Additionally, native hens may foul pasture and watering points with their faeces. Overall however, the damage done to crops by native hens is insignificant to that caused by other grazers. As native hens are flightless and do not dig, fencing offers an effective barrier. Rabbit-wire netting is ideal for this purpose. Hurricane deer fencing can also be used, with the added benefit that it will keep out other grazers such as Bennett's wallaby and pademelon.
Native hens are as typical of our bushland as seabirds are of our beaches.
Their noise is simply part of the semi-rural or bushland setting. Through their grazing, native hens regulate the growth and distribution of native grasslands. They are an important prey item for many predators including Tasmanian devils, marsh harriers and snakes. As an endemic species with unique and interesting behaviour, the native hen is of significant value to Tasmania. Researchers from throughout the world travel to Tasmania to study their unique social structures and behaviour.