Hawks?!

[EmmC]

I have lost 3 hens and 2 roosters in the past couple of months due to hawk attacks. Are there any ways to trap hawks? Any good ways to determine them? If I can't get rid of these hawks, I will have to start fencing in my girls.
Thanks for any help!

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

You may want to check into the regulations for your location as generally speaking the birds in question will fall under protective regulations and that could potentially land you in rather hot water should you choose to take action and be found out.
Deterring them is a matter of a multi-prong approach. You can use false/decoy higher order predator dummies to keep the hawks away. You did mention fencing your flock -- do you currently have an enclosed run that you could use if need be? When you are being targeted as an "all you can eat buffet" one of the first steps to take is to close the buffet -- often just penning your flock for a week or two will encourage a frequent feeder to move on to new hunting grounds where the prey is easier to get to. Have you identified the species of hawk you are dealing with?

 

[EmmC]

You may want to check into the regulations for your location as generally speaking the birds in question will fall under protective regulations and that could potentially land you in rather hot water should you choose to take action and be found out. 
Deterring them is a matter of a multi-prong approach.  You can use false/decoy higher order predator dummies to keep the hawks away.  You did mention fencing your flock -- do you currently have an enclosed run that you could use if need be?  When you are being targeted as an "all you can eat buffet" one of the first steps to take is to close the buffet -- often just penning your flock for a week or two will encourage a frequent feeder to move on to new hunting grounds where the prey is easier to get to.  Have you identified the species of hawk you are dealing with? 

So, I believe that this hawk is a red shouldered hawk, and in vt, as long as you have photographic evidence that the hawk was killing your livestock, you are allowed to trap or kill it. Currently, I do not have a fence or enclosure for my birds, but we let them out when we are out there with them. Right now everything is frozen, so I cannot build them fence. I think I may try a decoy of a larger predator to deter smaller hawks.

 

[birdmanmax]

All raptors are protected by federal and state law (federally under the migratory bird act). You can apply for a permit to kill such a bird but it is illegal to kill any migratory bird or raptor in the United States without being admitted a permit. Fines for killing a raptor or raptors can range any where from $50 with no jail time to $15,000 with additional jail time.

 

[EmmC]

As of last year, we were allowed to shoot or trap a raptor that is killing livestock as long as you have photographic evidence of it. We checked this with our local game warden, but I will check again to see if this is still active.

 

[birdmanmax]

Just don't want you to get in trouble. Ceck with a few officials before you take action just to make sure.

 

[centrarchid]

Federal rules take precedence over state / local when federal more strict.

 

[dekel18042]

I have lost 3 hens and 2 roosters in the past couple of months due to hawk attacks. Are there any ways to trap hawks? Any good ways to determine them? If I can't get rid of these hawks, I will have to start fencing in my girls.
Thanks for any help!

Lots of protective cover birds can hide under can help.
Just curious, what size and what breed chickens do you have? Mostly we have red tailed and Coopers hawks in our area, and maybe some sharp shinned. In the past fifteen or more years we had lost no birds to hawk attacks. The few unsuccessful attacks were on juvenile birds who made it under cover in time.
Then this year hawks were out in force and we lost some very small bantams that were carried away and the smallest hen I had, but nothing larger than that.

 

[birdmanmax]

Federal rules take precedence over state / local when federal more strict.

Exactly what I was thinking. In the U.S. constitution it was determined that federal laws/regulations trump state/local laws/regulations under the supremacy clause. I would be very careful if I were you killing raptors can be considered a federal offense.

If you want to kill the hawk you need to apply for a federal migratory bird depredation permit.

 

[ZuckermansFamousPig]

Just remember hawks are birds too. In winter they have it even harder than they do in summer. they have to find their own dinner as they can. If you free range death from above is a risk you take, as well as from other directions.