A Hawk Is Killing Our Chickens. What should I do?

[Nan5634]

Okay yesterday my aunt alerted me to a hawk that was outside and it killed our new white silkie. My brother wanted to shoot it but I went online and it is a Red-Tailed Hawk...which is an endangered species...and it's illegal to shoot one...and it came back today and killed another chicken! What should I do?

 

[juliawitt]

We decided not to do netting because our run is so big.........So, my husband took an afternoon and meticulously placed twine across our whole run with Canning jar lids hanging down to reflect. It took time, but since we have done this, we have seen hawks, but not one hawk is even watching. They are smart and know that can not fly in with out getting tangled up!

It is hard to see the lids in the pics......but apparently the hawks can!

 

[stephhassler]

I had the same problem - lost 2 birds to a red tailed hawk. I called DNR and was told I COULD kill the hawk because it was destroying livestock. I did take a photo of the hawk eating a chicken so I would have proof that it was actually killing my birds.

 

[chickengeorgeto]

I would be more than interested in a link to any web sight that said that Red Tailed hawks are "endangered".

Sounds like fake news to my old ears.

 

[centrarchid]

The way I was schooled, all raptors which includes vultures, are protected by the international, therefore federal agreement @tigger19687 linked. Even today, I am pretty sure there are more people (voters) in the US that hold the opinion that I have where raptors are not to be harmed. It is very clear that poultry keepers on the whole may be an exception to that pattern, but what we poultry people do must be done in the greater context of what the US population at large most recently agreed to.

 

[tigger19687]

It is not Just the Hawks, what about coyotes, dogs, snakes (large in some areas), weasels of all species, cats (domestic and wild) ...... The point is, None of these creatures 'hunted for chicken before" but hey if you are going to give them a free meal then hey, it's fair game to them. Food is food when you are a wild animal trying to survive.
We took their land - because they WERE here first. WE introduced chickens, therefore it has turned into something they Will eat...................

The chickens are in your care, it is your responsibility to protect them. Same with Cats, if you let them run around lose, they may just disappear and really you are the only one to blame....some disappear by hawk, coyote, car and occasionally by humans who are usually tired of them killing their chickens/bunnies/ etc.
So for those that have say, under 20 and they are more Pets then Money making livestock... Secure them, you can't kill everything that is going to harm your chickens.

End of point is that Hawks ARE protected . If you want to do the 3 S's in your back woods country, that is Your business and Law's for your state.

 

[Aceoky]

A good electric fence is usually plenty for the 'coons, 'yotes etc. etc. etc. , even a covered run is not always enough for hawks........ the point IS you do all you can do and they still persist (against their nature) to target folk's backyard (often quite small flocks) . NO it's not "their fault" this happens, the protecting of certain BOP despite them being overly aggressive and doing tens of thousands in damage to livestock IS the real problem. The time for "unlimited protection" (which is really not accurate as it IS possible to get kill permits in very limited circumstances) is over (or should be) .

BTW please show where I even "hinted" to "SSS" , I did the opposite in fact and clearly stated I'm not advocating any illegal activity or tactics, then posted some legal alternatives that actually work in placing the natural fear of man back into wild BOP. This is nothing new to me, we have raised large flocks for well over 3-4 decades and now have > 60 chickens currently.

ETA:

Also (as you pointed out) the BOP - Are protected; ironically the other predators we deal with are NOT protected, we can shoot them, trap them - dispose of the problem critters-- unlike the BOP issue . You can "secure them" very well and still persistent BOP will upset them try to kill & eat them. Unlike some (including you it seems) I feel bad for those losing most or all their small flocks to these hawks, thus I pointed out it doesn't have to be that way there are legal methods to educate them we are not running an all you can eat free chicken buffet .

 

[rcentner]

you wouldn't know they are endangered around here, they are the reason I had to stop free ranging. We simply put a net over the run. I used to like the hawks..jerks.

 

[PortageGirl]

ooh, good idea about the tinsel! I'm sure most people know that it's very dangerous to pets, and probably to chickens since if they can get to it, the mylar won't be broken down and will tangle in their gut, (or in a chicken's crop) and can kill them. Just make sure pets of any kind can't get to it!

 

[HippieChickens]

A couple of things:

* Red-tailed Hawks and all other native birds of prey are protected by federal law whether they're endangered or not. (They'd all be endangered if they weren't protected.)

* A large, resident bird of prey that's not tempted by poultry is one of your best allies against those that are. They're territorial not only toward members of their own species but against potential competitors of other species. As with other predators, the loss of an established adult raptor just leaves a vacuum to be filled by a naive youngster whose prey preferences aren't yet established (and who therefore may be tempted by anything that moves).

I've seen two farmyards "guarded" by resident hawks that would loaf up in the trees while the poultry fed unconcerned directly below. We may have one of our own now, since a gorgeous Red-tailed Hawk recently took up residence in our neighborhood and likes to sit on a utility pole in front of our house, in full view of our chickens' run. She's never done more than glance at the chickens, even when they're out free-ranging (they're in their enclosed pen/coop except when I'm there to supervise). The other day when the girls were pecking around the yard I heard the alarm cackle of a Cooper's Hawk coming from the neighbors' yard. That put me on alert, even though that call indicates that the bird is in non-hunting mode. Looking around to see what had upset the Cooper's, I noticed the Red-tail sitting on her usual perch staring in the direction of the cackle.

The calling Cooper's may have been the same one that visited our yard daily for a drink and a bath the last two winters (really fun to watch, especially the reactions of the quail and songbirds when they'd find her standing in "their" water). If she survived to return this winter and isn't too intimidated by the Red-tail or the addition of the coop/run to the yard to hang around, I'm not expecting any trouble from her since she's now an adult with established prey preferences that almost certainly do not include poultry. If a young Cooper's appears, we'll have to "train" it not to be a chicken killer by not giving it any opportunities (there's plenty of natural prey around).