Hawks....

[riverpilot69]

S.S.S. - Shoot, Shovel, Shut up.

 

[Ole rooster]

You cannot kill hawks, but it docent mean you can't scare them off with a shotgun

!

What do you mean, they die just like any other animal on earth.

 

[Kiki A]

He means that it's against the law.

 

[FarmingForFun]

What do you mean, they die just like any other animal on earth.

Hahaha, Well put! However, there is a difference between shooting something and shooting at something. It is a federal offense to kill a hawk...but it is not a federal offense to discharge a shotgun in it's general direction to scare it away.

 

[Chickengirl47]

A turkey?

 

[FarmingForFun]

Yes a hawk killed my holland white turkey. I had let them out to free range during the day and I could not find her that evening when I put all of them up all I could find were feathers so I thought it was maybe a coyote...but early the next day I found her dead outside of the coop. I think the hawks had stunned her and she fled and then came back the next day and they killed her. Needless to say the next few days they kept coming back so I just fired my shotgun when ever I would see them. They do not come around nearly as often, and they defiantly do not sit in the tops of the trees up there. Needless to day after losing my only holland white turkey (who was about 13 lbs!) I watch the skies intently now!

 

[Blondiechic]

What about a Falcon? I have been looking at photos on the net and the one here could be a Falcon - do they steal chickens as well?

Queen of the dangling CD collection on her property...

 

[FarmingForFun]

The way to distinguish between a hawk and a falcon is hawks come in a either punch the animal with their talons in a fist, or they grab the animal and carry it away. A falcon if they cannot carry the animal away will come in with its talons in a fist with the back talon facing outward and actually split the animal open. Falcon attacks are not pretty.

 

[Blondiechic]

that is horrible - I am on a mission to hope I never see either bird attack my girls - went shoping for more plants for the silkies and Sean is going to put a wire roof over their outside area - cds are adorning the place front and back (but we don't talk about that!) for the bigger girls who are fully free range

 

[wvtim]

Riverpilot - I'm glad to see that I am not the only one with this philosophy on hawks. The person talking about shooting at hawks to scare them away obviously has never had to deal with a serious hawk problem. Once they discover your free range chickens - they wont stop. If you dont take them serious they will wipe your chicken population out.