Chickens for 10-20 years or more? Pull up a rockin' chair and lay some wisdom on us!

[mendocinosunris]

killing a hawk varies state to state and if you can prove it is killing your livestock. Hawks are not on an endagered list in everystate, so it varies. But I'm sure the best advice is if you have to kill it don't say a word to anyone ever.
As for weasels. A good cat. My outdoor Maine Coon mix has 2 confirmed weasel kills this year.

So I have a hawk question that's been rattling around in my head for a while.
Do ravens typically keep hawks away?
Earlier this year, I had a couple of hawks hanging around. Then several ravens moved in to the area after discovering my compost pile. There were a few spectacular aerial battles, and I haven't seen the hawks since. I'm not sure if this was a coincidence or not....

 

[FuzzyButtsFarm]

No this was not a coincidence. Ravens and Hawks do NOT get along. Lucky you. Can you send me a few ravens.

 

[donrae]

After all that discussion..........I was talking about shooting the squirrels, not hawks. As I said, that's a nice day's entertainment around here

Note to self--remember to quote addressed post on this massive, multi-topic thread.

Carry on............

 

[Leahs Mom]

just a word on the hawks..we use traps on our fench posts..hawk almost always lands to pick out its prey..dont have to bait it or nothing ..just sit it right on top of the posts and end of story ..no noise from a gun ..(what? me ? i never seen any hawk!! )

Quote:
Wait...wait..... what kind of trap on the fence post?
?????????

What can I put on my fence post?

 

[thedragonlady]

So I have a hawk question that's been rattling around in my head for a while.
Do ravens typically keep hawks away?
Earlier this year, I had a couple of hawks hanging around. Then several ravens moved in to the area after discovering my compost pile. There were a few spectacular aerial battles, and I haven't seen the hawks since. I'm not sure if this was a coincidence or not....

I have a resident murder of crows that have lived here for years. I have fed them when they have chicks, especially when West Nile killed a few off.They nest right near my coops. I have never had them harrass my Orps, but they run off the Red Tails and the Pergerine pair that also live here.Love my crows, but I wouldn't trust them with chicks running about. The big Orps just ignore them.

 

[galanie]

I have crows and hawks both. No, they don't get along but the crows have not been successful in driving off the hawks. They did at first, but now there's too many and they fight all the time but sometimes it's the hawks running the crows off that I see.

The root of the problem is my neighbor that is an "animal lover." He has way too many cats and feeds any animal he sees. He daily puts out a pound or more of bird seed and peanuts for the birds and squirrels. Plenty of prey = more predators. He has completely screwed up the ecology of this area. Yes, it's in the city but it's the most "country like" area of a city you ever saw. Plenty of places for wildlife to live, including the monsterous possum close by. That thing looks like a medium sized dog. But never has bothered the chickens other than one of it's young I caught in the coop one night. It didn't make it out of there alive and no it wasn't playing possum.

 

[loanwizard]

Leg trap. Someone told me that is what they do. If I ever did that, there is no way, NO WAY, I would post that on a public forum. They pace the snap trap on the post, the hawk lands on post, gets leg caught and cannot fly away.

 

[Kansas Prairie]

Google Bal-Chatri Trap. I do not think it's legal to use these on hawks in the US without special permit. I think it's legal to purchase these traps for the purpose of trapping pigeons, however you should check pigeon trapping laws in your area.

 

[HallFamilyFarm]

Quote:
The crows here do help with the local hawks. However, our Orpingtons do not like the crows. They ignore them in the backyard, but chase them out of the paddocks

 

[fowlman01]

Leg trap. Someone told me that is what they do. If I ever did that, there is no way, NO WAY, I would post that on a public forum. They pace the snap trap on the post, the hawk lands on post, gets leg caught and cannot fly away.

Correct........I thought I was the only one thinking that.......it is not like you know who reads these posts. There are over 100,000 subscribers to BYC.

Walt