Cooper's Hawk - will it eat a full grown chicken?

I realize this is an older thread. Most as any hawk will kill a bird if it gets a chance. I have had my share also. Now my birds have nice large covered pens. I still see hawks now and then but they can;t get to the birds. A couple of times I have lost a bird to a hawk standing right nest to them. It happened so fast I didn't have time to react. One took one of my chicks and all I could do was watch it fly off with my chick. Good luck...
 
One of the hens I raised from an egg was attacked and killed by a Coopers hawk just this past week. I got out of my car to check my mail and noticed that the hen was face down, wings spread, prostrate on the ground, dead. Some of her white feathers had been pulled out and scattered about her body. I had seen her free ranging earlier in the day, but now at 4 pm (close to dusk) she was gone. I went to the barn to check on the rest of the birds and when I came back, a Cooper's hawk was standing on the back of my dead hen, eating her kidneys. I realized that my car must have frightened the hawk away, but after I had left, the hawk had flown back. When I got into my car, the hawk once again flew a short distance away and perched in a tree, presumably waiting for me to leave and to return to finish her meal. Since then, I have had one other hen disappear. I found only a bunch of her feathers pulled and left on the ground.
:welcome :frow
 
Thought I'd chime in as we do constant battle with hawks here. Currently there are 2 Coopers and 3 Sharpshinned that do fly-bys, depending on the wind and the light. Advice to you, they got a taste and will keep persuing unless you remove the food source. Hawks love chicken! Keep your ladies in for a few days or they will pick them off one by one, especially this time of year.
 
Cooper have taken my pheasant full grown, They stay away from my grown peafowl.

Know they will taken the lighter breeds chickens, so would think your RIR maybe at risk.

Cooper feed anytime during the day, their main prey are birds.
Do
coopers hawks will indeed attack a full grow chicken
they kill it then just eat the neck.
They pluck the feathers off the chest and neck and eat the neck mostly.
and leave the rest as trash.
its quite a waste and I have lost alot of birds from them last spring
yes they do 😔
 
you have to shot him with a less loud gun cause thats the only way, i had an Americana die friday due to a red tailed hawk and im gonna shot next time i see it.
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I in no way want to start an arguement with anyone but before killing a eagle, hawk or owl you had better check with your state's Game or Wildlife Agency. It does vary for state to state and will require a permit in those few that allow it.

All hawks and owls are federally protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (16 USC, 703-711). These laws strictly prohibit the capture, killing, or possession of hawks or owls without special permit. No permits are required to scare depredating migratory birds except for endangered or threatened species, including bald and golden eagles.

Even in Pennsylvania it isn't easy. According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, in September of 2002, a Chester County PA woman, Gwynne McDevitt, a 71 year old Chrysler heiress, was sentenced to 200 hours of community service and fined $130,000.00 for paying others to kill hawks in or near her property.

Many people are advocating that ever stricter laws protecting raptors be put in place following the conviction of members of an Oregon racing pigeon club for killing hawk and falcon in California and Oregon. Oregon's House of Representative Peter DeFazio has introduced the following- House Resolution 4093, provides penalties of up to a $50,000 fine and a year in jail for intentional killing of migratory birds and up to a $25,000 fine and six months in jail for other violations of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. Prosecutors would have discretion to prosecute violations as misdemeanors.
 
I've had a Cooper's Hawk take a full grown OEG roo right out of my back yard while I was watching from the window.

The roo started freaking out & that's what made me look, then it swooped down & it was like they were locked up in a ball for a moment, then it flew away with my roo. I was too stunned to move & it all happned so fast.
We had a full grown female copper Maran that a copper hawk killed and kept coming back and feeding on it. My other chickens wouldn’t even leave the coop.
 

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