dealing with chicken hawks

[Suzy]

I see no forum thread for poultry, chickens, or chicken hawks so I'll ask my question here....

My chickens run freely throughout the day and go safely into their various chicken houses where they are closed up for the night, each night...

This past week my farm was visited by two (beautiful) hawks who killed one of my pet chickens (out of about 175 some just have more personality than others!)....

I scared them off and buried her....screaming, ranting and raving all the while....

The chickens in that area were traumatized, had all run back into their little house with Samson, the big Rhode Island Red rooster, guarding the door inside!

I made a "scarecrow" out of a BIG OLD OLD OLD teddy bear. I sat it in a plastic chair, dressed him in a bright blue wind breaker, and a baseball cap....the hawks have been all around us but have not bothered any more of my chickens...

What else can I do? Is it legal to shoot the hawks?

[bee_pipes]

All animals have been pretty much lumped together in the Fauna section - Livestock/Horses for domestics, Wild/Other Animal Issues. But this works too.

First off, shooting hawks depends on your state. You didn't have a state on your profile, so I can't tell. Personally, we are concealed enough here that I would have no problem shooting a hawk after my chickens, regardless of what Tennessee says. If you have a lot of road frontage and traffic - that could be a problem. I have heard in most states that it is leagal if the animal poses a threat to your livestock. You'd need to check your local Dept of Natural Resources, Fish anf Game or whatever they call the department in your state.

The scarecrow might help, but you neet to move it around so the hawks don't get used to it. I cut strips from plastic grocery bags and tie them up as pennants on fencing, hang tin cans, bells and wind chimes. Some of it keeps deer from running through, some of it is for me to keep from stumbling into a fence ;D

Best of luck to you!

Regards,
Pat

[Southern_Gent]

Well, Suzy, your problem brings me back to a time when I raised chickens. I had about 30 chickens running around on 10 acres. Then a hawk appeared and started killing them, one or two a day, and kept coming back until all my chickens were dead.

It was bad enough that the hawk killed my chickens, but what really ticked me off was that it only ate the head and the craw, leaving the rest to rot. The laws in Florida barred me from shooting the hawk, as it was protected. Still, I was tempted to blast that sucker out of the sky with my 12 gauge.

[DM]

Shotgun or rifle works for me... BUT, you can put a 4x4 post in the ground, anything even a smaller tree cut off 10 feet up that overlooks the chickens... Then take a leg hold trap set it and put it on top of the post... put enough wire to the trap so the trap can come off the post a few feet.

Hawks will land on the post to look the chickens over, and landing in the trap means they aren't getting away...

Take a 22 out there and shoot them in the trap.

DM

[MadTripper]

Same thing as DM except I've heard of baiting it as well.

[bookwormom]

maybe we need to include poultry with lifestock and horses, bees go there, too. I thought about moving it, but I figure it is just as well here.

where I lived in Europe the farm wives put gazing balls in the chicken yards. they are not as huge as here and fit on a post the size of a t post. They even go by the name of Hawk balls. When I first saw them in my neighbors chicken lot I thought she was exagerating the decorating and flowers everywhere bit, but no, she laughed and told me it was to keep the hawks away, and I guess it works.

[jjspirko]

If the balls work fine if not again I revert to a bullet. I used to raise pigeons with my uncle and we had a rule. If a hawk took "a" pigeon that was part of life. This would be the passing wild hawk that saw the bird as a target of opportunity. If one took up residence and decided to make a living on our pigeons it had to go. Generally they were "sniped" from a tree as they were planning the attack. A 22 Hornet is good out to 200 yards but not so loud as to alert John Law or over concerned neighbors.

I am all for protecting animals and making sure they don't go the way of the dodo bird but there are sure a lot of hawks around now. I don't think taking out the ones that are directly preying on your stock should be illegal but in most states it is.

[Deberosa]

I had an eagle take a swipe at my chickens today!!! :o

It's illegal to shoot them and one of the stupider laws on the books in my opinion!!!

Give your chickens things to hide under and put some guineas in the pen - the guineas are quick to sound an alert when something is overhead and the chickens soon learn to hide when that happens.

After that I've only lost smaller or younger chickens to hawks and really very few considering how many I have (I think I've lost a total of 5 to hawks).

[macgeoghagen]

where i live in suburbia, people generally keep their chickens enclosed in a fence to keep them from wandering away and getting eaten by stray dogs or stolen. they usually fence in the top as well to keep predators out. I'm not sure this will work if you intend for your chickens to be free range.

[HockeyFan]

We aren't raising chickens yet, but we have hawks in the area, so this is of interest to me. I'm wondering if geese might be a good solution as well.
I'm interested if there is a good solution, although if nothing else, it sounds like baiting them at the top of a post might work.

[DM]

We aren't raising chickens yet, but we have hawks in the area, so this is of interest to me. *I'm wondering if geese might be a good solution as well.
I'm interested if there is a good solution, although if nothing else, it sounds like baiting them at the top of a post might work.


