Hawk checking out the birds.

I was told this information from a state wildlife officer named Kevin Behr. It is legal to kill hawks in the state of Ohio.


Accorging to the Ohio Revised Code, Section 1533.07: No person shall catch, kill, injure, pursue or have in his possession either dead or alive, or purchase, expose for sale, transport or ship to a point within or without the state, or receive or deliver for transportation, any bird other than a gamebird, or have in his possession any part of the plumage, skin, or body of any bird other than a game bird, or disturb or destroy the eggs, nest, or young of birds.

The owner of domestic animals or fowl may kill hawks or owls causing damage to domestic animals or fowl while such damage is occurring. Once they brey on a flock of domestic animals, they do not quit. IF a bird of prey is killed, the carcass needs to be disposed of and no part can be possessed, including the feathers.
 
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Here's what the Ohio Revised Code, Section 1533.07 actually says:

"No person shall catch, kill, injure, pursue, or have in the person’s possession, either dead or alive, or purchase, expose for sale, transport, or ship to a point within or without the state, or receive or deliver for transportation any bird other than a game bird, or have in the person’s possession any part of the plumage, skin, or body of any bird other than a game bird, except as permitted in Chapter 1531. and this chapter of the Revised Code, or disturb or destroy the eggs, nest, or young of such a bird.

This section does not prohibit the lawful taking, killing, pursuing, or possession of any game bird during the open season for the bird. Bald or golden eagles and ospreys shall not be killed or possessed at any time, except that eagles or ospreys may be possessed for educational purposes by governmental or municipal zoological parks, museums, and scientific or educational institutions. European starlings, English sparrows, and common pigeons, other than homing pigeons, may be killed at any time and their nests or eggs may be destroyed at any time. Blackbirds may be killed at any time when doing damage to grain or other property or when they become a nuisance.

Each bird or any part thereof taken or had in possession contrary to this section constitutes a separate offense.

Effective Date: 08-14-2002; 04-06-2007"

http://codes.ohio.gov/orc/1533.07

It does not say ANYTHING about being allowed to kill birds of prey.

I'm sorry, but I believe you misunderstood the person you were speaking with. State laws do NOT supersede federal laws, and birds of prey are FEDERALLY protected.
 
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Did putting up the plastic owl seem to help any? I would really like to avoid shooting it, but in all honesty I wouldn't mind a bit. I was sitting out there today, and saw another one just a little ways off sitting in a tree watching.
 
It has been a few months and they have not come near the yard. I can hear one or two in the wooded areas around but they have not come near the yard. Strange thing is the plastic owl does not scare off my birds on the feeders and the chickens and ducks only pay mind to it when I am moving it. Other than that they could give a hoot.
I still do not trust anything 100% and if I hear one I will hang around the yard with the chickens and throw frisbee with the dogs.
They say it suppose to work because of the eyes (they look real, glass I think) and the the slightest movement of wind will make the head turn just like the real thing, very smooth movement.
The bad thing is, is if you have one hawk you probably have more. Just like my bobcats. I seen the one, within feet of me. But if I kill that one another one will come, this one already knows I don't want them near the fence lines.
 
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I think Im going to give it a try anyway, whether it works or not I thought it was a great idea.
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but worst case scenario i will just shoot them.
 
There are several things you can do to minimize hawk predation. The most effective, of course, is to keep the chickens in a completely enclosed pen. But if you can't do that, many people do some or all of the following:

1. string CDs or other shiny objects (jar or can lids, etc.) up around the yard.
2. string twine or string overhead around the yard, making a spiderweb sort of pattern.
3. increase the cover available in your yard -- add pallets, bushes, plywood, wheel barrows, anything for the chickens to hide under.
4. use fake owls -- remember you have to move these.
5. use red lights that simulate predators' eyes -- I forget what these are called, but you can buy them commercially. Supposedly they scare off other predators.
6. get a LGD (livestock guardian dog).
7. get a really good, and large, rooster. There have been several stories here on byc of roosters beating up and even killing hawks, including redtails.

I'm sure there's other things you can try as well. Do a search in this section for "hawk", and you'll find a lot of threads!
 
The book Gardening with Guineas also states this information too. On page 74.

It makes me wonder though as I did read about how they are protected federally.

I sent an e-mail to Frit, the writer of the book to hear her thoughts. She also lives in ohio... interesting at the least.
 
I had a pair of young hawks that were so brazen that they would fly into my horse barn and walk down the aisles in search of an unsuspecting meal. The older ones are easy to get rid of but the younger birds have no fear of man and like a free lunch. I live in Indiana and approached my local DNR officer. He said it in fact is illegal to kill a hawk BUT in the case of "livestock deprivation" the hawk was in the wrong and the situation could be "resolved". It since has been.
Around here it seems owls of one sort or another are worse than hawks....knock on wood when the owls are most active the chickens are inside.
 
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Those are some really great ideas! Did you find that somewhere? and if those are your own ideas do you have any other suggestions because my chicken area is about 2 acres and some of those are going to be pretty hard to do.
 

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