Hawks

[pj_elia]

pascopol,

Though you may not believe, it is not a myth about hawks eating mice, rats, and squirrels. I happen to have thousands of hours of hands-on field experience with birds of prey and their primarly food source is not domestic fowl.

Red-tailed hawks will eat free range chickens, but what you need to understand is that if you kill one, others will likely move right in the same or next day.

Do you propose that a systematic killing of native and natural hawks should occur just so you save a few un-protected chickens?

I've had hawks kill some of my chickens (bantams), doves, pigeons, and quail. Its now impossible for hawks to reach my quail or doves because they are in enclosed the proper hardwire cloth.

Any of my birds that are to0 valuable to risk losing are saftely enclosed from all predators. I'm willing to sacrifice some of the chickens for the convenience of free ranging.

 

[pascopol]

Quote:
Did you see a hawk eating rat or mice? Perhaps they use infrared equipment to hunt at night?

I never said domestic fowl is a primary source of food for hawks, wild birds are, and many of those birds are protected species, hawks kill them by thousands.

Neither I advocated killing hawks anywhere in my post .
Don't put words in my mouth.

15 years ago I could see many species of domestic birds in wooded area surrounding my property, now the wild birds are gone but I can can see 1 or more hawks circling the area all the day looking for prey, they killed 99 % of wild birds so now they are looking for domestic fowl.

Here is a hypocrisy of people like you and government imposing harsh penalties for killing hawks.



It is sad that we got to the point in our madness that we value hawk life more that human life.
In can get more time in prison for killing a hawk than for manslaughter.

 

[momofdrew]

The hawk is just doing what comes naturally to it...most preditors take out the weak of the species...if you dont want the hawks getting the song birds stop feeding the song birds and they wont congregate where they become easy prey


I had a hawk swoop down towards my birds the other day and my chow/lab girl went after it in mid air...discouraging the hawk to linger near our yard...she is the best guard dog and very protective of her birds...

 

[dacjohns]

Looks like this thread is headed for a lockdown.





Quote:
What kind of domestic birds did you see in the woods surrounding your property?

Are you sure that hawks have killed all the wild birds and that the wild birds have not migrated or had some sort of habitat loss? Where is your evidence for the hawks killing 99% of the wild birds and that wild birds are their primary source of food?

Rodents are not only nocturnal, they are active during the day also. I have seen many raptors eating rodents the day.

More time in prison for killing a hawk? I would like to see some valid backup for that statement.

The statement "hypocrisy of people like you" is verging on flaming.

 

[Brunty_Farms]

As an avid hunter I have sit countless of hours in tree stands. I've seen all kinds of birds of prey hunt and must say they will eat and kill whatever they can get their talons on.

For example I have seen hawks kill mice, chipmunks and squirrels. I think the number one predator for the squirrels are hawks.

The squirrels are very smart though and once a hawk is spoted it could be hours before they come out of their hiding spaces. I did see a squirrel and a redtail get into a ground fight for about 5 minutes on top of my corn pile I had for the deer. The hawk missed the squirrel after his initial attempt, but after about 5 minutes he finally got the squirrel.

The hawks will sit in trees for hours right next to me as I hunt. They don't move until I move or until they find what they came to get. 90% of the time they see me move before they get an animal.

As far as shooting the hawk, I would keep it low key. I've been in your shoes before and asking permission on a forum like this would be the last thing I would be doing. Unfourtantly they don't stop... but that doesn't mean you have to sit and watch them pick off every bird you own. Take matters in your own hands and keep your mouth shut about it. That's the best advice I can give. I'm sure a few less hawks in your area won't hurt the overall population. More than likely your problem will persist in a couple of months but the hawks will eventually get the gyst of things.

The worst time for your chickens is in the spring when they have babies to feed. Then it's just as bad when the 2-4 offspring hunt the same area as their parents until they find their own hunting grounds. I'm sorry to tell ya it's never ending, hopefully something will be invented to deter the hawks away to save the lives of both the hawks and our birds.

 

[brooster]

My dad works in construction, and has time limits while working because ethey are very vlose to a bald eagle nest. He asked the game warden about it (hawks) and he agreed that they were overpopulated, he said do what you need to, but no one needs to hear about it. This was about a year ago, and now this spring they will be having chicks again. Also, hawks like to stay out of cities, but i have seen several in trees in town. Its getting out of hand.

PS: DONT GET THIS THREAD LOCKED!

 

[pj_elia]

The red-tailed hawk is the primary hawk that is most likely to kill your chickens and they eat almost no songbirds. The coopers hawk, whose populations have rebounded in the last 30 years eat plenty of songbirds along with pigeons, starlings, mice, chipmunks and voles. They however cannot kill full grown standard chickens.

Being at the top of their food chain, there is no such thing as an overpopulation of hawks since their population is based on what the habitat and prey can sustain.

Since hawks are ubiquitous, can cover a large area, and seek easy prey, killing the one in your backyard will only make room for another to move right in. Its not like taking out a raccoon or fox den. It usually takes a year or more for eradicated ground predators to fill back in. If you kill one hawk, another will appear soon after. During the migration season, numerous hawks will move through your area on any given day. Killing a hawk may satisfy ones sense of revenge but it is not a justifiable or effective way to protect your chickens.

 

[amazondoc]

Here's lots of pictures of hawks eating mice:

http://images.google.com/images?hl=...ficial&q=hawk mouse&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wi

Here's lots of picture of hawks eating squirrels:

http://images.google.com/images?q=h...channel=s&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&sa=2

No night vision goggles necessary.

 

[dacjohns]

amazondoc,

I was wondering when you were going to weigh in. Thank you.

 

[amazondoc]

Oh, and btw --

The maximum penalty for killing a human being is life in prison, or the death penalty depending on the circumstances.

The maximum penalty for killing a hawk is $15,000 and/or imprisonment up to six months.