Alright - first it was MMH killing my chickens, now it is a Peregrine Falcon. It just got my best 1 month old Partridge Wyandotte. I have put them all back inside now. Is there a sure-fire way to keep raptors out of my outdoor run? It is 4 foot poultry wire, supported by those green iron posts, in a circle about 40 feet across. Any ideas anyone?
Raptors killing my chickens
daytime predator? i would say the best predator info i ever read [and can't recall for you now!] was at www.guineafowl.com
off hand birds are afraid of anything that looks like fire. red wavy windsocks, CDs hanging in trees, and at night time red lights work...
sorry bout that wish i was mor ehelp
Don't apologize, that is helpful info as always! They are inside at night, so I just have to solve the daytime dealio for now. I need one of those torches like on JFK's tomb.
maineiac, i keep chicken wire on the top of mine to keep chicken hawks out
yeah! have the kids make a fabric scarecrow in a hippie tie dye red t-shirt?
Well, I really hate to give up one of the shirts off my back....
jkj - how do you support the wire out in the middle of the pen? Has anyone seen that netting that they use in the avian exhibits like at the zoo for sale anywhere?
^_^
look at the link i gave you, one of their sponsors sells leftover sports netting... remnants basically for the cost of shipping...
we put fence poles and wire down the middle to support it. a cargo net would work also
Scott, google "Aviary netting bird".....there is a lot for sale online.
Thanks to all my "bird buddies". I am going to leave them inside for a couple of days until I can get some netting, maybe the falcon will move on.
Quoting:
Has anyone seen that netting that they use in the avian exhibits like at the zoo for sale anywhere?
My local feed store offers a netting for the top of the chicken's yard. Looks like a fish net, lightweight.
MollyD
Scott, we don't have peregrines, but do have red-tailed, bald eagles, and other large raptors here. I have found that a scarecrow made from an old shirt and pants sewn together at the waist and one a hanger hung from a post either in the chicken yard or hung on the fence wire (ours is 7 feet high) seems to deter them. You have to move them every few days, but we haven't had any losses to the raptors since we started using except for last year when we didn't move them for three weeks. You could also put a cap of some sort over the top of the post you are using to hang the scarecrow on.
Raptors think there is someone out in the pen when we do that, and stay away.
GG
^_^
we used deer netting over the pen area.....unfortunately posts weren't set in cement so had problem when freezing rain came this winter & now the last several chickens we have until the babies arrive are free ranging....luckily we haven't had any predator problems yet this year
Scott, if you need it right now and can't find avairy netting right this second, go to a nursery, or even walmart and look for a cherry tree net.. it should work as well, not sure of the expense.. but no waiting for shipping.
Great ideas everyone - poor biddies are still indoors today as I try to wrangle up something.