Hi Sue, I think the majority of the experienced poultry people will tell you that any kind of domestic fowl is going to be suseptable to being killed by a hawk or raptor of some sort.
That is part of the game we all have to play as we try to outsmart the varmits that are constantly intent on wiping out our birds. I have seen large chicken hens killed by tiny little screech owls under the right circumstances.
There are times that I have almost thrown in the towel myself. Times when I find a hole chewed through the floor of an almost brand new coop by a raccoon and everything in that coop killed but very little eaten. Once I was nearly wiped out on a large kit of high dollar Pensom Roller pigeons I had. I loved to watch those pigeons do their airel acrobatics on a clear day and so did the pengrine Falcons that would come out of nowhere and knock them out of the sky.
As Cathryn said, the netting works well over the pens as does monofilament line stretched tight at various heights and intervals across the area where the hawks like to dive in and strike. They can't see the clear monofilament till they are right on top of it and once they get knocked for a loop a few times they will often leave the area. Dean
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"wildliferescue29" <wildliferescue29@...> wrote:
Since we're on the subject, I've tried absolutely everything to deter
'air strikes' (daytime hawks) with no success. Outside of killing them (something I don't engage in but some of my neighbors do) I've been told that if you kill them, in nothing flat, another one just takes their place...sigh*
After erecting a fence to keep coyotes and fox out, I've had no problems in that area, the fence keeps them at bay during the day and my birds are securely locked up at night. Now, it's the daytime hawks! Out of 30 chickies I raised this season, I have 7 left. This is the usual course for me...unfortunately :(
I give up. I think that I'll just keep larger birds; peas, turkeys, geese and ducks. The hawks don't bother them.
If anyone has 'new' ideas on how to prevent daytime air strikes from raptors (outside of killing them) I'd be MOST interested!
Sue
Wildlife Rescue
CHICKENS-101@yahoogroups.com
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