The mighty scarehawk

I have had zero hawk attacks on my chickens using this method, and it uses no nets in a relatively open area. It’s a scarecrow with cds hanging from fishing string on its arms. The thin string makes the cds move with little resistance. I also move it every day from one side of the food forest to the other so the hawk doesn’t get wise (I did have an attack when I stopped moving it) you can use umbrella stands or permanent posts to move it too, my two spots are about 40 feet away. The scarecrow is just a 2x4 cross with clothes and a head on it.

Here, it would be difficult to stake into the ground, because it's all classy & rocks, but I could see mounting it in a bucket of cement, for stability, and moving it around with a dolly. I wonder if this might help protect my chickens, so they could free range, again. I hate that they're cooped up all the time, now.

Carla Burke wrote:Here, it would be difficult to stake into the ground, because it's all classy & rocks, but I could see mounting it in a bucket of cement, for stability, and moving it around with a dolly. I wonder if this might help protect my chickens, so they could free range, again. I hate that they're cooped up all the time, now.

I have been using this method for about two years now with great success. I’m mostly dealing with Cooper’s hawks (chicken hawks) in my area if that matters. Those heavy patio umbrella stands could work to and got for free on the roadside or marketplace.

Great points, Nick! Thank you!