First Hawk Attack, no injuries but question...

[Nikaleigh]

So, it finally happened. I had my first hawk attack. My flock of 11 is in their run all day and I only let them out when I am there. My broody Sebright hatched out a baby duck and 2 chicks. She wanted nothing to do with the chicks (they are now inside with me in a brooder, happy as can be with two purchased chicks) and attacked them, but she adores her baby duckling. I have 3 Cayuga duck eggs in the incubator due to hatch any day.
My husband put up the rest of the flock and all that was left was my Sebright and the duckling. I'm sitting two feet away from them.... All I see is my Sebright leap about 3 feet into the air and meet the hawk mid air and the scuffle begins and she was like a demon possessed.
The hawk flew off and I quickly checked my Sebright for injuries, we do not see any. She was amazing. Her duckling is safe. Are my chickens doomed to stay in the run now? Obviously the hawk did not care I was there, nor my dog. It all happened so fast. Does anyone know of any way to keep hawks away? My mother says an owl statue did not work for her. I am now terrified for my flock. Will a rooster help at all? The whole thing happened so fast.

 

[BastyPutt]

Wow - that is a brazen attack with you so close.

To preface, I don't mean to be pessimistic here, but we had an owl problem - picking off some free spirited hens who roosted in the trees. It was an easy fix because they only hunt at night, but it hung around for a long time after - nesting very close to the coop.

Unfortunately, no - especially if the hawk is ever successful. If that is the case, there is a good chance it will nest near your birds as raptors main objective in life is hunting and feeding. This goes for most all predators who happen upon a chicken coop because it is such east Pickens.

Roosters are obviously much more effective at taking the brunt of the attack, but most likely will always die protecting their flock. And obviously, they are much less equipped for fighting, especially until their spurs develop, in comparison to a raptor. It would have to really hurt the raptor in order for it to not want to to return.

Where we are at, we are able to get a permit if we can prove a personal hardship to our flock. The permit allows us to use non-lethal methods to "harass" the predators away. Since most raptors are federally protected, if your non lethal method kills a raptor, you are in deep doo doo. I have yet to obtain such a permit, or have the need for it, but we had a friend down the Highway who did. After he lost 24 birds, he was finally granted the permit, and used a paint ball gun, which worked.

With that said, maybe something you look into your governing body about if it becomes a problem.

 

[The head hen]

Hawks are brazen ! Here is what we have done...
1. Hung predator tape from trees and fences. https://www.amazon.com/PREDATORGUARD-Bird-Reflective-Scare-Tape/dp/B00MTN6J4M
2. Kept the girls in coop/run for 1 week. That was awful. Would let them out if some one was out with them
3. let the girls out a variable times every day.
4. Got an owl statue with a bobble head so it moves in the slightest of breezes.
5. Make sure the dogs are outside when we are gone.

 

[Pipica]

I have little orchard next to the coop , some 15 to 18 fruit trees. Purchased bird netting originally to protect from birds stealing fruit and somehow came up with a brilliant idea!!! Instead of wrapping the individual trees I leave the netting over the whole orchard (the netting comes in nice sizes 100x 100 and up) Had couple of hawks bomb dive and it didn’t go well for them and gives girls enough time to reach the safety. All together they have an acre and a half to roam but never ever if I’m not home.

 

[Ju dy]

So, it finally happened. I had my first hawk attack. My flock of 11 is in their run all day and I only let them out when I am there. My broody Sebright hatched out a baby duck and 2 chicks. She wanted nothing to do with the chicks (they are now inside with me in a brooder, happy as can be with two purchased chicks) and attacked them, but she adores her baby duckling. I have 3 Cayuga duck eggs in the incubator due to hatch any day.
My husband put up the rest of the flock and all that was left was my Sebright and the duckling. I'm sitting two feet away from them.... All I see is my Sebright leap about 3 feet into the air and meet the hawk mid air and the scuffle begins and she was like a demon possessed.
The hawk flew off and I quickly checked my Sebright for injuries, we do not see any. She was amazing. Her duckling is safe. Are my chickens doomed to stay in the run now? Obviously the hawk did not care I was there, nor my dog. It all happened so fast. Does anyone know of any way to keep hawks away? My mother says an owl statue did not work for her. I am now terrified for my flock. Will a rooster help at all? The whole thing happened so fast.

Our run is about 50 ft x 100 ft. We kept having hawk attacks. We covered our entire run with a sturdy bird netting we bought on Amazon. For several months the hawks continued to come and even fly circles around the run but then they'd just fly away. They don't even attempt to come down. I have read that they see the netting as much thicker than it is and they see it as a barrier and move on. Since the netting was put up we have not lost another chicken and actually see very few hawks at all. I guess they figured out that they can not get to the girls.

 

[Tahai]

Are my chickens doomed to stay in the run now?

Yes, at least until you devise a protected area for them to roam in.

 

[my spoiled chickens]

maybe get a fake owl statue I've heard hawks are wary of owls because owls are much larger than them so maybe invest in one of those we use one for our hayloft to keep the pigeons and starlings away

 

[SamLockwood]

It all depends on how difficult your flock is for them to get at versus natural game. If there's plentiful other food sources for them and your flock isn't particularly easy for them to attack they'll generally leave your birds alone.

Late fall and early spring are the worst times of year for predators: I free range my flock pretty much all the time and that's the time of year I've had the bulk of my losses from predators. The hawks try all year long, but they seem particularly persistent in those times of year. Plus spring & fall is when you see a lot of normally nocturnal predators show up in daytime. If you don't have a fence in your free range area a fast-moving coyote or bobcat will snatch one right in front of you, too (and bobcats will make a mockery of your fence anyway).

Even if you have the best free ranging setup (a solid fence around the yard, lots of ground cover for them to duck under, plenty of guardian animals, and trail cameras all around to keep track of the habits of your local ground predators) you will still take losses.

If your flock is big enough, you'll be able to afford a few losses a year (and since it's usually the stupider or slower ones that get picked off your flock genetics will tend to get stronger over time). If you have a small flock and they're all dear pets for you, my advice is don't free range.

Build them a large enough secure run: hawk netting is, in my opinion not really sufficient. It's better to have the top covered with either a solid roof (clear corrugated polycarbonate is good if you want them to still get some sun) or hardware cloth attached to a sturdy frame.

Alternatively you can find or build a big chicken tractor that's light enough you can move it around, or you can have multiple covered areas and build some "chunnels" in between them if you want to have variety for them to forage or you want to use them for gardening or pest control.