Hawks!

[Kessel23]

Well I thought I had heard that. I was under the impression it was just certain states had different laws. I knew in our area Vultures/Buzzards were. I apologize.

Nope, there is no state where you can shoot any bird on the Migratory bird treaty act without a permit. If you are wondering what type of birds are on the act it is pretty much every single bird native to the US, and no, it does not matter if the bird is Migratory or not. There is no state where you can shoot vultures or buzzards. The only exception that I know of on the act is the American crow and domestic Muscovy, which can be shot freely. I am not a cop who is going to arrest you or a citizen who will report you. I am not mad at you, just wanted to let you know that you are not supposed to be killing these birds or any birds on the act without the proper permits.
BTW, the act also makes it illegal to have any products that were produced by the protected birds in your possession. So no feathers, egg shells, nests, or whatever. So make sure your husband did not keep anything from those birds he illegally killed.

 

[Jess89]

Hawks love chickens, so do possums, fox, skunks, coins, dogs etc....
The only way to completely protect your flock is to secure them in an enclosure.
I also free ranged until the hawks came to close for comfort. I like knowing my flock is safe and the flock doesn't seem to mind. Their enclosure is quite large tho so it's more like safe- free-ranging.
I hope you can find a happy medium for you and your flock.
Thanks for joining us!

Unfortunately since I just started this new chicken thing, my coop and run are quite small. I’m sure they would be fine all day in there and then let them out when I get home from work. I hate to do that but I believe that would be the best option maybe I until I get a rooster and see if that may work.

 

[Fluffy&Cutie]

everything is a learning experience...no one here was born expert chicken keepers. we all had some lesson we learned the hard way.
there is a netting that you can place above the chickens. you could build a larger pen and use the netting above. also, there are many threads here on byc that discuss how people free range. roosters will keep them safer, dogs, providing places to hide, and supervised free ranging are some examples. none are full proof. you will have to do some research. this site provides articles and threads on how to protect your chickens against hawks. good luck to you!!!
check out the learning articles on this site. they have articles on EVERY predator.

 

[HenHouse4Life]

If you go to the search bar and type in deterring hawks (or however you want to word it) it will pull up threads (some older) on this problem, but there are some great suggestions

 

[EIEIO_farm]

We live on 6 acres and have a free ranging flock. Hawks are always around, I can see them perched on branches, I see theirs nests, and they fly over my chickens every day multiple times. Here’s the thing, we have a ton of squirrels and lizards on our property! The hawks don’t want the chickens, they’re almost the same size as the hawk and it seems to me like the hawks don’t even consider our chickens as a possible meal. However, if they are desperate for food, they may swoop in and try to grab a chicken. My best advice is to get a rooster!!! Our rooster lets the hens know when there is any kind of danger lurking, dog, hawk, coyote, etc. He detects it, which are is natural instincts, and alerts the girls and they all run into the coop!
We have only had one chicken killed by a coyote and it was our big boss rooster. He ran and led the coyote away from the coop, he was attacked multiple times but kept running until he couldn’t. He led the coyote about 1/8th of a mile away from the coop, he even passed it during the attack. They are such a great natural defense system for your hens!!
Hope this helps

 

[Jess89]

We live on 6 acres and have a free ranging flock. Hawks are always around, I can see them perched on branches, I see theirs nests, and they fly over my chickens every day multiple times. Here’s the thing, we have a ton of squirrels and lizards on our property! The hawks don’t want the chickens, they’re almost the same size as the hawk and it seems to me like the hawks don’t even consider our chickens as a possible meal. However, if they are desperate for food, they may swoop in and try to grab a chicken. My best advice is to get a rooster!!! Our rooster lets the hens know when there is any kind of danger lurking, dog, hawk, coyote, etc. He detects it, which are is natural instincts, and alerts the girls and they all run into the coop!
We have only had one chicken killed by a coyote and it was our big boss rooster. He ran and led the coyote away from the coop, he was attacked multiple times but kept running until he couldn’t. He led the coyote about 1/8th of a mile away from the coop, he even passed it during the attack. They are such a great natural defense system for your hens!!
Hope this helps

Thank you so much for your advise! I am so sorry about your rooster...that is awful! My nephew has a huge flock of chickens and has never had a problem with hawks. I don't know what it is about my chickens they like so much. I had 4 hawks yesterday perched in the tree above our coop. I think they were having a meeting of the minds! I have unfortunately lost 2 chickens in the last month to hawks and I know there is not much to do other then keep them in the run. But I love my ladies to be able to get out and free range. But I have seen multiple things about getting a rooster. I will have a rooster by the weekend

 

[Rick M]

I had same issue and I contacted the Federal Fish and Game. They were not any help and said the only way they would issue a permit to shoot the hawks was if I had the girls in an in closed run and was still having hawk issues which is BS. We have a small farm and im not going to keep my animals and foul locked in cages when they can be free ranging on my property. The only thing he said was I could shoot in the air or harass them in any way i wanted to. I went with my own plan.

 

[kmom08]

I see your from Tennessee, I'm in Kentucky about a 3 minute drive from the Tennessee border. This is the first year I have seen a hawk, and had one land in my yard on Saturday. Fortunately my husband was out there at the time and heard all the commotion from our chickens and was able to scare it away. I have 2 decoy owls in my yard which clearly didn't prevent the hawk from landing in my yard. So I'm kind of in the same situation trying to figure out what to do.

Worse yet is I always thought hawks were territorial, but Monday morning I saw not just 1, but 3 hawks circling above my yard (luckily I hadn't let my girls out of the run yet). After doing some research I learned some will travel in groups of 3 or 4 when traveling south. I'm thinking this may be the reason we're seeing them.
I also read hawks hunt earlier and not at night, so for now my girls unfortunately are confined to their run until the last 2-3 hours of daylight when someone can be out there at all times. I don't want the hawks to have a chance to turn one of my chickens into a tasty treat and decide to stick around. Hopefully they move on. I've also been letting my dogs out in the yard any time I let the chickens out.