TIL my neighbor's rooster situation changed my whole view on free-ranging

I used to let my hens roam the yard all day until my neighbor Jim told me he lost three birds to a hawk last spring. He showed me where the hawk came back three times in one week and that made me realize my setup was basically a buffet. Has anyone else had a predator change how you manage free-range time?

2 comments

2 Comments

taylor.jessica11d ago

Oh man, same thing happened to me last summer and it totally flipped my thinking. I had this great setup where my birds could scratch around under the oak trees all day, thought they were living the dream. Then I came home one afternoon and found feathers everywhere, just a mess. Lost my best laying hen, she was the friendliest one too. After that I built a big covered run with hardware cloth, not just chicken wire, and I only let them out now when I'm actually home and keeping an eye on things. It sucks because they loved roaming but I'd rather have live birds than dead ones. The hawk still circles sometimes and it's wild how fast they figure out where the easy meals are.

stone.evan10d ago

Wait did you put the run in the same spot or move it somewhere else? Cause I wonder if the hawk will just keep coming back to the same area even with the covered run going.