Can a hawk lift a 6-7 pound chicken?

[Jolly_Rancher]

Awful and to me horrific, but a hawk swooped down last week and grabbed my 6mth old kitty.. swooped her up flew her over the roof, tried to land near a electric pole and dropped her in the front yard. She was dead on impact.. Of course I am the screaming maniac all over the yard and the dog is jumping at the sky trying to get the bird.. and yes, she was basicaly ripped out of her skin.. I believe he drooped her because her "pants" fell off.
Bottom line.. I am sure she was more than 3 pounds.. probably closer to 5. The cats are usually faster but the had just been fixed and it was their first day outside and I don't think they were 100%.

Oddly enough the dog hates birds and he usually chases them off.. this was just a really fluke thing for us.. But after seeing it.. my vote..
Yes, with the right curconstances.. Yes a hawk could have taken your chicken.

 

[Guitartists]

So sorry about your kitty... that's horrible

 

[Faverolle]

Quote:
What type of hawk do you know of that can carry away a 5-6 lb chicken? The Ferruginous Hawk is a little larger then a Redtail and theoretically can carry a larger prey item but that would mean carry a prey item the same size or larger then itself which goes against the scientific facts which are generally 1/3-1/2 their body weight depending on the species in question.

I have no doubt a hawk will kill a prey item much heavier then itself and will also try its best to fly away with it but carrying an item its own weight or larger is unlikely. I have seen many times where hawks kill prey items and try to fly but can't but instead kind of bounce so to speak as they try to fly with the item.

Great horned owls which are extremely powerful birds for their size are usually in the 3-5 lb range depending on the sex and will readily kill skunks that weigh the same or even larger then themselves and are capable of carrying a prey item the same weight as itself short distances.

 

[WoodlandWoman]

I'm very sorry about your kitty! What a traumatic thing to have happen.

Around here, hawks are also dangerous to cats, as well as chickens. When they did studies back in the 50s and 70s here, chickens were definitely found to be part of the red-tailed hawk's diet. It wasn't the largest part of the diet, but still a part of it.

I'd love to have a little long haired chihuahua, but I could never let it out of the house without protection in this yard! I wouldn't want one because they're fashionable. It's because I grew up a couple of houses from my grandmother and she had one. She was really sweet and I have a lot of fond memories of her.