Trust me, all the bait they need is running around on the ground right in front of them...

DM

[RangerRick]

I prefer using Sweetie's 20 ga. double to keep the Red Tails in control and here in Oklahoma we have no shortage of hawks.

Rick

[flatwater]

Are we blaming the hawk for killing chickens or the person for setting out chickens in hawk country? Hawks don't know it's a chicken , to them it looks like food and thats what hawks do to survive. Now with that said , I have a friend that is into falconry and after having to apprentice for a year he was allowed to catch a bird. What he got was a red tailed hawk which is legal to catch if you have your licence. He brought his hawk over for me to see and to be two feet away from a red tailed hawk was a thrill.And then to hold one on my hand was awsome. I don't think I could shoot one after that. I'm not passing judgement , just a personal expirence.
Flatwater

[wy0mn]

Discretion!
Raptors (hawks/eagles/owls & vultures) are Federally protected. States have been granted the right to add on extra regulation, but they cannot relax the standard set by the Feds.
Whatever you do, do it in silence. Tell no one, & save NO feathers, claws or other evidence. Shoot & walk away!
Many laws are stupid, but we don't have to be.
I've studied for the Falconers license for many years, trying to do this thing within the unreasonable bounds of legality. Its futzed up! If I ever decide to go rogue I'll just simply do it & tell no one.
Apprenticeship used to be two years, maybe they are getting smarter. Now if they'd abolish it altogether... after all, it isn't rocket science, its a bird!
Now if you want to see stupid, just visit a falconry forum! Try to locate a General or Master class falconer to be your Sponsor! There are no provisions for folks who cannot locate a Sponsor. They are slitting their own throats and aren't bright enough to know it. Bird-brained!
PS: If you don't want to kill them but relocate them, google a bal-chatri trap. I made three for under $10.

[bookwormom]

quote
Shoot & walk away!

shoot, shovel, shut up ;)

I may have posted this before someplace, but those glass gazing balls on a post are supposed to keep hawks away. I lived for a while in an area where they were even called hawk balls.

[leera]

Hawks can be a problem, a fence roof on the chicken yard would help.......keeping them penned at least until the hawks moves on......they go where the food is,take away the food,there's no reason to stay.....You can also try reflectors.......foil pie pans on a string tied to a pole.......somethimes,but not always it works......depends on how bold the bird is......

Also like someone said,guineas.....adding a few birds to flock that are spookier than chickens,when one spooks,the whole flock spooks......

Many spieces of hawks are often called"chicken hawks",but depending on where you live,the culprit is usually a Red Tailed hawk,they are more bold than many others,and seemed to have adapted to urban living as well.

[flatwater]

Good call Leera , I think the term chicken hawk is just a nick name for any hawk that happens to kill your chickens. Around here people call our coopers hawk a chicken hawk. I have seen the cooper hawk work in pairs. One will hide in the trees and the other will fly off a good distance to the top of a tree. The quail will see this and come back out to feed while the hidden one will swoop down and try and grab one. Their success rate is only about one in ten tries. No wonder they go for the dumb chicken.
Flatwater

[MooseToo]

i've heard local stories that game cocks will fight off hawks -

[wy0mn]

Thats true!
I've seen a warwise, battle hardened, Bantam rooster kill an inexperienced juvenile Red-tail hawk firsthand; but I think the poultry victories are rare.
I've also known people who shot all raptors on sight, even Kestrels, lumping them under the heading of "chicken hawks". An adult female Kes might take a tiny chick in the winter, but winter chicks usually didn't survive for me anyway.
Most of my free range poultry losses were to the night time foraging of owls. If you find feathers/carcass in the morning it was most likely an owl.

[jajbellsouthnet]

I have learned the following:
A good hawk, like a good cat, is a DEAD one!
A good, high velocity air rifle is quiet, effective, will get rid of the predators and the neighbors will never know.

[AlchemyAcres]

There are a lot of hawks up here....I switched to large breed chickens a long time ago.
They won't bother my adult Black Australorps.
I have never had to shoot a hawk!!
I need the hawks to help control voles!!
If you can, try a larger breed..
No hawk worries, and FAR fewer vole worries!


~Martin :)

[Ericb]

while hawks are a pain and are causing you both emotional and monetary damage, *You should know that all birds of prey ( raptors) are protected by Federal law, *Killing one by shooting, trapping, or poisoning is considered a felony and punishable by fines not more that $10,000 and no more than 5 years in prison. *I personally don't have a problem with shooting one and probably would it one was killing my chickens but you need to know the chance you would be taking. *

[ShadowWolf]

I spoke with a Conservation Agent (his fathers property meets ours) about the toll the hawks were putting on our flock. I asked him about shooting them as you can get a permit to kill deer that are damaging your crops.
He too said they were federally protected but.......just make sure to use bird shot..lol
I have ALWAYS followed the laws before, but now I will shoot all trespassers violating air space or property.
Of course, this is easier to do in a rural area.