chickens escaped to the coop and the others into the dog houses. My 20 week old cockerel has just started to crow, so I hope he will be helpful also.

 

[meganmtea]

We haven't had any full hawk attacks but have had a few scary swoops at our ladies. The only advice I have for free rangers (which ours are during the day) is to make sure their water and food sources aren't out in the open. The tend to congregate there for longer periods of time and are more vulnerable. We keep ours under a canopy of trees and we haven't seen a hawk since.

We also keep our pullets free ranging in our garden (about 15x20') during the day and for whatever reason hawks haven't figured out that they can fly into it even though it's completely open on top? I've even spotted a hawk perched on the garden fence peering in but didn't attempt to make any moves. I don't know why that is but something about that enclosure has completely fooled them.

I've also heard moving around a big fake owl (like people have at the beach for seagulls) in their general roaming areas can deter hawks, but have yet to try it.

 

[Doug Goolsby]

Thankfully it’s just a fly by. There have been no attacks so far.