What can I do to scare away a hawk?

[RW19290]

Do fake owls work?

I have a very mean hawk in my area. What can I do to scare him/her away? He/She ate 3 of my chicks and injured 1.

 

[freemotion]

Put a cover of some kind on top of your pen until the chicks are about the size of grown chickens. I used a roll of deer netting that I got at TSC and used zip ties to piece it together and to attach it to my fence. My neighbor was standing next to the pen one day and saw the hawk swoop down and veer off just before hitting the net, flying inches from her face......many hawks and ravens will eat small birds as part of their normal diet, so you have to protect the babies from them.

Mine free-range all day and they alert each other if the hawk or owl comes by. The birds-of-prey are hunting rodents and small birds, and are no longer interested in my chickens.

I carefully rolled up the netting so I can use it over and over each time I raise chicks. The snow here destroyed it the first winter I left it up.

 

[FrChuckW]

Some people get the ones that are motion sensitive and put them near their gardens and in their barns and garages to keep wild birds from nesting in them or picking at their crops. I have hear mixed results from people.

You can also take aluminum pie plates andtie a string to them and post them on poles around the pen. The wind will blow them and keep most predators away. I know it keeps the wild birds out of my garden.

 

[nerfy]

I used blank CD's. I have them hung all over the place. Had quite a few close calls with hawks. So far, so good. I got the idea here on BYC, but can't remember who posted it.

 

[ozark hen]

Nerfy is right if they are in a run? I learned to do this from Speckled Hen. If you do a search on cd's you just might see the pics of her runs. When my chickens are in their run it has a few cd's strung from filament line across the top of the run. They dangle allowing them to spin and reflect light even on cloudy days or nighttime..not that my poultry is out at night! Not had a hawk try to get into the run once with them.

 

[Guinea Goonie]

Get a few Guinea Fowl. Mix them in with the chickens and get them to come to roost with the chicken. You may have to get 6 to 8 week old guinea fowl to get this done. They alert to hawks and hawks really do not like them becuase they fly when they sense danger. You need at least four so they get the "unimind" as someone on this site calls it.

They are loud, obnoxious, ugly and really stupid, but they have saved my flock numerous times from the resident hawk.

 

[speedabug]

I have been having hawk problems. We have tried everything and fake owls dont work. It killed 1 of my baby silkie it grabbed of the roost. I had covering over the roost and it got through it. I know what your going through you might have to kill it. GOOD LUCK

 

[RW19290]

Quote:
it's illegal to kill birds of prey in my area.

 

[Sunny Side Up]

I hang the CDs, DVDs, also attatch shiny pinwheels to the posts and hang other cheap suncatchers that are sold at the dollar stores.

Make sure your chicks have a place to run & hide under in the center of their pen. Hawks can grab chicks through the wire sides of a pen if they're close enough to reach.

Hawks seem especially attracted to chicks, they prey on the weak, sick, and more helpless. It's nature's way to insure survival of the fittest.

I don't remember if you said you had a rooster or not. They're great for warning the flock about predators. They have a growly word that means "something flying overhead" and an especially bad word that means "hawk!" My roos have everyone trained, even me, to stop in our tracks and scan the sky when we hear that word.

 

[nerfy]

Yes! Speckled Hen. Thanks Ozark Hen. I let mine free range in my yard when I am home, checking on them often. I hung them on tree branches, and anything else that would let them spin freely. I put 2 together, (shiny side out of course.) so that no matter what direction the wind blows, it reflects the light. I also angled a few so that the reflection shines up by tying a stick and lacing the string through the hole to tilt the CD a bit.
On a sunny day, my yard looks like a light show, my hens will sometimes chase the reflections!
When the hawks attacked, I consider myself very lucky as they were on the ground inches away from my hens trying to take refuge in bushes and such. I happened to be at the right place at the right time.. a couple of times just barely. Too close.