Ironclad Coop Defense
On the rural southwest Virginia road where my wife, Elaine, and I live, a number of folks raise chickens. Understandably, then, it’s common for us to exchange information on how our respective flocks are doing. So, several months ago, I wasn’t surprised to receive a frantic call from a neighbor that “some hawk is eating one of my chickens.”
I quickly walked to her backyard, where I observed a red-tailed hawk finish consuming a white leghorn hen before the raptor flew away at my arrival. I wasn’t surprised at the predator’s successful raid — my neighbor doesn’t have netting over her run.
Contrast that with what happens whenever a hawk or owl visits our backyard. Numerous times over the years, I’ve witnessed hawks perched either on the posts of our two chicken runs or in nearby trees. I’ve watched them stare into our runs — covered with netting
