I have been a Licensed Falconer for many years and find that my hawks can navigate though all kinds of shiny things after one or two fly bys. They do have problems with mono fishing lines and small wires. If they run into something one time that they can not see in a certain area they tend to avoid going on the same flight path.
Ed Thomas
Round Rock,
From: CHICKENS-101@yahoogroups.com [mailto:CHICKENS-101@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of Laura A. Roberts
Sent: Friday, December 02, 2011 9:51 AM
To: CHICKENS-101@yahoogroups.com
Subject: RE: [CHICKENS-101] Coopers hawk
I have a couple owl decoys – these are the ones whose heads don’t move, but I have seen new ones where the head “bobbles”. I was thinking that mine might make more of a difference if they had some movement of some kind. Some I have seen have eyes that light up and that gave me the idea to put some shiny hologram paper or sticker in place of the eyes, so when the sunlight hits it, there is some reaction. I figure this is better than nothing. The chickens were afraid of the owls for awhile, so I know the birds do see them right away.
Good luck, Marla. This hawk issue is really a pain. We have them, too. My daughter can imitate the sounds the hawks make and she goes out and randomly does “hawk drills”. The poultry freezes, then they run for cover. We also have vultures…….carrion eaters are a problem in our area for newborn cattle. Despite all I’ve read, they WILL go after something live if it is helpless. We haven’t had problems with them bothering the chickens, but they are flying overhead a lot these days and I think they must smell the deer carcasses that the hunters have hanging OR the piles of guts and entrails they leave in the woods. Those birds are quite intimidating and my Pyrs go ballistic when they are flying over our pastures or barnyard!
Laura
Laura Roberts
R Half Pint Farm
CHICKENS-101@yahoogroups.com
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