How to get a permit to kill a hawk? *graphic photos*

HeatherTheMommy

Songster
May 14, 2015
802
22
109
Felton DE
How do you go about getting a permit to shoot a hawk? I have a coopers hawk in my yard who killed one of my hens on the 1st. Before this he also attacked my flock but only got feathers (i didnt realize it was a hawk at this point i thought it was a stray cat coming for cat food i threw out to the girls) and last week he ripped the comb off of my buff orpinton (again i just thought she had got it stuck on something but now it all adds up). Now everyday the hawk comes in my yard and stands in front of my run waiting for my hens to come out. He also perches on top of the run and now all of my hens are so afraid they stay in the coop all day and egg production is almost non existant since this hawk has been terrorizing them. Today we are building a secondary run so the girls have access to grass but it won't be quite as secure as our current run. I'm really upset that my girls can no longer free range and hide in the coop all day. Had anyone gotten a permit and how hard is it? I live in delaware.
 
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Contact your state DNR.
From what I've read, it's pretty darn hard to get a permit.

Keep them locked up for a few weeks, the hawk will move on.
You might think about providing some cover for your birds if/when you do free range again.
 
They do have a decent amount of cover. We have many vehicles and a big RV they usually stay under or under our steps. Also we have a large shed they can go into right next to the coop. They tend to stay around the shed and steps to hang around there. When i found my slaughtered hen she was in the corner between the shed and coop like the hawk had cornered her there. They also come on the front porch sometimes. I'm not sure i will let them free range anymore though i really dont want to lose anymore hens. They have been locked up since the dominique was killed but it makes me sad not letting them have free range of our big yard and not seeing them run up to me when i go outside :(
 
They do have a decent amount of cover. We have many vehicles and a big RV they usually stay under or under our steps. Also we have a large shed they can go into right next to the coop. They tend to stay around the shed and steps to hang around there. When i found my slaughtered hen she was in the corner between the shed and coop like the hawk had cornered her there. They also come on the front porch sometimes. I'm not sure i will let them free range anymore though i really dont want to lose anymore hens. They have been locked up since the dominique was killed but it makes me sad not letting them have free range of our big yard and not seeing them run up to me when i go outside
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OK, looked bare and wide open from the pics.

Mine are almost always confined, mainly because of hawks.
I'd rather provide grazing frames and other forms of greenery, deep litter to dig thru, roosts and branches in the run than have them get killed by preds.
 
Yea we usually park our suburban and our car trailer right in front of the coop and they stay under that a lot but my husband took the truck and trailer to pick up some 6 foot chain link to build a big cage for them to "free range" in while we are home. I think our free ranging days are over which makes me sad but i know i will lose more to hawks at this rate
 
Lock your birds in for two or three weeks, and your hawk will move on. Occasionally another hawk will show up and kill or injure a bird, and then it's time for 'lockdown' again. It's going to happen with free ranging chickens, and it's less of a problem than the dog or fox attacks, that can wipe out entire flocks in a short time. The DNR will likely tell you the same thing. Mary
 
Lock your birds in for two or three weeks, and your hawk will move on. Occasionally another hawk will show up and kill or injure a bird, and then it's time for 'lockdown' again. It's going to happen with free ranging chickens, and it's less of a problem than the dog or fox attacks, that can wipe out entire flocks in a short time. The DNR will likely tell you the same thing. Mary


I wish this was true.

I have too many hawks, owls and eagles here, they are always here I have had them locked up for a month at a time and the predators are still here.

As sad as it is I have learned to live with some loses. I keep my dogs outside with the chickens as much as possible, but the dogs are lazy and whine to come into the house.

I have tried Cd's from fishing line Scare crows, shooting guns into the air to scare them, nothing works.

I have, and this is a personal decision each of us has to make for ourselves, decided to live with the loss of 20 birds a year. I have lots of cover and huge runs for when I am gone. But I do not have lappers (birds that sit on my laps) I have working birds, Their job is to lay eggs and eat the box elder bugs that plague me. They do well at their job. That said I love my birds but will never lock them up for good.


I look it like I look at my life, I would rather be free and live an uncertain life with some dangers in it than be locked up in a little cage. As I said we each have to make our own peace with our choices.

Back to the original post, I did not know permits were even available for shooting hawks? Unless you write them to yourself and they are worth as much as fake confederate money today is..
 
They do have a decent amount of cover. We have many vehicles and a big RV they usually stay under or under our steps. Also we have a large shed they can go into right next to the coop. They tend to stay around the shed and steps to hang around there. When i found my slaughtered hen she was in the corner between the shed and coop like the hawk had cornered her there. They also come on the front porch sometimes. I'm not sure i will let them free range anymore though i really dont want to lose anymore hens. They have been locked up since the dominique was killed but it makes me sad not letting them have free range of our big yard and not seeing them run up to me when i go outside
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It will be hard to get permission.... very, very, very hard. I doubt that you can demonstrate an economic hardship which is the first step. You may instead wish to think about begging for forgiveness instead of asking for permission. That is what I would do. There is a saying SSS, it means Shoot, Shovel, and Silence.


This is the reason that in more practical days every farm house had a shotgun hanging above the kitchen door and a farm woman who was prepared to use it.


My grand dad used to say, "The hanging only comes after the catching." People were imho more free and independent in those days.
 
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You will not get permission. You have done essentially nothing to protect your birds by simply denying hawk access to them. You have done nothing to make the hawks efforts more difficult. So far have only created a feeding station for the hawk. First do the reasonable and pen your birds up.
 
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