# Coyotes and Hawks - How to keep them away?



## WeeLittleChicken (Aug 31, 2012)

I just moved into a nice little farm and cannot wait to get some chickens again. The thing is that although this property is fenced in it's done in an extremely shabby fashion. The fences are 4 feet tall, look like some sort of rabbit wire, are not electrified, and there's large holes where animals can just easily crawl under whenever they please.

We also learned after moving in that we are apparently living at Coyote Central. We can hear at least two packs of them going off every night real close by. Besides this there appears to be a family of hawks who I think ate all the song birds who are mysteriously absent from the area. (Seriously all I have seen are hawks, crows, and blue jays... and there's a lot of trees around here!)

The people who sold the property tried selling it as a predator proof "horse farm" which is completely laughable - unless you have a blind horse or something. Anyway, what should I implement in the Spring to keep predators away when I start raising poultry here? Is there anything I can do besides build roofed and/or electrified runs? Any ideas would be great. We hope to have chickens here (Seramas and normal large fowl) as well as turkeys and *maybe* a couple ducks. Thanks a bunch.

(a photo of the farm before we bought it - as you can see it's a large open area with weird fencing.)


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

Large guard dog or dogs. Not a lot you can do about the hawks except have a secure covered run if you do suffer an attack from them. 

We had a lot of coyotes around us too. Our property was fenced so it did pretty much keep them out. But they could jump it when the mood struck. Our dogs being out during the day kept them off the property. My coops were securely built the outside runs had covers on them.

Now I have hot wire running around the outside of the pen in our new place. Its been very effective. I've found where predators had tried to dig in during the night twice now. Both times they got bit by the wire.


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